Solomonese is a disgrace to the HRC and every single woman, man and child on this planet. This is say because every single one of our voices, queer, straight, indifferrent MATTER. The moment he dissmisses comments as irrelevant based upon anything is the time to re-evaluate replacing the grand pooba of the gay parade.
unfortunately i think joe the plumbers thoughts are reflective of the thoughts of a lot of people and because of that those thoughts are not irrelevant. most of what keeps predudice going is that its discussed in quiet places away from the public eye. this is a teaching opportunity and i would have hoped that solomonese would have used it this way. i understand the impulse to wave away this kind of ignorance as irrelevant but if we look at whats actually worked in recent years vis a vis allowing the straight world a view into our hearts and minds a comment like id keep them away from my children should be highlighted and opened up for discussion. the innumerable lesbian and gay teachers, child care workers, social service workers etc bristle when comments like that go unchallenged.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights organization based in Washington, dismissed Wurzelbacher's comments.
"It would matter if Joe the Plumber mattered," Solmonese said. "One thing among many things we learned in the 2008 campaign is that he doesn't."
Solomonese is a disgrace to the HRC and every single woman, man and child on this planet. This is say because every single one of our voices, queer, straight, indifferrent MATTER. The moment he dissmisses comments as irrelevant based upon anything is the time to re-evaluate replacing the grand pooba of the gay parade.
NEW YORK (AP) Samuel Wurzelbacher, the Ohio man hailed as "Joe the Plumber" by Republican John McCain's presidential campaign last year, said he believes gays are "queer" and said he won't allow them near his children.
Nevertheless, Wurzelbacher said the decision about whether to allow same-sex couples to marry should be left to states.
"People don't understand the dictionary it's called queer," Wurzelbacher told Christianity Today in an interview published this week. "Queer means strange and unusual. It's not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that."
NOTE: See "obtuse" and "willfully ignorant" for further examples of this type of reasoning
"You know, God is pretty explicit in what we're supposed to do what man and woman are for."
He added, "I've had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn't have them anywhere near my children. But at the same time, they're people, and they're going to do their thing."
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights organization based in Washington, dismissed Wurzelbacher's comments.
"It would matter if Joe the Plumber mattered," Solmonese said. "One thing among many things we learned in the 2008 campaign is that he doesn't."
Wurzelbacher, regarded as a folk hero to many conservatives after challenging then-Democratic nominee Barack Obama about his tax policies, said neither political party was sufficiently Christian.
"They use God as a punch line," Wurzelbacher said of Republicans. "They use God to invoke sympathy or invoke righteousness, but they don't stay the course."
Wurzelbacher said he considered McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, one of the GOP's emerging stars. But he said the party would have a difficult time recasting its image to appeal to younger voters.
"You got the RNC talking about repackaging principles and values to make them hip and cool to the younger generation," Wurzelbacher said. "You can't repackage them. They are what they are. You can't make what they are."
Since the election, Wurzelbacher has spoken at conservative rallies around the country and traveled to Israel as a rookie reporter to cover the Gaza conflict.
Wurzelbacher told the magazine he might consider running for office someday.
"Not right now," Wurzelbacher said. "God hasn't said, 'Joe, I want you to run.' I feel (it's) more important to just encourage people to get involved, one way or another. If I can inspire some leaders, that would be great."
-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 on Thursday 7th of May 2009 11:41:44 AM
