What would you say if I told you that there's a candidate running for Congress who sits on the board of a group that blames gay people for "undermining traditional family structure" and claims that there is a difference between "wise, informed discrimination and prejudice"? What if I told you that same candidate once introduced a bill in the state legislature he served in to bring back public hangings?
Sounds pretty horrible right?
Oh, did I mention that this candidate is running for Congress as a Democrat and that he's the front runner right now in that race?
Meet former Arkansas state senator Tim Wooldridge.
If you've done your homework on Bill Halter, you might have come across the name. Wooldridge is the right wing Democrat that Halter defeated in the runoff for the Lt. Gov race in 2006 (one more reason to like Halter).
Why's he so bad? Well let's start with the story we broke on Blue Arkansas, the fact that he touts his membership on the board of a hate group...
The group in question is called the Arkansas Families First Foundation. Wooldridge still touts his membership in the group on his "about Tim" page and they proudly display him as a member of their board. Among this groups many opinions on gay people:
The passionate intensity of the pro-homosexual forces is helping them win the public relations battle with the people of America. A recent Gallup survey indicates that 52 percent of Americans now regard homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle. That is a dramatic rise of support from 1992, when just 38 percent favored homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle.2
In times like these we cannot afford to remain silent or "pitch our tents toward Sodom."3
he passionate intensity of the homosexual agenda must not be overlooked. Homosexuality is a leading cause in undermining the traditional family structure. Although the homosexuals comprise only two to three percent of the population,4 they exert tremendous cultural influence. Gays claim to constitute ten percent of the population.5 but their strength is not "how many" but "how much" the few contribute to the ferocious attack on traditional sexual morality.6 Homosexual high-tech entrepreneurs annually pump millions of dollars into agenda causes. Donations to homosexual groups during the first six months of 2001 have reached $100 million.7
The homosexual assault on culture is especially strong in the political arena. During the Spring of 2000, gay activists passed same-sex union legislation in Vermont,8 and are attempting same-sex legislation in the other 49 states. Congress and state legislatures are considering "hate crimes" legislation that would set up special classes of victims based on sexual behavior. Such law would allow some crimes against heterosexuals to be punished less severely than the same crimes against homosexuals.
The homosexual agenda is feverishly promoted in some educational organizations. In July 2001, the National Educational Association proposed ("New B") to integrate pro-homosexual curriculum in schools that would censor facts about the health risks of homosexuality and the real option individuals have to leave the lifestyle. The proposal would encourage all public schools to hire homosexual teachers and find new ways to emphasize the role of homosexuals in history. This lobby seeks to indoctrinate children as young as kindergarten in the homosexual lifestyle.9
Are Christians guilty of discrimination because of a refusal to tolerate homosexuality? No. There is a difference is wise, informed discrimination and prejudice! Discrimination against what is bad is necessary for the preservation of good. Did past cultures that practiced discrimination know something the current culture should learn? Unless truth has surfaced to discount the social policies of the past, then a similar discrimination against homosexuality and for heterosexuality appears needful for the social good.10
I could go on, but I'm already sick to my stomach. When we initially reported on this issue, the response from the Wooldridge campaign was beyond comical. They attacked the Arkansas Times editor Max Brantley for running with the story and tried to pretend Blue Arkansas and the people swarming their facebook page in protest didn't exist-going so far as to delete people (including myself) without realizing that screen shots could be taken. But Wooldridge never apologized or addressed the issue directly.
What's more, when Pam's House Blend did a post on the story, they dug into Wooldridge's record and found a part of Wooldridge's past that he himself admits was an embarrassing "mistake." His bill to reinstate public hangings.
That's right. He actually introduced a bill that would bring public hangings back. Wooldridge has said at different points that doing so was a mistake, that he was doing so to try to make some kind of point, and that there was no racial animosity behind it. (There are a lot of people in Arkansas who still remember "sundown towns".) Let me be clear that I don't think he's a racist, but needless to say that there's plenty of reason to be aghast at that embarrassment of a bill.
Those two things are reason enough to not want this guy in Congress. But there's plenty more. Wooldridge stated in the first forum for the primary candidates in AR-01 that he would have voted against health care reform and while he stopped short of calling for repeal, he does want to take the bill apart, saying we "can't afford" it. In that same forum, he also criticized the stimulus and called for a balanced budget amendment. This week he came out against the Employee Free Choice Act. Also, while I don't have a link to back this up, I can tell you that it is common knowledge in this state that he supported Mike Huckabee when he was governor and, at least once, voted for George W. Bush and openly bragged about it. Sick of hearing about him yet?
The good news is that there's an alternative. Most of the candidates running have some serious flaws. None are as bad as Wooldridge, but most cut it close (Chad Causey for instance was against health care reform even when his boss, Marion Berry, was for it, and is against the Employee Free Choice Act as well.) However, we at Blue Arkansas have gotten behind a great candidate, state representative David Cook. I interviewed Representative Cook last week, and you can watch the video online. Cook is the only candidate in this race to support health care reform, and goes beyond that, saying that he wants to revisit the public option or medicare buy in. He is the only candidate to support the Employee Free Choice Act, and last night was the only candidate in the second debate to expound on the good labor unions have done for this country. And while he's a little green behind the ears on talking about LGBT issues, this gay man was more than happy with his answers on DADT and ENDA. I'll have more on Representative Cook in a diary tomorrow, but I will share with you the one poll taken in this race as him running second, despite Wooldridge's financial advantage and name recognition advantage. That should tell you something about the campaign he's running and the quality of the candidate. (I've had glimpses of their operation, and it's VERY grassroots oriented and hard working, but more on that tomorrow.)
There's a lot riding on this race, more than most people think. It's more than just a down home congressional race. Imagine if Wooldridge makes it to Congress the kind of embarrassment and nonsense he can cause. Looking at his past record, that idea should be pretty frightening to all of us. David Cook is both the most progressive option (though no one would say he's as liberal as us at DKos or Blue Arkansas) in this race and the best chance to stop Wooldridge, but he needs our help. So please, donate through ActBlue if you can and if you can volunteer somehow check out his webpage and offer to help.
(Full disclosure: We at Blue Arkansas aren't affiliated with either Tim Wooldridge's or David Cook's campaign. We're grassroots progressive activists doing everything we can to push this state in a more progressive direction. Only one member of the Blue Arkansas team is currently working for a candidate (Bill Halter) and she's taking a leave of absence from writing while she does so.)