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I am getting so weary of the stuff going on in Washington. The misuse of the Patriot Act (didn’t we see that coming). The Blue Dog Democrats who are holding back action that needs needs to be taken to halt the actions of an immoral administration. The abuse of the injured soldiers when they do make it home. All those people running for president so early in the year.
But what put me over the edge to ranting today was this interview with Hilary Clinton that I found on this political blog:
I also asked her about the comments by General Peter Pace that homosexulity is “immoral.” Clinton has opposed the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, so I asked her if that law — signed by her husband in 1993 — was a mistake, and if homosexuality is “immoral.”
“General Pace has clarified his remarks, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is not working,” she said. “We are being deprived of thousands of patriotic men and women who want to serve their country who are bringing skills into the armed services that we desparately need, like translation skills. And one can argue whether it was a good idea when it was first implemented, but we now have evidence as to the fact that we are in a time of war — when we really need as many people as we can to recruit and retain in an all-volunteer army — we are turning people away or discharging them not because of what they’ve done but because of who they are.”
But is it immoral?
“Well I’m going to leave that to others to conclude,” she said. “I’m very proud of the gays and lesbians I know who perform work that is essential to our country, who want to serve their country and I want make sure they can.”
Oh, Hil, you have shown your true colors. You are just one of those politicians who waltz around this issue hoping you will garner a few votes from the Christian right. I happen to have a gay daughter and that anyone thinks she is immoral is abhorant to me. That you could not bring yourself to come out and say it, too, is denegrating to all the homosexuals in this country and their families. You should be ashamed of yourself. You will not get any votes or support from me and I intend to work hard to make sure you do not get my party’s nomination for president.
I’m with you Gerrie. Very disappointing. I am so tired of politicians who tiptoe around these questions without ever saying a thing of any substance. It would have been so easy to answer, “I don’t believe it is, but others will have to come to their own conclusions, etc, etc.” Not dictating morality, but making her own beliefs clear. That would display some courage, eh? And courage is what I am not seeing anywhere in abundance.
I can somewhat see your side to this, Diane, but General Pace said it first and so it was out there in the ether. The thing is, I don’t think she believes that it is immoral, and I needed her to say so and she didn’t and that hurts. It is just politics as usual to me.
Gerrie, you know I adore Lisa and I admire your strong stance about homosexuality. I agree, it’s not immoral. But I have to say that I liked Hilary’s answer. I don’t think politicians should be telling people what is and is not immoral, and I’m offended when they try to impose their morality (religious or otherwise) on us. I thought her answer appropriately recognized that it’s not her role as a politician to announce what is immoral or not, but her answer also reflected that she doesn’t make moral judgments AGAINST gay people, and that she addressed the topic that WAS politically appropriate, gays in the military. That’s my take on it.
mom, you amaze me. i love you!
If you took all the honest people in Washington without an agenda and put them together you couldn’t fill a Starbucks. Hil doesn’t have any true colors-she’s your basic wiahy-washy beige with a big ole mouth and a voice that shatters glass. I can’t think of a time when it would be more likely that a change in attitudes and real discourse could re-define our politics and yet we are being fed some more (shudder)compassionate conservatism(a term that chills my spine) and look what there is to work with-ugh!Newt fricken Gingrich for God sake. The man who asked his wife for a divorce while she lay in a hospital with cancer, so he could marry his girlfriend. It’s way too early for all this crap. I can barely stand a year of it never mind two. Love your rants and love you.
“Immoral”–such a loaded word. I was amazed to hear General Pace use it. It should have no place in public discourse such as this. But a politician wouldn’t dare to say that. It’s interesting how they all dance around the hot topics, isn’t it?
And who is Tapper to ask Clinton if something is or isn’t immoral? One’s personal opinion about morality shouldn’t matter to us as long as their public policy has the best interest of society in mind. We Occidentals have such a hard time understanding why and how religion and politics can live hand in hand in Islam, and yet we appear to be similarly intwined. I wish we could all see how similar we really are — regardless of what name(s) we call our higher power (or if we chose to personify the unknown at all), or the color of our skin, or with whom we chose to live our lives.