Tommy Thompson Wants You To Think He’s an Idiot
I saved a bunch of links from earlier today so that I could comment on the Tommy Thompson hates gays couldn’t hear the question had to go to the bathroom was sick kerfuffle.
Backstory: Amongst the abortion-bashing and creationism polls at the Republican debate, Tommy Thompson, former Health and Human Services Secretary and governor of Wisconsin, was asked if employers should be allowed to fire people because they’re gay. Thompson answered:
I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination as to whether or not they should be.
He ended the answer with, “Yes.”
Unsurprisingly, people across the country not so happy with this. It also happens to be illegal in a bunch of states. In Thompson’s defense, I would have loved to have seen a hand-raiser on this question (Sam Brownback probably would have gone “Oooh! Ooooh!” and knocked his lectern over). Anyway, Thompson quickly disavowed the answer saying that his hearing aid was acting up and he couldn’t understand the question. Now, a couple days later, it’s also because he really had to go to the bathroom and because he’d been sick with both bronchitis and the flu.
“I didn’t hear the question. All I was thinking about was getting off the stage,” Thompson said. “I said it, I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again but it’s not my record. … There’s nothing discriminatory about me at all.” *
Now, as I said, I was planning on leaving this because I have lots of feminist film theory to read tonight, but Alex Pareene (presumably) over at Wonkette put it nicely enough to make me want to post again:
Thompson now says he really meant exactly the opposite of what he clearly said, because his hearing aid suddenly broke during that question, so even though he didn’t hear the question at all, he specifically answered it — but not the way he meant to answer it, of course.
And all the rest of the questions in the hour and half session.
If you have an impairment (hearing, digestive, Tourette’s, whatever) that sometimes makes you say the complete opposite of what you meant to say, you probably shouldn’t be president. You need to be at least as whole as Reagan, which is not exactly a high standard. I don’t want to accidentally go to war with China because Thompson had to go potty. Because being deaf or sick doesn’t make you an idiot - what makes you an idiot is not saying, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that, please?”
So, let’s say this isn’t all a big lie to save his butt (which, of course, I think it is). It’s not the hearing aid malfunction (or the willingness to describe his need to use the toilet as “hanging on”) that disturbs me. It’s that he’s now presenting himself to the American people as a man who would blindly proceed with an answer despite not knowing the question. This portrait is not less alarming than a man who thinks employers should be allowed to fire gays. We have laws to protect gay people, we don’t have laws to protect us from the colossally foolish (see: Iraq War). America can’t handle another president who refuses to ask questions. That Thompson would choose such a course to resolve his gaffe does not speak highly of him or his campaign team.
Luckily, he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance of being president, so I’ve just wasted your time.
Again!
Thompson Offers Apology on Gay Comment [HuffPost/AP]
* Maybe some discriminatory stuff from Thompson after the jump…
Also, despite Thompson’s claims of ‘nothing discriminatory’, that’s not really the case either. Firstly, there’s his making money is “part of the Jewish tradition” awesomeness - that went over really well.
Oh. And remember, he used to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Under Thompson’s reign, HHS no-likey the ladies so much. Just a sample from a letter written by the ACLU in 2004:
The [Women's Health] Daybook’s last chapter, for the month of December, does present information on preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV. The chapter recommends the “ABC” method: A for abstinence; B for “be faithful” with only one partner who is also faithful and “C” for condoms as a third alternative. In the single most detailed reference to pregnancy prevention in the entire Daybook, the text advises: “Remember, if you choose not to follow A, B, or C, you could get pregnant or get an STD, even AIDS.” This advice should be not expected to serve as comprehensive pregnancy prevention information.
As you’ll remember, that’s also our strategy for combating AIDS. The women’s health daybook that year also failed to include info on emergency contraception, useful instances of birth control, etc. I think this is my favorite part.
The Daybook contains no recommended internet links to organizations that provide information on family planning and birth control. By contrast,… the daybook tells how to order a publication on erectile dysfunction from an internet site operated by the National Institutes of Health.
I believe that was the same year I learned from my pharmacist that while Viagra was covered by my health insurance, my birth control was not. I can’t blame that directly on Thompson, but there’s still over a year until the convention; he could wander into anything by then.
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