(Sen. Sam) Brownback: 'Fruits' Comment Not Gay Joke

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/30/national/w145416S92.DTL

Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, a potential presidential candidate, said Monday he meant no offense to homosexuals when he used the word "fruits" in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

In a lengthy profile titled "God's Senator," the magazine quotes the Kansas Republican as criticizing countries like Sweden that allow civil unions between same-sex couples.

"You'll know them by their fruits," Brownback said, quoting a biblical passage from Matthew 7:16.

Rolling Stone writer Jeff Sharlet said in the story, appearing in the magazine's current issue, that Brownback appeared to be calling gay Swedes "fruits," a derogatory term for homosexuals.

[Inland]

1. What he meant was that gay marriage is the fruit of evil.

It's not insulting, except for the part about not being true.

[GodlessBiker]

19. It was a play on words, partly to refer to gay people as "fruits."

[Inland]

20. It might have been. My point was that the "explanation" was just as bad.

An offhand shot with a term like that isn't worse than a considered opinion that gay marriage is the culmination of evil works. A slur isn't worse than an outright fabrication like that.

[GodlessBiker]

23. Yes, definately.

[Mythsaje]

2. However you cut it...

intentional or not, it was a pun in poor taste.

[timtom]

25. Wait a minute!

That phrase pre-exists any idiomatic use of the word. It may be in bad taste or not --but I never think of the use of "fruit" in the derogatory sense.

[timtom]

26. Actually, my comment

is a linguistic one only. I didn't realize who was being discussed. Now that I think about it, he probably DID mean it as a double entendre.

Sorry for going off like that. I'm just a language aficionado.

[JI7]

3. i wonder what he thinks about Bob Dole's use of Viagra

[oasis]

6. As long as Bob's only poking Elizabeth in the accepted position

no big deal.:evilgrin:

[Inland]

22. Pushing knitting...needles through....eyesockets

There really oughta be a warning about posts calling up the picture of republicans having sex.

[zbdent]

15. And Liddy's numerous refills of

Valium . . .

[pfitz59]

4. "a potential presidential candidate....."

Sez who? I've only heard him mentioned as an apocalyptic Reich-wing freak! Kansas probably has the two worst sen-a-tuhs of any state!

[Scooter24]

8. God help us all

if that man was to ever get elected President.

[last_texas_dem]

5. It's an interesting article

I just finished reading it a few hours ago. The author suggests that Brownback has become the anointed candidate of the fundamentalist Christians and will have major clout in choosing the Repug Presidential candidate in '08 if he himself doesn't end up being their candidate. The article discusses several contradictions in Brownback's belief system, emphasizing his willingness to stand up for human rights around the world- as long as doing so doesn't interfere with his corporate supporters, which it does quite a bit.

Also discussed is Brownback's membership in the right-wing Catholic cult Opus Dei. (This was actually news to me; I was under the impression he was still an evangelic Protestant, although I think I may have heard at one point that he had converted to Catholicism and I had forgotten.) One of the more disturbing discussions is the part about "cells"- basically the movement among some fundamentalist Christians like Brownback that if powerful players in the movement like them organize into small groups that they can reshape the world. (It sounds a little far-fetched but it does seem to be happening on some level.)

[StuckinKS]

31. Damn

Opus Dei in politics seems just like Scientology in Hollywood.

[CatholicEdHead]

32. He is one of the growing late in life converts

they are former fundies who saw a way in RCC theology to go even more conservative than their fundie churches would allow. You see and hear them often on "Catholic media" (e.g. (ir)Relevant Radio, EWTN, Ave Maria Radio, etc...). The radio shows are more fundie than Catholic if you listen to them long enough. Cathoic Social Teachings are virtually ignored with the talking point focus on abortion, gay marriage, and submission to the church (and then easily work in a sumbission to the government).

[darkism]

7. There are more than a few jokes that come to mind with HIS name

Glass houses and all that...

[oasis]

9. "Topper" Jeff Gannon may have had more than a few fantasies involving Sam.

We'll have wait for Jeff's tell all book and the movie, "Brownback Mountin'".:evilgrin:

[progdonkey]

11. or...

Bareback Brownback

Bare Brownback

Broke Brownback

oh, the possibilities... :popcorn:

[KamaAina]

29. There's no room to put his face on Mt. Rushmore...

so they're gonna put it on Brownback Mountain instead!!

[saltpoint]

10. I don't claim to know the express intent of Brownback's remark

but it smells like homophobia.

This is a guy who aspires to the presidency and he's already using provocative language to divide and alienate and ostracize.

I hope his far-right nutcase constituents are so few that he can't survive the primaries. I tend to lump in in with the Judge Moore crowd in Alabama who wept like junkies when their damned Ten Commandments statue was hauled away.

[MrSlayer]

12. The old double meaning.

As my train enters your station.

[xchrom]

13. another fanatic with his hair on fire.

[Vinca]

14. Speaking of hair . . .

I didn't mean it yesterday when I swore at the television and hoped Walgreens would run out of Brownback's hair color. (I did that, I swear.:rofl: )

[sarcasmo]

16. Another Homophobe in our Senate masking as a Republican.

This guy is pure EVIL if it were up to him Women would be wearing Burkas.

[saigon68]

27. He is a Fundie Nut-Job homophobe

And so are a lot of the people who vote for this ass-clown.

[chelsea0011]

17. He was prepared to use that quote when homosexuals came up?

Sounds like he has a pat bible quote ready for the hate crowd to snicker at.

[stepnw1f]

18. GOP Cowardly Bigotry

They should just make their party symbol the swastika and get it over with. The only fruits are in the GOP. Fruitcakes who need to control everyone in order to feel safe.

[distantearlywarning]

21. I read that article.

It was pretty scary.

But making fun of homosexuals by calling them "fruits" is the least of this man's sins against the gay community. In fact, I think it's a little laughable that this is what people are choosing to focus on about this article. This is just silly when you think about the fact (for instance) that Brownback has attempted to derail hate crime legislation because he thinks it ties the hands of the God Warriors out there in their attempt to purge the US of homosexuals. When you think about that, the word "fruit", said in a derogatory way, seems pretty innocuous by comparison.

[VaYallaDawg]

24. Maybe this was Brownie's way of getting back at Hillary for

her plantation jibe?

[DarienComp]

28. See, the thing is...

even if he wasn't making a gay joke (which he was), he's still a conservative dickhole who just plain doesn't like gay people and wants to make them second-class citizens with a constitutional amendment.

it just makes me laugh how these conservatives think that if they apologize for some off-hand derogatory remark about a certain minority, the offended minority will forget about all about their actions in the past.

"Well, sure, I don't give a fuck about hate crimes or employment discrimination, and I want to ban gay marriage and gay adoption, but I'm really sorry I actually called you a 'faggot' to your face, that one time. I usually don't do that. To your face."

[0rganism]

30. See how dedicated Sen. Brownback is to his gay constituents?

All 4 of them can be confident that he's looking out for their interests and deeply respects their lifestyle choices.

[Jdubb32]

33. "Ignorance is God’s gift to Kansas." (Richard Dawkins)