Washington Post: Democrat Christian Radio Ad Slams Foley
WASHINGTON -- A Democratic candidate accuses her Republican rival of not doing enough to stop disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley and his salacious messages to teenage males in an ad for Christian radio stations.
Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy is challenging seven-term Rep. Deborah Pryce, a member of the GOP House leadership, in one of the more competitive races. Kilroy's weeklong ads begin Saturday.
Rep. Deborah Pryce held a news conference in Columbus, Ohio, to respond to the Kilroy radio ad.
Visibly upset, Deborah Pryce called Mary Jo Kilroy's new radio campaign ads mean-spirited and irresponsible.
"Mary Jo Kilroy has conducted a campaign completely devoid of issues. And if she thinks she can gay bait her way into Congress through these mean-spirited, hypocritical, cynical and slanderous tactics, she is wrong. She is a hypocrite," Pryce said.
She accused Kilroy of smearing her and gay-baiting, although the ad never mentions homosexuality.
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Foley, a former Florida congressman, helped Pryce get elected Republican Conference secretary, then Conference chairwoman _ the No. 4 position in the House leadership. Pryce mentioned five friends in Congress in an article last month in Columbus Monthly magazine and Foley was one of them.
Pryce said she was out of the loop about complaints that Foley had sent improper messages to teenage male pages until after the congressman resigned Sept. 29.
"I was dumbfounded," she said.
Pryce held a news conference in Columbus, Ohio, to respond to the ad. She accused Kilroy of smearing her and gay-baiting, although Kilroy never mentioned homosexuality.
"She implied that since I knew him, I knew that he was a predator and I asssume there's only two conclusions you can draw from that: that I knew because I knew him, that he was a predator, or that I knew that he was gay because I knew him, that he was a predator," Pryce said.
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Mary Jo Kilroy's record on equality issues
Through her service on the Columbus School Board and Franklin County Commission, Mary Jo Kilroy has worked to promote issues of fairness for the GLBT community, and she has been recognized by local GLBT groups for her work.
- Publicly opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment, and would vote against it in the House should it come up next Congress.
- Has publicly stated her support for equal civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.
- Would cosponsor and work for passage of a new Employment Non-Discrimination Act with express coverage for sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
- Believes adoption decisions should be made in family courts with the best interest of the child in mind.
- Supports increased funding for the Ryan White CARE Act and the Early Treatment for HIV Act.
- Supports a strong hate crime prevention measure that adds the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to existing law.
- Supports federal recognition of state-sanctioned relationship recognition, such as same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, or civil unions in Vermont.
- As a school board member, instituted an inclusive anti-harassment policy for staff and students and established an inclusive anti-discrimination clause in the teachers' union contracts.
- Served as a "legal observer" for the first Pride march in Columbus 25 years ago.
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