Richardson still doesn't get it.
Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 12:29:19 PM PDT
Gov. Bill Richardson has been trying to 'fix' his flubs at the Logo/HRC forum last week from the moment he walked off the stage. But it doesn't seem to be helping. Now he has talked about it in an interview in the NY Daily News:
Richardson again apologized for saying last week he believes homosexuality is a lifestyle choice rather than a biological characteristic. The comment at a candidates' forum on gay issues sparked outrage in the gay community.
"I made a mistake. I screwed up," he said, acknowledging that the gay blogosphere is upset with him.
That's all well and good, but then he unravels again. More after the flip...
He starts to get in trouble with his next statement:
"[The blogs] went nuts saying, you know, that I literally was a moron and that I didn't understand their struggle," he said.
Now, I didn't think he was a moron, although I'm not surprised some people called him that. I did think that he looked not-ready-for-prime time as he fumbled around and not nearly as strong as I have seen him at other events. But he definitely left the idea that he doesn't understand our struggle (and he looked the most uncomfortable of any of the candidates that night).
But where he really starts sinking is on the continuation:
Richardson, who supports civil unions, was asked if he would veto a gay marriage bill because he believed in his heart that same-sex marriage is wrong. He replied, "I don't want to get into that. I thought you guys were going to ask me about other stuff. Don't you care about other stuff?"
Oh, how do I flub thee--let me count the ways! "I wanna talk about other stuff...whaaaaaaa!" What is up with that? Sorry, Gov, but ya gives yer interviews, ya takes yer chances. Ya gotsta roll with it. At the LGBT forum he dodged the question of whether he would sign a marriage equality bill if it passed the NM legislature. He's still dodging it. If he understood our struggle, he would address the components of this issue and demonstrate his grasp of them. Other candidates have spoken about their misgivings with calling our committed relationships 'marriage' and I respect that. I have commented elsewhere that I am less concerned with a Presidential candidate being 100% pro-marriage equality (including calling it 'marriage') than I am about other issues facing LGBT communities that the next President will have a vast impact on. But Richardson is a sitting DEMOCRATIC governor. Here in CA we had the first marriage equality bill ever passed by a state legislature vetoed by Ahnold. While it's less likely that NM would pass one any time soon, I think it's a fair question.
My biggest problem is that he refuses to engage in the discussion in substantive terms. Yes, he said he supported some form of domestic partnerships/civil unions. And I appreciate the fact that he has called the NM legislature into emergency session to address it. But he's having so much trouble articulating his position, support, and basic understanding of our issues. He almost acts like he feels some sense of entitlement to our support. Maybe LGBT people in NM are confident in him, but he needs to work a lot harder (and more effectively) to convince the rest of us.
This also goes beyond LGBT concerns. The road to getting the party's nomination is a winnowing process. Over time the voters get a chance to see how candidates respond to pressure, adapt to changes in their political fortunes, take advantage of opportunities, and think on their feet. Richardson is a very smart guy who has done some great things. He would be a great SecState and I'd be comfortable with him as Veep, although I'm not sure what he would bring to the ticket. But in this last week he has not made me any more confident. I think he needs to stop digging, because the hole just keeps getting deeper.
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