Louie Gohmert isn’t the only 2023 Bum Steer! Read about our Bum Steer of the Year, Austin, and the other runners-up: Gilberto Hinojosa, Herschel Walker, and Floperation Lone Star. Also, check out our Best Things in Texas list for examples of some of this year’s uplifting moments.

Dear Louie,

Remember the racist conspiracy theories, including but not limited to your OG support of birtherism? Remember the opposition to legislation that offered protections for victims of hate crimes based on sexual orientation, when you feared that it might end up protecting those “oriented toward animals . . . toward corpses”? Remember the opposition to gay people serving in the military, when you said, “If you’re sitting around getting massages all day, ready to go in the big, planned battle, then you’re not going to last very long”? Remember not chairing a single committee during the entirety of your nine terms in the United States Congress? 

WHEREAS it’s been a hell of a run, it is our pleasure to name you our newest member of the Bum Steer Hall of Fame. ADDITIONALLY WHEREAS you embody all the qualities of a truly bum Bum Steer, we are heretofore bestowing our Bum Steer of the Year Award statue with a nickname:  “the Gohmie”!   

Sincerely,
The Official Bum Steer Hall of Fame Committee 

This article originally appeared in the January 2023 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “Gohm, but Not Forgotten.” Subscribe today.