When Gabby Giffords was gunned down in Tucson in 2011, she was fortunate to have an intern with medical training. That intern, Daniel Hernandez, quickly realized that Giffords had been hit in the head several times, and used his bare hands to staunch the flow of blood. In all likelihood, if not for his quick thinking, Giffords wouldn't be alive today. Hernandez has since been elected to the board of education for the Sunnyside Unified School District in suburban Tucson, where he is now the target of one of the slimiest recall campaigns in recent memory.
In a scene that can only be described as a travesty, four of the board's five members may have to face recall elections in December. According to the Arizona Daily Star, superintendent Manuel Isquierdo recently had his contract extended, even though many district residents wanted him fired. Two of the three members who voted for the contract extension, Louie Gonzales (the board president) and Bobby Garcia, were almost immediately targeted with a recall drive. Gonzales and Garcia then turned around and launched a recall effort of their own against the two members who voted against the extension, Hernandez and Buck Crouch. By all accounts, Gonzales and Garcia are pushing this counter-recall to get leverage on the board.
But apparently someone backing the recall against Hernandez has another reason for wanting Hernandez defeated. Hernandez is openly gay, and People for the American Way recently got its hands on a flyer saying that since Hernandez isn't a "real man," he doesn't care about the kids in the district. No, I'm not kidding:
PFAW tried to get in touch with Marcos Castro, Gonzales' brother-in-law and the leader of the recall campaign against Hernandez, to find out whether his campaign put out the flyers. Castro hasn't responded so far. But if he has any decency at all, he will condemn this filth. And if anyone associated with the recall campaign put this flyer out, then that person should be fired immediately and apologies must be made.