Nick Beadle of the Jackson Sun is up with this story:
With Tea Partiers such as Paris' "Volunteers for Freedom" group playing a key role in Republican primaries, the candidates took hard right stances on many issues and repeatedly lauded Tea Party groups' work....
How, exactly, did these US Congressional candidates express their hard right stances?
Well, much of the article focuses on LGBT issues and the military policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell.
More after the jump...
At least three of the candidates made strong statements against repealing DADT. But in the process, at least two candidates also made self-incriminating statements about their own military service.
[Jackson medical practice owner Dr. George] Flinn portrayed ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as the latest in an effort by Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to weaken the military.
[Physician Dr. Ron] Kirkland, a Vietnam veteran, said of his time in the military: "I can tell you if there were any homosexuals in that group, they were taken care of in ways I can't describe to you."
[Family Restaurant Chef Randy] Smith, who served in the first Iraqi war, added: "I definitely wouldn't want to share a shower with a homosexual. We took care of that kind of stuff, just like (Kirkland) said."
A number of local blogs have picked up the story, but I haven't seen much in the way of national coverage at this point.
I want to make a quick point about this, but it's significant: If you believe that the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy is working, this proves why it is not. The problem is that members of the military already know that there are homosexual servicemen and women. Silence is complicity. If you say nothing, you condone whatever "taken care of" looks like - whether it means hazing or violence against gays, or sexual misconduct with fellow servicemen and women. As far as I understand, the military prohibits sexual harrassment or assault. So, whether a homosexual engaged in harrassment which was unreported, or other people engaged in harrassment or assault, it's not acceptable.
It is up to Kirkland and Smith to explain what they mean by "taken care of" - and whether that means they were aware of homosexual activity or of harrassment of gays, their lack of action on behalf of justice tells me everything I need to know about their candidacies.
Silence is complicity.
Allowing harrassment - either of LGBT people or by LGBT people (or straight people, for that matter!) - is unacceptable and does not reflect leadership, in my opinion. We need elected officials who will stand for what is right, and blow the whistle on wrongdoing when they see it.
And don't get me started on the way the Tea Party members at this event responded to the candidates...
