Roundup: Gay Candidates and Armey’s Misinformation

Beth Saunders

A profile of two openly gay candidates running for office, and why do we have to keep explaining what the Global Gag rule does?

A bit lost behind all the anti-abortion rhetoric of a typical campaign season is the fact that two openly gay candidates are vying for office. Maybe that’s a great thing! Could we be at a place where such a thing no longer matters?

Just three of the 535 members of Congress are openly gay, but two candidates hope to inch that number up to five this year: Cicilline, who is running to succeed fellow Democrat Patrick Kennedy, and Democrat Steve Pougnet, who’s trying to knock Republican Mary Bono Mack out of her seat in California.

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The three openly gay members are all in the House: Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jared Polis of Colorado. Polis said gay candidates must show they’re looking out for everybody, the way Barack Obama did when he ran for president.

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Bono Mack has rankled members of the gay community for not opposing Proposition 8 and for voting against the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military. Her campaign manager Ryan Mahoney says she supports leaving gay marriage up to the states and touts the support of groups such as the Log Cabin Republicans.

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But Pougnet calls it a “winnable race” and says he’s working hard to meet voters, sometimes bringing his family — he and his husband have 4-year-old twins — to campaign events. He said his sexual orientation isn’t as important to voters as the economy, foreclosures and health care — although he’s had a lot of support from people around the country excited about the possibility of electing the first openly gay parent to Congress.

“Folks vilify gay couples with children, that somehow we’re different and of course, we’re not,” he said. “When folks watch us climbing the Capitol steps ready to be sworn in, America will see a family.”

Aww, doesn’t that just make your heart tingle a little? And you know what might make your lip snear just a little? The misinformation spouted by Tea Party leader and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. When asked yesterday about whether a truce will be called on social issues during the next presidential campaign cycle, he said no, people would not “turn their hearts.”

He specifically referred to the abortion issue. “Since President Obama has been elected, there has been extraordinarily high levels of funding for international abortions through what is called the Mexico City language. That fight hasn’t been had for a few years. Now that fight will be had with this majority,” he said, referring to his stated expectation that Republicans will win control of the House, and perhaps the Senate. He added, “these issues are too important to be left behind and they won’t be left behind.”

Except that the Global Gag rule (or Mexico City Policy) does not provide any international funding for abortion. It merely allows funding to go to organizations that discuss, refer for, or lobby for the legalization of abortion in their own country. Sigh.

Mini-Roundup: A small victory for transgendered persons in Pennsylvania – they will now be permitted to change the gender on their drivers’ licenses without gender reassignment surgery. In other words, the license will now reflect the gender that the person feels best represents him or her.

Sep 14

Sep 13