IL Sen. Rickey Hendon’s Awesome Bullshit Call On Every Anti-Gay Lawmaker Who Voted Against Civil Unions
One thing in this post is not like the other. Above, Illinois State Sen. Rickey Hendon, on the chamber’s open floor, slamming his fellow lawmakers for refusing to support the state’s civil unions bill, which passed today. “It’s the right thing to do,” says Hendon, who fingers his colleagues guilty of “hypocrisy” that’s “dripping in this chamber right now” by adulterers and closeted gays. Below, State Sen. Rev. James Meeks, who’s running for Chicago mayor, admitting he’s among those deserving of such criticism. Asked whether he thinks his “no” vote on the bill will “hurt your run for mayor among gay and lesbian voters,” Meeks responded, “I don’t know.” Uh, I DO.
Finally, an old-school, straight talking liberal with a spine. Thank you very much Senator Hendon. That was absolutely magnificent. And if we have seen this sort of passion from our representatives in Washington this year, November might have gone quite differently.
Watching this reminds me of the debate to decriminalize homosexuality in California. Straight Assemblyman Willie Brown threatened to out closeted anti-gay lawmakers who wanted to keep an unjust law that they themselves should be prosecuted under. The bill passed by a single vote. And Mr. Brown would go on to become the state’s longest serving Assembly Speaker, as well as a two term mayor in San Francisco.
I miss that Democratic Party.
When did the Democrats become the party of ineffectual, soft-spoken hippies who worship at the altar of bipartisanship and want nothing more than to sing Kumbyah with the opposition?
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I don’t know much about American politicians, but Mr. Hendon displayed amazing graciousness and decency in that speech. I don’t know what else he’s done, but that speech alone made my eyes a little wet and reassured me that there are still good bureaucrats left in this crazy world.