A quickie from Oregon politics that aren't related to the gays. House Majority Leader Dave Hunt issued a statement today in regards to Oregon Republican lawmakers spreading fear about the state of our economy and attempts to devalue the strong leadership from our newly Democratically controlled legislature. The press release is below. Majority Leader Dave Hunt was instrumental in passing Oregon's Domestic Partnership and Anti-Discrimination bills in 2007 and continues to lead progressive policy to make Oregon a better places for all her citizens.

You've got to admire the strong words and truth from the release.

Hunt Responds to Republicans: "The Sky is Not Falling"

“Oregon has fared well when compared with the economic troubles in the rest of the nation, so it is ironic that Republicans are suddenly so concerned about fiscal responsibility and the economic future of our state. Truth is, if it weren’t for the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration, and the loss of timber payments, piled on top of $4 gas and rising food prices, we might very well be the most secure place to live in the United States.

We’ve got almost a billion dollars in reserve, including over $450 million in the school stability fund. Our school funding is stable. We’ve got $340 million in the Rainy Day Account we Democrats created last session, and we’re poised to put another $139 million in there at the end of the biennium.

That’s stark contrast to years of Republican control of the Legislature, when session after session they refused to create a Rainy Day account and refused to support critical economic development legislation like last session’s transportation package which would have created jobs and helped businesses in Oregon without raising the gas tax.

Instead, Republicans have chosen to spread a message of fear, despite the fiscal restraint we showed last session and the efforts we made to promote jobs and economic development.

Our investments in renewable energy are spurring great growth, bringing good, green jobs to the state. We are poised to become a national leader in this sector and we’re making some additional investments in renewable energy this e-board session.

We have to invest in our future, and we have to act now to help Oregon's families who have been hurt by the Bush Administration's inability to manage the economy and its unwillingness to help working families.

That’s why we are also releasing $25 million in special purpose funds to add more at-risk children to early intervention programs like Head Start. We’re also putting $500,000 into aid for coastal communities hammered by floods and the salmon closure; we’re putting money into OSU to research why our bee population is declining, a grave threat to the $457 million fruit and berry industry that depends on pollination; and we’re continuing our efforts to eradicate sudden oak disease.

But even with these targeted investments, our E-Board fund will still have over $25 million when we finish here today.

We are also releasing money from the special purpose fund we set aside last year for salaries that have already been negotiated and inked. We held onto that money last February to make sure our economy didn’t worsen. Thankfully -- because of our smart planning – we are able to release those dollars and ensure that higher education and other state agencies don’t have to make cuts. We won’t be cutting college courses or releasing prisoners. It’s not going to happen.

Truth is, we’re a whole lot better off than most other states.

Republicans can run scared, but what they are really running from is their President’s failed economic policies and not the action of this legislature. We have been fiscally smart… and conservative. We’ve made the right investments and our economy is holding steady.

Frankly, while we know these are uncertain times for Oregon families, there’s no other place in the country I would rather be than right here in Oregon."

Labels: democrat, legislature, oregon, republican

One of the judicial nominees Bush has been threatening a recess appointment for was recently arrested for DUI wearing a little black dress, fishnet stockings and stilletto heels.

Of course Federal Judge Robert Somma has resigned. The best part? He phoned in his resignation from a vacation spot in the Caribbean.

Via Pensito Review:

Somma's Mercedes-Benz E320 sedan hit a pick-up truck from behind about 11:29 p.m. on Feb. 6, the police report said. No one was hurt.

Somma, who lives in Newbury, Mass., fumbled in his purse for his driver's license before handing it to the officer who later arrested him, the police report shows.

"He had a difficult time locating his license in his purse. He passed over it multiple times before removing it," officer Paul J. Thompson wrote in his report.

The officer offered no other details with regard to the judge's attire or accessories. Nor would representatives of the Manchester Police Department or the city solicitor's office, which worked out the negotiated plea agreement with Somma's lawyer...

But lots of other people did offer those details, of which Audrey Hepburn would have been proud.

When authorities removed him from the vehicle, they said he wore a black women's cocktail dress, fishnet stockings and high heels.

But in his mug shot, the judge appears to be wearing blue eye shadow. Way to wreck a really chic look, Robert.

And where, you might ask, was the judge going that night dressed that way?

Somma told police he had been at the Breezeway Pub where he had one gin and tonic about two hours earlier, the police report reveals. He later said he drank two gin and tonics.

The Breezeway Pub, at 14 Pearl St., bills itself as "New Hampshire's favorite gay and alternative bar," according to its web site.

The arresting officer reported Somma smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and fell backwards against the door frame while getting out of his car.

Labels: dick of the week, federal court, republican, scandal

And are very out of step with the majority of America when it comes to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Need proof? Watch this back-assward attempts at answering questions regarding DADT. Fucking disgusting and so disrespectful towards a man who served our country for 42 years in the armed forces. Via the YouTube debates.

Labels: 2008 Presidential Election, DADT, dickheads, republican

It seems as though Oregon's own GOP has run out of steam and more importantly good ideas. The below video clearly demonstrates this point. In a recent newsletter they included this video that is a Jib Jab 'Create Your Own' video. They've put the heads of Oregon's Democratic Leadership on the bodies of can can dancers. Did I mention they only used males?

You'd think that after the loads of money that tobacco companies have given them to kill the Healthy Kids Act that they could have had a real video made. Here is the video (more commentary below):



I think that there is something important to be said here about the statement they are making. They way I read their intent is to make the Democratic Leadership look like 'sissy's' or as Arnold said, "girly men". I think this speaks loud and clear to the male chauvinist attitude in Oregon's GOP.

Personally I never knew that our Governor was such a great dancer. Go Ted!

Labels: oregon, republican

This is almost laughable. From the Idaho Statesman comes this piece about Craig's practically nonexistent legal options and his choice to resign, or not resign, or resign.

The likelihood that U.S. Sen. Larry Craig would resign grew today, as fellow Republicans all but abandoned their Idaho colleague, and the prospect of a timely legal defense dimmed.

Craig, who announced Saturday that he intended to resign from the U.S. Senate effective Sept. 30, backed away from that announcement this week by saying he would resign only if he wasn’t able to clear his name first.

The three-term Idaho Republican is trying to withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct, a charge that stems from his June 11 arrest for lewd conduct in the men's room of the Minneapolis airport.

Craig hopes to undo that charge as well as dismiss an ongoing investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. However, hopes of resolving the ethics complaint by Craig's self-imposed Sept. 30 deadline also dimmed. And so far, Craig's lawyers haven't filed anything in Minnesota courts in an effort to withdraw his plea.

Right now, it looks as though he will step down Sept. 30, said Craig's spokesman Dan Whiting.

"Larry Craig expects to resign, that's the most likely scenario," Whiting said. "But he's definitely leaving a door open. Itss a small very, very small door, very slightly ajar."

Posted by Zac James

Labels: larry craig, republican, scandal

MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News are reporting that Senator Larry Craig is now reconsidering his resignation. I guess this is what we call "intent."

From CNN

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said Tuesday evening.

"It's not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign," said Sidney Smith, Craig's spokesman, in Idaho's capital.

"We're still preparing as if Senator Craig will resign September 30, but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we're able to stay in the fight -- and stay in the Senate."

It's doubtful that there will be more news from the Senator tonight, but be ready for all hell to break loose tomorrow.

Labels: larry craig, republican, scandal

Labels: idaho, larry craig, republican, scandal

Labels: idaho, larry craig, republican, scandal

This video is from the College Republican convention... not sure I need to say more.

Labels: anti gay, republican, video

So I'm hoping this will be the last that I have to talk about this ridiculous Senator... unless he resigns (watch for that post next week) but here is a cartoon that was too good to pass up.

Thanks to JustOut for the link.

Labels: anti gay, idaho, larry craig, republican, scandal

Just a quick note about Republican Sen. Larry Craig. The media keeps reporting that he has 3 children and 9 grandchildren. I think it is important to make it clear that they aren't actually his biological children, but children by marriage.

That's all for now 'kids'.

Labels: evangelical, idaho, republican, scandal

Dan Savage (Savage Love) did a great interview last night on CNN regarding Sen. Larry Craig's recent "bathroom hookup" with a man and explains that it is actually self-proclaimed 'straight' men who are closeted that are truly the ones who take part in this sort of activity.

Labels: idaho, republican, video

Labels: federal, idaho, republican, scandal

UPDATE: The Smoking Gun has posted the police report from the plain-clothes officer who nabbed Craig at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport for "lewd conduct" in a men's public restroom. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to "misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He "paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation." The arresting officer's report explains:

My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall. From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me. [...]

At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area.

A BIG SURPRISE
Senator Craig supported the Federal Marriage Amendment, voting for cloture on the amendment in both 2004 and 2006. He voted against cloture on a bill in 2002, which would have extended the federal definition hate crimes to cover sexual orientation.

Guess who won't be running for reelection? I hate love to say it but... another one bites the dust.

Hat tip to Think Progress.

Labels: federal, idaho, republican, scandal

Ohio State Representative Tom Brinkman (R-Cincinnati) is being tied to a petition fraud case, petitions that were circulated were to overturn an equal rights ordinance. Petition circulators falsified signatures in order to meet the qualifying number necessary.

From 365gay.com:

A Republican lawmaker behind an unsuccessful bid to repeal Cincinnati's ordinance protecting gays from discrimination has been accused of knowing names to get the issue onto the ballot in 2006 were fraudulent.

"It's terrible," said Judge Robert Ruehlman from the bench. "It takes away the right to democracy. It takes away the right for people to decide issues when you cheat like that."

Brinkman denies any wrongdoing.
"I personally did not touch a single address or date or signature or name or anything," he told the Associated Press.

Mingo and Ward, who worked for an outside firm hired to collect the signatures, were charged following a seven-month investigation.

Equal Rights Not Special Rights had collected thousands of names on petitions to have a repeal measure put to voters last November. But when it emerged that many of the signatures were fake the group voluntarily withdrew the measure.

More than 7,600 signatures that were validated by the Hamilton County Board of Elections but the phony names were discovered during a second check before a challenge from Restore Fairness, a pro-gay rights group, was to begin before the Board of Elections.

Among the phony signatures were "Fidel Castro" and Cincinnati Reds owner "Bob Castellini."

Labels: anti gay, ohio, republican

In a newsletter to his constituents, Oregon State Rep. Dennis Richardson (R - Central Point) made a statement comparing the horrific events at Virginia Tech to the Oregon House passing Senate Bill 2 (Anti-Discrimination) and House Bill 2007 (Domestic Partnerships).

This is surprisingly low--even for Rep. Richardson.

Here are his statements:

This past week has been like no other. On Monday the world witnessed the tragedy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. On Tuesday Oregon witnessed the passage of Domestic Benefits for same-sex couples (HB 2007) and Civil Rights based on sexual orientation. I will address each of these issues below and end will a postscript on last week’s Rachel story.

If that quote makes you feel the same way it made me feel, here is his office phone number in Salem: 503-986-1404 and his email rep.dennisrichardson@state.or.us.

Rep. Richardson owes Oregonians an apology.

Labels: anti gay, gay rights, HB 2007, oregon, republican, SB 2

Ann Coulter begins to see the backlash of her anti-gay slurs that she made last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Three large companies have pulled ads from her website... more expected. Republicans and Democrats alike have released statements condemning Coulter for calling John Edwards a "faggot".

At least three major companies want their ads pulled from Ann Coulter's Web site, following customer complaints about the right-wing commentator referring to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards as a "faggot."

Verizon, Sallie Mae and Georgia-based NetBank each said they didn't know their ads were on AnnCoulter.com until they received the complaints.

A diarist at the liberal blog DailyKos.com posted contact information for dozens of companies with ads on Coulter's site after the commentator made her remarks about Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Friday.

"One of the best ways to communicate one's distaste for Coulter's repeated incidents of hate speech is to respectfully but firmly let her advertisers know you are deeply troubled by their indirect support of bigotry through their advertising on Coulter's Web site," the blogger VolvoDrivingLiberal wrote on DailyKos.com on Sunday.

Verizon, Sallie Mae and NetBank said the ads were put on a variety of sites by a third party company. In many cases, advertisers do not know which sites feature their ads.

"Per our policy, the networked Web site ad purchases are supposed to be stripped of certain kinds of Web sites," said a Verizon spokesperson. "This one could be considered an extreme political Web site, should be off the list, and now it is off the list."

A Sallie Mae spokesperson said the company was only testing an online advertising agency, and that their ads were not meant to show up on Coulter's site. The company said they planned to pull ads from other political and religious Web sites as well.

A spokesperson for NetBank said Coulter's page "is not the kind of site we want to be on."

via CNN

Labels: ann coulter, anti gay, evangelical, republican

In a follow up to yesterday's story, here is the video...



So disgusting.

Labels: anti gay, evangelical, mitt romney, republican

Disgusting. Ann Coulter is absolutely vile.

Today, at the Conservative Political Action Conference sponsored by the American Conservative Union, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter spoke saying, "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I--so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."

Audience members said "ohhh" and then cheered.

The Conservative Political Action Conference was attended by 2008 Republican Presidential candidates: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and former Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Vice President Dick Cheney also attended the event.

See a video here.

The Human Rights Campaign made the following statements:

"To interject this word into American political discourse is a vile and disgusting way to sink the debate to a new, all-time low," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "Make no doubt about it, these remarks go directly against what our Founding Fathers intended and have no place on the schoolyard, much less our country's political arena."

"It is clear that some in the Republican Party plan to run in 2008 the same way they did in 2004, by using discrimination to divide the country and rally their base," said Solmonese. "But, 2008 is not 2004, and this time the politics of fear and smear will not work. The American people are tired of those who would rather divide than unite."

"We demand that every single Presidential candidate in attendance at this conference, along with Vice President Cheney stand up and publicly condemn this type of gutter-style politics," continued Solmonese. "If not, then their silence will be deafening to the vast majority of Americans who believe this type of language belongs no where near the discussions about the future of our country."

Labels: anti gay, mary cheney, mitt romney, republican

Mel Martinez, a notoriously antigay U.S. senator from Florida who previously served in President Bush's cabinet, will assume the high-profile post of Republican National Committee general chairman, GOP officials said Monday.

"Senator Martinez was elected in 2004 by taking page 1 out of Karl Rove's gay-baiting playbook," said Joe Solmonese, president of the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. "His campaign was one of the most antigay, bigoted, and divisive campaigns in the nation's history. We are deeply troubled that this kind of senator has been chosen to lead the Republican Party."

Here are some of the issues:

An ardent supporter and co-sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment. Martinez has been on the record opposing Republican Senator John McCain's states-rights stance on the issue saying, "it isn't good enough to say, 'Leave it up to the states. If we leave it up to the states we will see the erosion of marriage that we've seen by activist courts, which we otherwise will not see if we protect the institution of marriage at the federal level."

Attacked his 2004 Republican primary opponent for supporting hate crimes legislation accusing him of catering to the, "radical homosexual lobby."

Ran a 2004 campaign that was so anti-gay and divisive that Florida's Republican Governor, Jeb Bush, called on him to stop the attacks. Also because of his anti-gay tactics, the St. Petersburg Times revoked their endorsement after Menendez sent a mailer against his opponent calling him, "the new darling of the homosexual extremists."

Well speaking of new darlings... I guess the Republican National Committee needed a new face for their anti-gay, radical right-wing agenda to destroy America since the former RNC Chair, Ken Mehlman, is speculated to be a closet case.

Labels: republican

Another one bites the dust. (don't miss the video below of him denoucing homosexuality... and joking about "If you give me $1000 I won't tell your wife", he tells the camera man. Shall we start taking bets on when he "checks himself into rehab"?

From the Denver Post:
Ted Haggard, one of the most prominent evangelical pastors in the nation, resigned today as president of the National Association of Evangelicals amid allegations that he carried on a three-year sexual relationship with a male prostitute.

Haggard, founder of the 14,000-member New Life Church, has denied the accusations but said in a statement released by the church today that he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning."

He has placed himself on administrative leave pending investigation, spiritual counsel and a decision by the church's board of overseers, the church's legal counsel said.

"I am voluntarialy stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date," Haggard's statement said.

The former prostitute, Mike Jones, 49, of Denver, went public with the accusations on Tuesday, saying he felt compelled to do so because he believes Haggard, a strong opponent of same-sex unions, has been hypocritical.

"I made myself cry and I made myself sick," Jones said about his decision to come forward. "I felt I owed this to the community. What he is saying is we are not worthy, but he is."

Jones says he was contacted three years ago by Haggard for sex - he thinks through a gay newspaper advertisement or an online ad he posted on rentboy.com.

Today, Jones showed the Denver Post an envelope addressed to him from "Art," a name Jones says Haggard used - sent from an address in Colorado Springs. Jones said the envelope came to him with two $100 bills inside.

Jones also played a recording of a voicemail left for Jones from "Art." Jones refused to reveal what the topic of the voicemail was about because there could be legal problems and he wants to consult with an attorney.

"They want to protect the sanctity of marriage and I am trying to figure out what that means because they are not doing a good job," Jones said of anti-gay marriage proponents. "To have someone in such a high profile position preaching against them and doing opposite behind other people's backs is hypocritical."

Jones said he would take a lie detector test to validate his claims.

The church's lawyer, Martin Nussbaum, said Haggard's resignation is in no way an admission of guilt. He's already denied Jones' accusations, but feels that when an allegation like this is made, he needs to take this step, Nussbaum said.

Nussbaum, paraphrased: The bylaws state that when an allegation of immorality is made, this process is triggered, where he puts himself on leave. The outside board makes the final decision.

In the interim, the church's associate senior pastor, the Rev. Ross Parsley, will serve as acting senior pastor of the church.


Don't miss this clip of him denouncing the gays...

Labels: evangelical, republican