Maybe they were confused because they did not know who he was. I personally have not heard of this nutjob before. Are there any nuggets of humor in his craziness?
My opinion of the John Birch Society, and others like them, is that they are people who saw a true evil, like communism, but because of their warped world view on things such as religion or race relations, they were never able to rationally understand the threat, or come up with realistic views on dealing with them.
An example, the John Birchers could never come to terms with the UN as being a useful organization. In their mind, they were never able to see past the fact that our countries officials were sitting across the table from some really morally reprehensible dictators, failing to understand that the UN was special, precisely because we were able to sit across the table from those same folks. It's kind of like a Mormon who wants to avoid the appearance of evil, so he turns down the job he needs to feed his family, because the business sells alcohol.
Jesus will return to Missouri The lost tribes live behind the ice at the north pole During Armageddon, the U.S. will be protected by rough seas God will knock down all mountains and streams will appear All Mormons will march to Missouri The ten tribes will cross the ocean by walking on a dirt highway
"Prophecies and Modern Times." Third edition, 1988 Ensign publishing company
The only thing I could think of when I saw nutjob was the crazy man who wrapped himself in clingwrap - went it to see his psychiatrist who responded, "I can see your nuts!"