Andre Carson got the Democratic nomination for the special election to succeed Julia Carson as the representative of Indiana’s 7th Congressional District. I don’t know thing one about Andre. He could be a very competent individual for all I know. I still don’t like it, because I don’t care for dynasties or nepotism in elected offices. It wouldn’t bother me overly much if he completed his grandmother’s term. But, I feel like the Democratic citizens of Indiana’s 7th Congressional District should nominate someone outside of the family to run in the general election in November.
Update 1/14/08 – Bil Browning has a very interesting post on the, shall we say, “irregularities” which he encountered as a Marion County precinct committee person trying to participate in the Democratic nominating process for the IN-07 special election.
http://www.Andre4Indy.com
It was a shameful thing that our precinct committeemen did today. Time to go get a stiff drink and lose this seat to the Republicans.
Yeah, one can only hope. With so many truly gifted and long serving officeholders running, they picked Grandma’s favored son. Wait til Mays beats up on him and Orentlicher beats him in the primary.
Wilson- Bil Browning posted on his site that Andre Carson believes that being gay is a “choice”. Does that really sit well with you (if it is in fact his position)?
I’m a pretty loyal Democrat, but I’ll be voting for the Republican in the special election unless it is Tom Rose. I don’t think Andre’s status as Julia’s grandson should prohibit him from running for office, but I would like to see him accomplish something before he runs for Congress. Anyone with his resume would be laughed off the ballot but for his last name. I won’t be a party to it.
André Carson was referring to the conscious & deliberate choice of some LGBT folk to “come out”, particularly young people. That often takes great courage. He knows it’s biological — I didn’t “come out” to straight people until I was 29 years old.
André Carson’s victory at the Caucus: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0jFfqox1KGE
Wilson, I sincerely hope that André Carson’s words were in the context you frame them here. However, from posted video I listened to that did not seem to be the case. Certainly you seem to know him personally — do you know, will he publicly clarify/put in context the impression he left that being LGBT is a ‘choice’?
André Carson drove me home after the forum and he was groaning about his bad choice of words. It was a gaffe. He knew it hadn’t come out as he had intended. I’ve known him for years and have never heard him express the slightest bigotry against LGBT people, ever.
and we have to trust Wilson’s words on this? There will be a forum in February hosted by Indiana Equality where I am sure that Carson will be grilled on this issue once again.
Times have changed over the last 30 years when a candidate even has to face public grilling on his views on LGBT.The best refuge for bigotry( and there is no word more appropriate that sounds better) always has been to hide one’s views from those who who demand equal consideration under our Constitution but yet support policies that would play to a bigotted base,without revealing beforehand what their agenda is for everyone. One bad thing about so-called moral thinking is that people feel they don’t have to explain themselves if they’re being ‘moral.’ But how often is bigotry hidden under the veneer of personal morality? Public figures are as reasonable and forthcoming as they have to be,because no one wants to lose votes by being candid to those who don’t support them. That’s why public questioning is so important for anyone who proposes or passes laws.
Especially for Democratic candidates, those who wish to create the illusion or feeling of support (without having to be specific) for the full range of minorities traditionally within the D’s constituencies is the word “equality”.
The LGBT community is a large constituency group, especially within the Democratic Party. To not state specific support at the caucus strikes me as being far more than a “gaffe”.
Wilson’s defense of Andre Carson reminds me of Ron Paul’s defense of his newsletters: weak, vague, and pitiful.
Like Paul, Carson has time to get out a clear, strong statement.
Doug,
Might want to shut off the bold tag at the end of your update text.
Thanks. I was wondering where that tag was.
As long as you don’t leave a [BLINK] tag open, we’re cool…
Mike Kole,
Given that Wilson (as far as I (we?) know) isn’t a candidate for anything, it hardly seems fair to hold him to the same standard as Ron Paul. Wilson’s not responsible for Andre Carson’s words.
That said, I agree with you to a point. If I were Andre Carson, I’d already have a blog, and I’d have posted to it that night. Not to “explain” my verbal misstep, but simply to state my basic principles regarding gay rights.
Give the press something easy to quote, and let human laziness do the rest.
Branden- I agree with you on the comparative standards for Wilson and Paul. Wilson does step forward as though the spokesman for Carson, though, doesn’t he?
Mike Kole,
How so? I may like John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel as candidates, but sure as hell don’t speak for ’em. I wouldn’t feel that were the case even I decided to report to this blog the contents of a private conversation with any of them.
I sure wouldn’t be comfortable with the notion that having a conversation with someone rendered them my “spokesman”. I’m man enough to hoist myself on my own petard, thankyaverymuch. I don’t need any help.
With Carson’s odd homophobic religious beliefs and his overwhelming support of the Democrats, it seems the Libertarians are the only pro-gay party in Indiana. I wonder why Bil Browning and the gay community don’t throw their lot with them.
I’m a little bit concerned about Andre Carson and his run for Congress. It appears that the controversial group CAIR is endorsing him according to their website. http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?mid1=676&&ArticleID=24067&&name=n&& Is Andre a Muslim? According to this blogger: http://dawudwalid.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/2nd-muslim-in-us-congress-soon/ He is. This is a quote from Carson…“I’m an Indy 500 Hoosier. I’m a Covered Bridge Festival Hoosier. I’m a Black Expo Hoosier. I’m a Muslim Hoosier…” Now, everything is transparent.