Tom Emmer, the Republican Minnesota gubernatorial candidate that’s threatening to take down America’s gay support of Target and Best Buy, doesn’t sound like he wants voters to be able to enact same-sex marriage bans. But c’mon, don’t we all know where this guy stands?
Emmer is the only major candidate for the position who opposes same-sex marriage, and he’s already put together his own bill that would amend the state Constitution to ban it. (The state already has 1997’s legislator-passed law banning recognition of same-sex unions.) So despite his running around the question about whether voters should have the power to enact discrimination, we know what he ultimately wants.
On Friday, Emmer and other candidates took part in a Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac debate, where this happened.
EMMER: As a citizen I have a view that is well known. As a governor, it’s not going to be up to the governor. Whether it’s somebody that says they have to oppose it, it’s not up to the governor. It’s up to the legislature. And you know what, this election is not about those issues, this election is about the economy, and it’s about jobs.
KATHY WUZRER (HOST): But there are a lot of issues in a campaign…
EMMER: People are trying to distract us from what we have to do, which is get the economy…
WUZRER: We spent the entire hour talking about the economy. Would you let voters… Do you think voters should vote on a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage?
EMMER: That would be up to the legislature.
Worth noting, of course: Emmer is trailing by nine points Democratic opponent Sen. Mark Dayton, whose family’s company started the Target store chain.
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Cam
So to all the people going “Oh gee, whats the big deal, Target just donated to a politician, lots of people do.”
Well this is where their money went. To a guy who wants to amend the state contstitution to outlaw gay marriage and has ties to a group that thinks gays should be killed.
If they had donated to a group saying that the races should be separate and people in interacial marraiges should be killed, I really don’t think that the NAACP would be coming out saying “Oh, gee, well they just donated to a politician, every company does that, give us a few dollars and we’ll forget about it.”
Billy
Nice way to try and get voters by using the “economy” as an excuse to get elected. Then MN gets stuck with your douchey positions on real issues for 4-8 years. Lying sack of sh*t!
LFRGary
Why is this such a big deal? Rep. Emmer stated correctly that governors don’t play a role in amending the state constitution. Working yourself into a lather over something that’s outside his control is as intelligent as believing Sen. Dayton’s shifting Tax-The-Rich numbers, which I wrote about here:
http://www.letfreedomringblog.com/?p=8446
Cam
@LFRGary: said…
“Why is this such a big deal? Rep. Emmer stated correctly that governors don’t play a role in amending the state constitution.”
_________________
Why is it a big deal that somebody running for a high office is associated with a group that thinks it is moral to kill gays? Did you really ask that?
DJ
Yes, LFRGary, you’re right.
Hitler probably didn’t kill the Jews, himself. Hitler didn’t run the trains, build the camps, administer the gas, himself. Hitler didn’t fly the planes that bombed London every night, himself. Hitler was just a misunderstood dog lover who wanted a better economy for Germany. What’s wrong with wanting a better economy?
So, LFRGARY, you’re probably right about Emmer, too. He probably won’t do too much, himself. Emmer would just be the governor who wanted, gosh darn it, a better economy for all of us.
Gotta go. Now, it’s back to making more Target protest banners. Just heard Target told HRC to go away.
The Milkman
No, governors don’t play a role in constitutional amendments. But then again, the people can’t amend the constitution to take away basic rights from a minority, either.