Homophobe to give Democratic response to State of the Union

[samhsarah]

On the unlikely chance that you thought there was any value left in the Democratic party after today, we have a homophobe giving the Democratic response to the State of the Union tomorrow.

This is so bad, I'm going to break my rule about not linking to the Washington Blade:

A spokesman for Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine clarified today that he opposes the scope of the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage working its way quicklty through the Virginia legislature, but will nonetheless sign the measure as written if it is adopted, putting it to a referendum.

Ah, so Kaine was for civil rights before he was against it.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/homophobe-to-give-democratic-response.html

[DancingBear]

1. Gee, he should run for Senate next

I'll vote against Alito, but not before I vote to stop all debate which will ensure he gets in.

[terrya]

2. Unfortunate...since I know Bush will bring up...

the Marriage Protection Amendment tonight. When things go downhill, time to bring up the "evil" of gay people enjoying the same marriage rights as everyone else...and those "activist judges".

What a despicable thing Kaine is doing. Trying to have it both ways but ultimately caving in to the bigots anyway.

[Crazy Dave]

3. Well

My mom, lifelong democrat herself but a Catholic. Asked me and my wife if we wanted to sign some marriage protection petition even though she knew better. She told us legally by law she thinks gay marriage should be okay but morally, God doesn't like it.
But I still love her, she's my only momma. :-)

[Ally McLesbian]

4. The DCCC

will not see the $150 contribution that I promised them.

They will see a letter calling them cowards and sellouts, as well as my torn-up Democratic voter registration card.

I will re-register as a "decline to state" - I won't say Independent, because that means far-right American Independent here in California (AI is known as the Constitution Party elsewhere).

[jonnyblitz]

6. my sister told me the same thing. she registered as what she

thought was independent when she lived in southern CA and she ended up registered in that party you mention. I believe it was started for the racist George Wallace back in the late 60's or 70's.

yup it was started for Wallace, I just googled..and found this. they don't even hide it..

<snip>
In 1967, Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama was on the move to run for President on a new party ticket. Second only to Alabama, California was the most important state in the Union in the eyes of the Wallace campaign. Wallace supporters greeted with enthusiasm the formation of the American Independent Party.
<xnip>

more...
http://www.aipca.org/history.html

[Ally McLesbian]

18. Thanks for the information

And if you go to places like Orange County, AI voters are VERY common, sometimes outnumbering Democrats.

AI does field some competitive candidates, but most AI voters end up going Republican.

[SaveElmer]

5. Is Howard Dean a homophobe...

For supporting Kaine?

"Tim Kaine is a wonderful fresh face who speaks from the heart about his values," said Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean.

[samhsarah]

7. How about NOT trying to change the subject.

Nobody here was talking about Dean. Read the blog, then comment "A spokesman for Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine clarified today that he opposes the scope of the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage working its way quicklty through the Virginia legislature, but will nonetheless sign the measure as written if it is adopted, putting it to a referendum." Do you GET what that means, or does someone have to spell it out for you?

[wiley]

9. Thanks. Some people get confused.

This is about Kaine, not Dean. Virginia is for haters, ya know?

[SaveElmer]

14. I guess my point was too subtle...

I find Howard Deans' political instincts to be pretty good the vast majority of the time. Dean is not stupid, he know what Kaine's views are on issues, and he still thinks this is a good choice. I'll stick with Howard on this one.

[wiley]

17. Yeah, too subtle.

[SaveElmer]

10. My point is...

That though I am extremely disappointed in Kaine's position (I live in Virginia and voted for him), he is not the only Democrat in the country taking this position, and it does not make him a homophobe. He is a basically decent person who must be persuaded to take a different position. Ostracizing him at the outset is not the way to go, particularly because in most areas his positions are right on.

[samhsarah]

11. He IS th e only Democrat in the country

giving the Democratic response to the SOTU. And that is unacceptable.

[SaveElmer]

12. Sorry..no it is not...

Dean and the leadership picked him, he (along with Warner), represent a possible path to victory in red states, and so I believe he is a good choice here.

[AZBlue]

8. Who chooses who gives the response? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

15. Reid and Pelosi picked Kaine for the Dem response (WaPo)

According to the Washington Post story that I have posted on the poll question about Kaine, Reid and Pelosi picked this homophobe to speak about Democratic "values."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2424930&mesg_id=2425104

[wiley]

13. We've been nailed as being extremists

on another thread. "One Issue" litmus testers. Gee, what if the issue was an important one?

[IndianaGreen]

16. Anyone that opposes Big Brother is a terrorist

Our issues are not important to the party hierarchy, they only want to perpetuate themselves in office with the support of us suckers.

[Virginia Dare]

19. I understand the frustration here..

but Tim Kaine is a political animal. As such, he is a newly elected Democratic Governor in a mostly staunchly conservative Republican state. Say he vetoes the bill, then it's overridden. What has a gained? He's walking a fine line here and needs the cooperation on the other side of the aisle to get things done. It sucks, I know, but there is no scorched earth policy available to him at this point.

[ruggerson]

21. George W Bush

supports civil unions.

It's hardly a radical stand in 2006.

Kaine is out of the mainstream on this.

If he word a hood and burned crosses, would you tell us he needs to fit in with the rest of Virginia?

[ChiciB1]

23. This Is The Same GAME PLAN That Has Been Used Over & Over

by the Dems for far too many years!! Personally, I'm not sure I respect the position all that much!!

Democrats have let almost EVERY scandal slip through their hands and the reasoning seems to be, Oh Gee I need to run for re-election... better walk VERY softly!

I know, in some ways taking back control IS the issue, but for what purpose??? It's NOT working and most of us know it! Even today, with ALL the scandals the polls say Americans STILL prefer the Repukes over the Dems!

GO FIGURE!!

[wiley]

20. Well, Kick!

I think we need to talk about this to annoy the DLC.

[Glutton for Paine]

22. Building political clout at the expense of gays.

Many Southern Democrats have been doing this for years, and before homosexuality it was the blacks. The fact is, it's easier to accept anti-gay rhetoric than accept the pro-gay rhetoric. Especially in the conservative south. So "our" Democrats find it necessary to build their political clout among conservatives at the expense of gay America.

I do not endorse this notion because I think it creates a split society. Sustaining the status quo has never helped society and we can't progress unless our leaders are willing to change the status quo. The move might make sense "politically", however it deters the basic rights of a group of Americans and overshadows the larger problem; that many in this country still support bigoted policy.

Our politicians need to realize that you can't just define ideology based off of "moral" beliefs. Everyone's morals are different and if the government defines what morals are justifiable, we revert back to a society where only one "sect" rules the roost, so to speak.

Morally many were opposed to blacks having any civil rights, that didn't make it right. Morally many were opposed to interracial marriage, that didn't make it right either. Morals are great, but they can't be the only compass that leads our political leaders. We should not vote on candidates based off their morals and we shouldn't expect candidates to govern solely on morals. Because morals differ from person to person, religion to religion and culture to culture.

[IndianaGreen]

24. Great post, Glutton for Paine, and welcome to DU!

I am old enough to remember Georgia Governor Lester Maddox, an avowed segregationist and a Democrat.

I also remember Jimmy Carter's inaugural as governor when he said "the days of racial segregation are over!"

[Glutton for Paine]

25. Thank you.

Conservatives know they can't win on substance alone, so they find "differences" within the population and exploit them to the extreme. Racism, sexism, homophobia and other bigoted policies scare "middle America" into voting conservative because they don't know any better. And they don't know any better because many Democrats are too afraid of telling them they're wrong. Well gosh, America has been wrong A LOT of times in the past, so it shouldn't be a surprise to the citizens of this country that they're wrong again.

Hate, in most cases, is a learned trait. If we don't reverse the trend of homophobia today, our children will grow up in a society based around this inexcusable notion and so will their children. Women prejudice, racial prejudice and poverty prejudice all had a movement, one that engulfed the country and brought about change. Those movements were often disregarded as "radical" and in the end they became mainstream (though I question how mainstream, as I still see racists, anti-poor and many that believe a woman's place is in the kitchen). Morally, every one of these movements were frowned upon. Now, outside some conservative pockets, they're embraced.

I hope one day the same thing can be said about homosexuality.

[samhsarah]

27. Well said!

And welcome to DU:toast:

[jackpan1260]

26. Clark supported Kaine, and so do I.

There are many things that we disagree about, but there is nothing that I agree with Kilgore about. That's the way it often goes in red states: pick a democrat who you agree with on a few things, or a republican who you agree with about nothing.