{"id":2097,"date":"2007-08-14T11:17:00","date_gmt":"2007-08-14T17:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/08\/discussion-of-guvs-choice-gaffe-continues\/"},"modified":"2007-08-14T11:17:00","modified_gmt":"2007-08-14T17:17:00","slug":"discussion-of-guvs-choice-gaffe-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/08\/discussion-of-guvs-choice-gaffe-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussion of guv’s ‘choice’ gaffe continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s<\/a> \u201cchoice\u201d remark from last week\u2019s gay-rights forum continues to spark discussion in the mainstream media and on the Internet. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As I reported last week<\/a>, in response to a question about whether homosexuality is a choice or biological, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said \u201cIt\u2019s a choice.\u201d When given a second chance to answer the question, he said he\u2019s \u201cnot a scientist\u201d and doesn\u2019t \u201csee this as an issue of science or definition\u201d but instead sees \u201cgays and lesbians as people\u201d and doesn\u2019t like to \u201ccategorize people.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> later explained the gaffe by saying he was tired from a cross-country flight, didn\u2019t understand the question and doesn\u2019t believe that homosexuality is a choice. He\u2019s been on a campaign to lessen the damage from the Thursday-evening forum ever since.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank<\/a>, D-Mass., who is openly gay, released this statement on Monday:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cGov. Bill Richardson\u2019s apology for the mistake he made in saying that sexual orientation is a choice did not surprise me, because he has been a strong supporter of our right to be treated fairly throughout his public career. It is especially relevant that he voted consistently on our side from the start of his congressional career in the 1980s, when the issue of LGBT rights had far less support even from Democrats that it has today,\u201d he said. \u201cI regret Gov. Richardson\u2019s misstatement \u2013 as I sometimes regret one or two of my own \u2013 but his error in the pressure of a debate should not detract from his very strong record in defense of equality for all Americans, including those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Others weren\u2019t quite as forgiving. Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post, one of the panelists quizzing Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> during Thursday\u2019s forum, wrote on Monday<\/a> about the event.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe forum\u2019s organizers hoped to get the candidates to show their concern for the gay and lesbian community and to see whether their understanding emanated from their consultant-generated talking points or from their hearts,\u201d he wrote. \u201cClearly, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s head needed some work.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He also wrote that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s \u201crationale and initial answer are inexcusable.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cTo gays and lesbians, flubbing the choice-vs.-nature question is like botching the answer to \u2018What\u2019s one plus one?\u2019 Note to Richardson\u2019s current and former gay staffers and supporters: Do an intervention \u2013 and get him an Ambien<\/a> \u2013 before he implodes again.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But even Capehart said Richardson<\/st1:city> had a point in his assertion that America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> isn\u2019t ready for gay marriage. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has said repeatedly that he supports what is \u201cachievable\u201d \u2013 domestic partnerships.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI support gay marriage, but I am pragmatic enough not to turn my nose up at legislative and legal gains that strengthen gay relationships and lay the foundation for full marriage rights \u2013 or turn my back on those who would fight for them,\u201d Capehart wrote.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So even he hasn\u2019t given up on Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, apparently.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The deeper issue<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Few doubt Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s assessment of his misstep \u2013 that he was tired from an overnight flight. Those who know Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> know that he\u2019s working harder and longer hours than most or all of the other candidates, and that his eating habits don\u2019t exactly promote such a fast-paced lifestyle.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The deeper question, then, is whether Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> can keep up the pace for at least the next several months, until the January primary contests, and longer if he survives the Feb. 5 slate of contests that will likely pick the nominees from both parties.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

MSNBC\u2019s blog<\/a> noted, on Monday, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s admission that he was tired, and said a \u201cfriend of (the blog) wondered to us over the weekend: \u2018Bill Richardson has winged it all his life and gotten away with it; but you can\u2019t wing it when running for president.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 4:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> spoke about the controversy again in an article published today in the New York Daily News<\/a>. And he made a new mistake. After apologizing, saying he \u201cscrewed up,\u201d and describing how gay blogs \u201cwent nuts, saying, you know, that I literally was a moron and that I didn\u2019t understand their struggle,\u201d he dodged yet another question important to the gay community.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He was asked by the paper if he would veto a gay marriage bill if the New Mexico Legislature approved one. It\u2019s a question he refused to answer during last week\u2019s forum, and one he apparently still won\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to get into that,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> told the newspaper. \u201cI thought you guys were going to ask me about other stuff. Don\u2019t you care about other stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Come clean, governor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s \u201cchoice\u201d remark from last week\u2019s gay-rights forum continues to spark discussion in the mainstream media and on the Internet. As I reported last week, in response to a question about whether homosexuality is a choice or biological, Richardson said \u201cIt\u2019s a choice.\u201d When given a second chance to answer the question, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}