I bring the point up, not only because tonight is the vice presidential debate between Pence and Hillary Clinton’s VP, Tim Kaine, but also because of what the former Republican governor and US senator from Virginia, George “Macaca” Allen, said on CNN today.
CNN’s Carol Costello told Allen that Trump was having a problem with minority voters, especially African-American voters, and Tim Kaine will most likely bring it up tonight; so, she asked, what should Pence say?
Allen replied: “Mike Pence should respond that our aspirations in America are for everyone, regardless of their race, their ethnicity, their religious beliefs or their sexual orientation — ought (sic) to have an equal opportunity to compete and succeed in America.”
And I thought to myself, that’s funny. Not simply funny that George Allen, who is a conservative and no friend to gay or trans people, is now wooing LGBT voters, but also funny that Allen is suggesting that Mike Pence thinks LGBT people should have a shot at the American dream.
Mike Pence most certainly does not.
Here’s my video response to all of this, via Periscope. You can also just read on below.
Pence, you see, is a Christian conservative (read: religious right), and pretty much against anything that could help LGBT people in America. Pence was against repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, against marriage equality, against ENDA, and against President Obama’s directive on transgender youth using the bathrooms of their choice in public schools. Pence is also for permitting people to violate civil rights laws and discriminate against LGBT people because of their supposed religious beliefs.
And finally, Mike Pence was even against HIV/AIDS funding. What did he want to spend that money on instead of AIDS? Curing gays.
So I think it’s pretty safe to say that Mike Pence won’t be sucking up to LGBT people any time soon.
Of course, Donald Trump isn’t all pink daisies either. Trump has promised to put judges on the Supreme Court who would overturn the previous decision-making marriage equality the law of the land. And while Trump’s people actively intervened to make sure the GOP convention platform didn’t include provisions the Russians didn’t like, Trump didn’t lift a finger when Republican convention delegates came up with the most anti-gay platform in history. Huffington Post’s Jennifer Bendery has more:
The GOP adopted its most anti-LGBT platform in history at its party convention this week in Cleveland. It advocates going back to defining marriage, legally, as between one man and one woman. It supports adoption agencies that refuse to serve same-sex couples; affirms “conversion therapy,” a discredited practice of trying to turn gay people into straight people; calls for banning transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity and endorses controversial legislation that would allow taxpayer-funded discrimination against same-sex married couples in the name of religious freedom.So I’ve got my popcorn ready, but I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for Mike Pence to don a tutu and start quoting Harvey Milk.
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