The gay thing.

[ccharles000]

There are three names floating out there for VP. They are Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Sam Nunn, and Bill Richardson. I am not thrilled with these people because of GLBT controversies.

Bill Richardson-Used gay slur.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lane-hudson/bill-richardsons-gay-slu_b_55656.html

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius-Supported son in prison rape game.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-klein30mar30,0,2240882.story

Sam Nunn-DADT

[woolldog]

1. Why are you holding Sebelius reponsible for her son's

indiscretion? That is beyond ridiculous.

[ccharles000]

2. ...

The game "is simply intended for entertainment," said Nicole Corcoran, the governor's spokeswoman. Things like rape in prison have often been used as a cheap gay joke by many people.

[WillParkinson]

3. Also...

Ms. Sebelius defended her son and said how proud they were of him for "his creativity".

(Edited to give the actual quote)

[ccharles000]

4. I would not like her as VP.

[Iceburg]

6. Judgement: Its hard to believe ... (actually it is not) that the NEW democrats

would even consider her on a long list.

[SeaLyons]

14. I would not like her as VP

either.

[Divine Discontent]

29. I agree... would not be a very good choice at all.

she doesn't bring much to the table, b/c I don't see us winning her state even with her on the ticket, and, that game I'd forgotten about - which the other side will even use against Obama and Sebelius if she were the VP nominee. Someone asked why are you holding it against her, and the answer is, because they will - so if you can avoid controversy ahead of time, you should!


New Obama Items Weekly!
www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[DRoseDARs]

5. He should do a game about date rape, see if she's still proud of his "creativity" n/t

[helderheid]

17. Call it "Don't get slipped a ruffie".

:mad:

[JI7]

8. we did same with Huckabee's son

and his torture/killing of a dog.

[ccharles000]

10. wow I did not know that.

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. Richardson also said when asked that he thinks homosexuality is a choice.

Which I find troubling, along with his 'maricon' comments...and then there are the rumours that he's a boozing womaniser, too. (Although his name was conspicuously absent from the list of potential VPs I saw yesterday that Obama's vetting team are looking at, and these are probably some of the reasons why.)

[terrya]

9. I hate to say this...

But I will be majorly, majorly, majorly pissed if Sam Nunn is anywhere near the VP slot. He's a nasty piece of homophobic shit who foisted DADT on Bill Clinton. A man with one of the worst voting records on our issues during his time in the Senate.

Richardson's comment I can deal with. In fact, I think he would be a fine choice, overall, as VP. Richardson has a pretty decent record on our issues during his time as New Mexico governor. Sebelius I can deal with, also. I have a very difficult time dealing with Nunn, though. And that comment of Nunn's about "revisiting" DADT is a lot of crap. Just bullshit to get himself on the VP list.

[tledford]

31. I was unaware of Nunn's position on this issue.

I *had* thought (abstractly) of Nunn as a valid option as VP, a hawkish Democrat who would tend to help Obama's *imagined* vulnerability on "national security" (code word for "belligerence") issues.

Didn't know about his anti-GLBT attitude, and had forgotten (or never noticed) his being a proponent of the (incredibly pointless and dishonest) "don't ask don't tell" fiasco.

Makes me think differently.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

35. i cant vote on a ticket nunn is on. the other two i can swallow.

[Teaser]

11. there's more than three names "floating out there"

quite a few more.

[terrya]

12. Richardson and Nunn are perceived as problemmatic for LGBT voters.

I know a lot of people here don't give a shit about us and our concerns, but well, there you go.

[Phillycat]

19. Hey, don't think you've got the market cornered.

About 50% of the party feels the same way. :D

[Midlodemocrat]

20. Lighten up, Francis.

:sarcasm:

How'd I do?

[terrya]

21. "Geez, get over it, terrya"

Yeah, that's about right.

[Midlodemocrat]

22. All these years later, people still don't get it.

It makes me really angry and sad at the same time.

[QC]

41. Toughen up, Mary! n/t

[ccharles000]

13. I meant it as the ones I have a problem with as a gay man.

[DevonRex]

15. I don't believe any of those will be VP anyway. Obama already

does well in the west, so it is not imperative that he choose Richardson from that standpoint. I do, however, believe he will be Secretary of State and he would do very well in that office.

Sebelius is not well known enough to add much to the ticket.

Nunn is a nonstarter for many reasons.

I think Jim Webb will be VP because Virginia is a large state that can swing democratic this year.

[helderheid]

16. Thank you so much for these links. I wasn't aware of this at all. Very disappointing.

[Galway girl]

18. Richardson lost in translation ... Richardson does not hate gays and is a Rock Star

There is a good reason why no one in the World should be VP

[Hoof Hearted]

23. Bzzzzzt, on at least two out of three. There IS no "lost in translation"

for maricon.

Richardson aint no "rockstar."

Hate is a strong word, but his aversion and ignorance is obvious.

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

24. toss out your fave names; no progressive consituency should be sidelined on this

[cbayer]

25. Of the names being tossed around, who do you feel has the most progressive

pro-GLBT positions?

This was very good information. I haven't seen much about any of the potential candidates who are supported by the GLBT community.

[terrya]

26. For this gay guy....

Of all the names tossed around for VP, I'd say Hillary.

In MY opinion.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

34. as much as i love hillary, i dont think she and obama fit well together.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. Well, we can't have Clinton for VP.

On account of that horrible anti-gay "pansy" slur.

:eyes:

[ccharles000]

28. That pansy thing was not homphobic.

[JVS]

40. How wasn't it?

[tledford]

32. Yeah, but I haven't seen Mike Easley's name come up as a possible VP. nt

[DenverDem23]

30. Let's face it, Obama will march in Gay Pride parades......and

The business of government is NOT to elect people that agree with us 100%, it is to guarantee ALL our rights..not just yours, not just mine. Obama is better than McCain, if you would focus on the important issues, it would help. Get us out of Iraq, get our economy stable and growing, get our government honest, get equal rights for EVERY person... then go on from there.

OK?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

33. sorry sometimes people are unacceptable, nunn is unacceptable to me

and i cannot morally abide any ticket he is on.

dont be so patronizing when its not your rights that are being played with

[ruggerson]

37. I guess had you been around in the sixties

civil rights would have been one of those unimportant issues for you.

[LBJDemocrat]

36. What does prison rape have to do with GLBT?

Prison rape is a horrible thing, and jokes regarding it trivialize the issue. Yes; I agree that this makes it difficult to support Sebelius; but I don't see it as a GLBT issue.

[newmajority]

38. Let's put this "Richardson is a homophobe" thing to rest, shall we?

PR Newswire - Press Release
Governor Bill Richardson to Receive International Role Model Award at International Equality Dinner
05.01.08, 9:34 AM ET

PHILADELPHIA, May 1 /USNewswire-PRNewswire/ -- Equality Forum, a national and international GLBT civil rights organization, will recognize New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson with its 13th annual International Role Model Award, and Wachovia Corporation will receive its 2008 International Business Leadership Award. The awards will be presented at the International Equality Dinner at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, May 3 during Equality Forum 2008.

As Governor of New Mexico, Richardson has expanded anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and signed into law the state's hate crimes legislation for acts including those based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He provided state health insurance for domestic partnerships, and called a special legislative session to enact civil union benefits.

"Throughout his career in public service, Governor Richardson has been a strong supporter and friend of the GLBT community. Governor Richardson has repeatedly used his political standing to champion GLBT civil rights," stated Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum.

http://aol.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2008/05/01/prnewswire200805010930PR_NEWS_USPR_____NETH002.html

Now I'll agree that he didn't choose his words very well at the LOGO/HRC debate, but if he actually believed that gays could "choose" to be straight, I doubt he would have done all of the above. Not actually the actions of a homophobe.

Richardson will be a great Vice President, for ALL of us. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't vote for him in 50 or so VP polls here every day.

[ccharles000]

39. Even so he still used the spanish word for faggot.

[dailykoff]

44. A “maricón” is a sissy

according to the Bantam New College Spanish and English Dictionary, though it clearly has other implications.

[BlooInBloo]

47. Ah - then context and knowledge of current usage is everything.

[tishaLA]

42. I'm not sure what prison rape has to do with LGBT issues

It seems to me that's a strange screen--as if coercive male-male (or female-female) sex is the same thing as consensual sex. It's not. The first is about violence and domination; the second is about desire (and sometimes love and respect).

It's wrong to confuse the two. It's like comparing the rape of a woman to the sex a woman has with her bf, husband, etc.

[dailykoff]

43. I'm not sure maricon is a damnable offense, especially in this context

i.e. the Imus interview. First, it's defined in the Bantam New College dictionary as a "sissy," so it's not necessarily a slur, but let's say it is: the sentence Richardson used it in was a) a response to Imus's question ("Would you agree that Bernard is a maricón?”), and b) a response to an Imus staffer's claim that Richardson wasn't Hispanic: "Yo creo que Bernardo, sí — es un maricón si él piensa que yo no soy hispano," translating as "I believe he's a maricon, yes, if he thinks I'm not Hispanic."

From the link in the huffpo story: http://www.gaynewswatch.com/Page.cfm?PageID=22&SID=1842

[newmajority]

45. If that's the case

Then Richardson's use of "maricon" would be comparable to Mike Easley saying "pansy". And I've seen some of the same people who condemn Richardson defending what Easley said at a Hillary rally.

Not that I think it's necessary to call anyone a "sissy" or a "pansy". It's possible to use either word without intending to be homophobic, but neither word is exactly a compliment in either case.

[BlooInBloo]

46. Nunn is clearly a non-starter. Wasn't familiar with the rest, though.