Meet the Press - Jim DeMint

[slappypete]

Did anybody see this guy on Meet the Press this morning? He was questioned about his belief that gays shouldn't be allowed to teach in public schools, and that single mothers who live with their boyfriends shouldn't be allowed to teach either. I can't believe that a potential senator would be in favor of such blatant descrimination.


MR. RUSSERT: In a previous debate, Mr. DeMint, you were asked a question, and this was your answer about teaching in South Carolina.

(Videotape, S. Carolina Educational TV Debate, October 3, 2004):

REP. DeMINT: If a person is a practicing homosexual, they should not be teaching in our schools.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Why not?

REP. DeMINT: Well, I apologize for that remark, because I really regret distracting from the main issues of this debate.

MR. RUSSERT: Well, do you apologize because it's a distraction or do you apologize for what you said?

REP. DeMINT: No, I apologize for distracting from the real issues of this debate. This is...

MR. RUSSERT: So do you--wait, but let's clarify. Do you believe that gays should be able to teach in the public schools of South Carolina?

REP. DeMINT: I believe that's a local school board issue and the voters of South Carolina want me to talk about how they're going to be safer, how they're going to have better jobs, how I'm going to save Social Security.

MR. RUSSERT: But you said they shouldn't be. And the Republican Party in South Carolina's platform...

REP. DeMINT: Right.

MR. RUSSERT: ...said they should not. Do you believe that gays should be able to teach in the public schools?

REP. DeMINT: I believe that's a local school board issue.

MR. RUSSERT: Well, two issues that you may have to vote on. Do you believe that gay people should be able to adopt children?

REP. DeMINT: Adoption is one of the issues I've pushed for in the Congress and anything else. In fact, I was inducted into the National Adoption Hall of Fame for my work on adoption. The states regulate adoption and they need to make decisions about who's going to adopt, but I'm going to continue to promote families through adoption.

MR. RUSSERT: But do you think gays should be able to adopt?

REP. DeMINT: I believe children should grow up in a family with a father and a mother. But I think the state should decide who are going to be those families.

MR. RUSSERT: Should gays have federal benefits, gay couples?

REP. DeMINT: I think everyone should be treated equally. What people do in their private lives is their private life and I don't think any--I've been an employer for years. I've never asked questions about sexuality and I don't plan to start now.

MR. RUSSERT: You also, when asked about your comments about gay teachers, said this: "I would have given the same answer when asked if a single woman, who was pregnant and living with her boyfriend, should be hired to teach my third-grade children." Do you also still believe that, that a single mom should not be a teacher in South Carolina schools?

REP. DeMINT: I believe that's a local school board issue. And, Tim, I was answering as a dad who's put lots of children in the hands of teachers and I answered with my heart. And I should just say, again, I apologize that distracted from the real debate.

MR. RUSSERT: But you apologize for distracting but are you apologizing to gay teachers or to single mom teachers?

REP. DeMINT: No. I'm apologizing for talking about a local school board issue when the voters want us to talk about how we're going to make them safer, win the war on terror, how we're going to create jobs, how we're going to fix our health-care system. And these are things I've worked on in the Congress and that's what I plan to do in the Senate.

[Birrman54]

he did a good job not answering a single question.

:thumbsup: impressive... most impressive.

birrman54

[brizz]

That dude is one massive tool! :lol:

[chess]

That dude represents the true heart and soul of the Republican party in my opinion.

It's sad, really, because I could get behind some of the Republican's fiscal ideas.

As it stands, I continue to be repulsed.

[al_bundy]

that chick made a much better impression

[Nesbit]

National Adoption Hall of Fame?

[slappypete]

Originally posted by chess
That dude represents the true heart and soul of the Republican party in my opinion.

It's sad, really, because I could get behind some of the Republican's fiscal ideas.

As it stands, I continue to be repulsed.

I think he represents the most organized segment of the Republican party, which dominate the primaries. I think there are plenty of Republicans are just as repulsed by these types of views.


I've always been a registered Republican, and in California, it was usually possible to find socially moderate Republicans to vote for. Ever since the "Republican Revolution" of '94 it seems like the moderates have been run out of the party. I've considered changing to Libertarian, since I haven't voted for a Republican for any office in a general election since '96, but I want to be able to vote in Republican primaries should they ever return to some sort of social sanity.

[_tony_]

this guy was hard to listen to. his answers on abortion rights were just as vague. its a real shame that republicans like him are becoming increasingly more influencial within the party.

[spainlinx0]

That was almost unbearable to watch. I wanted Russert to just jump over the table and dropkick the guy. Stop repeating the same unsatisfactory answer, and simply answer the damn question. No one in politics wants to be tied down to any viewpoint at all anymore. Russert asking about the abortion prosecutions was fun to listen to. "You want to be a lawmaker, it's a simple question." I wish Meet the Press was on more than once a week. It's my favorite political show. Does Tim Russert have a radio show or anything like that?

[VinVega]

REP. DeMINT: Well, I apologize for that remark, because I really regret distracting from the main issues of this debate.

MR. RUSSERT: Well, do you apologize because it's a distraction or do you apologize for what you said?

REP. DeMINT: No, I apologize for distracting from the real issues of this debate. This is...

MR. RUSSERT: So do you--wait, but let's clarify. Do you believe that gays should be able to teach in the public schools of South Carolina?

REP. DeMINT: I believe that's a local school board issue and the voters of South Carolina want me to talk about how they're going to be safer, how they're going to have better jobs, how I'm going to save Social Security.
http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/images/football/2003/110603schlieman2.jpg
:lol:

[jfoobar]

Did anybody see this guy on Meet the Press this morning? He was questioned about his belief that gays shouldn't be allowed to teach in public schools, and that single mothers who live with their boyfriends shouldn't be allowed to teach either. I can't believe that a potential senator would be in favor of such blatant descrimination.

And he's still at it:

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20101002/ARTICLES/10021004/1002/SPORTS04?p=2&tc=pg


DeMint addresses conservative issues at Spartanburg church rally

By Lynne P. Shackleford
lynne.shackleford@shj.com

Published: Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 3:15 a.m.

Sen. Jim DeMint told a crowd of supporters Friday evening that he will continue to recruit like-minded Conservatives across the nation to run for Congress and pastors to join the fight to “take our country back.”

During his roughly 45-minute speech during a Greater Freedom Rally at First Baptist North Spartanburg, DeMint said he's become an outcast in Washington — most recently standing up against a $400,000 congressional earmark to study dredging the port of Charleston. It's an earmark that his colleague Sen. Lindsay Graham supports and a stand that South Carolina chef and cookbook author Nathalie Dupree said convinced her to enter the congressional race as a write-in candidate.

The Democratic candidate for DeMint's seat is Alvin Greene.

DeMint said supporting the earmark is like an alcoholic only wanting one more drink and afterward saying he has quit.

DeMint received overwhelming applause when he told the crowd of a few hundred people that he was in the doghouse in Washington. He said he's disliked in the Capitol, but when he gets off planes across the country, people stop and tell him they're praying for him and he has their support.

DeMint said he's supporting candidates such as Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey, Florida Republican nominee Marco Rubio and Kentucky GOP nominee Rand Paul, among others. They, DeMint said, will demand a stop to “reckless government spending” and fight to repeal “Obama-care.” They'll talk about principles and pro-life issues and will fight to keep marriage between a man and a woman, he said.

DeMint predicted an “earthquake” on Nov. 2 and said that likely won't be the end of the change.

“People are beginning to see that there's no way we can pay the interest on our debt and every week, we're borrowing money to pay the debt we have and are creating new programs that are costing more money,” he said. “Hopefully in 2012, we'll make headway to repeal some of the things we've done, because politics only works when we're realigned with our Savior.”

The U.S. Constitution, he said, puts the people in charge, and crowds are becoming involved because they want spending stopped.

DeMint said if someone is openly homosexual, they shouldn't be teaching in the classroom and he holds the same position on an unmarried woman who's sleeping with her boyfriend — she shouldn't be in the classroom.

“(When I said those things,) no one came to my defense,” he said. “But everyone would come to me and whisper that I shouldn't back down. They don't want government purging their rights and their freedom to religion.”

Duncan residents Mike and Sheila Tate said they were encouraged by DeMint's speech.

“He's a great leader for this area because he share our concerns, our values and he's not afraid to speak up — even when it looks like everyone else is against him,” Mike Tate said.

The Greater Freedom Rally was sponsored by the CEO Roundtable of South Carolina — a political action committee with the goal to close the chasm between “economic and social conservatives.”

This is the guy that some want to replace McConnell as Senate Republican leader.

[Red Dog]

DeMint said if someone is openly homosexual, they shouldn't be teaching in the classroom and he holds the same position on an unmarried woman who's sleeping with her boyfriend — she shouldn't be in the classroom.

“(When I said those things,) no one came to my defense,” he said. “But everyone would come to me and whisper that I shouldn't back down. They don't want government purging their rights and their freedom to religion.”


Man I so want to see this douche caught with a hooker, mistress, gay, whatever.

This is a douche who has no conception of what the word 'rights' means.

[classicman2]

I'm thinking about starting a thread concerning an interview on Meet the Press with Sen. George McGovern when he was a presidential candidate. Foreign policy was the main topic. Would that be appropriate & timely?

[Nesbit]

I'm thinking about starting a thread concerning an interview on Meet the Press with Sen. George McGovern when he was a presidential candidate. Foreign policy was the main topic. Would that be appropriate & timely?

I dunno. Give me 6 years or so to mull it over and, if McGovern's policies from the 70's haven't changed, I'll give it a bump.

[tommyp007]

I miss Tim Russert. Nobody went after evasive politicians like he did

[Red Dog]

I miss him too. I met him at a bar in DC right before George Mason upset UConn to go to the F4 in 2006. Really cool guy.

[classicman2]

I miss Tim Russert. Nobody went after evasive politicians like he did

That's not the Tim Russert I remember.

I think Russert's 'journalism skills' declined in his last couple of years.

I believe he became more biased. I watched MTP every Sunday; and, I started many threads about the topic of the week on this forum. Thefore, I can speak with some authority on the subject.

btw: I wasn't the first to bring up Russert in this thread. ;)

[CRM114]

You felt Russert's skills "declined" because at the time he was going after pols you sympathized with - the Bush crowd.

By the way, I love DeMint's term: "practicing homosexual."

[classicman2]

Yet another one of your typical nonsensical remarks.