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Tea Party Hero Thinks Gays and Loose Women Shouldn’t Teach
Jim DeMint
According to The Huffington Post, Republican Senator Jim DeMint thinks that “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.” DeMint has been spewing this type of rhetoric since 2004, which makes him exactly the type of politician comedians Sarah Silverman and Kathy Griffin are pointing to in the deaths of gay teens like Asher Brown and Tyler Clementi.
DeMint spoke to attendees of The Greater Freedom Rally held at the First Baptist North Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina Friday night. Regarding his anti-gay remarks, he told the crowd, “(When I said those things,) no one came to my defense. 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.”
DeMint has since backed off his comments, asking his communications director to reiterate that the Senator “believes that hiring decisions at local schools are a local school board issue, not a federal issue.” Note that he hasn’t changed his opinion about whether or not gays should teach, but rather that he feels he was out of line addressing something outside of his jurisdiction. Uh-huh. This is not just a gay issue, of course, since DeMint also made it clear that he thinks promiscuous women aren’t fit to teach children, either.
NOW President Terry O’Neill minced no words in regards to DeMint, saying, ”Sexist bigots like Sen. Jim DeMint don’t belong in the United States Congress. He thinks gay women and men and sexually active single women should be banned from teaching, but he said nothing about sexually active, single straight men.” Touché.
The problem here, Senator DeMint, is that schools are publicly funded. And publicly funded institutions must adhere to the rights promised to all Americans in the constitution. Yes, freedom of religion is one of them, but so is the separation of church and state. So your religious rules don’t apply in a public school. At the very least, I’m surprised you’re not advocating for some type of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, since every school needs a music teacher. (And an art teacher. Even if she is a former prostitute.)
DeMint says of his future in Washington, “politics only works when we’re realigned with our Savior.” Does he mean George W. Bush? Or Sarah Palin? I’m not sure. But I do know that DeMint and his right-wing co-horts have a lot of explaining to do.
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Manjari commented on Oct 06 10 at 9:35 amWhat an ass! Why is it even ok for a sexist bigot to hold office?
goddess commented on Oct 06 10 at 10:15 amWhat makes a woman who has sex with her boyfriend “promiscuous”. I did it for 6 years before we married- and he’s the only man I ever slept with. CAN THIS SORRY EXCUSE FOR A MAN claim the same? One partner in almost 5 decades?
bob commented on Oct 06 10 at 10:40 amI wouldn’t put anything past him, sexually. The fact that he was resident of the “C Street” capital hill group home, along with the likes of John Ensign and Mark Sanford, and that he’s a Republican who’s outspoken about sexual issues, is all I need to know.
For anyone unfamiliar, here’s a nice summary: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/c_street_rebranding_gop_cheaters_need_our_discreet.php
PlumbLucky commented on Oct 06 10 at 11:00 amI’ve added him to my mental list of “expect to see something akin to Mark Sanford cheating scandal/busted for having sex with a man at a reststop” list, right there with Michigan’s Assistant Attorney General (google Andrew Shirvell…you know, it takes an awful lot of stupid to get oneself banned from the University of Michigan campus). How do intolerant shmucks get themselves in positions where this happens?
Laure68 commented on Oct 06 10 at 12:04 pmThis Tea Party thing is just too bizarre. First I thought they started out as some sort of libertarian organization. I also thought libertarians wouldn’t care about things like this (being gay, pre-marital sex, etc.), because they are social liberals. What makes these people any different than Republicans in that case?
Anonimom commented on Oct 06 10 at 12:08 pmFirst let me say that I agree that what DeMint is saying is narrow minded, homophobic, and sexist. However, if you are going to take the moral high ground, then you have to take the moral high ground and not roll around in the linguistic dirt with the person with whom you are disagreeing. Yes, DeMint is saying stupid things, but is it stupider than saying that you think he believes his savior is Pres. Bush or Sarah Palin? Also, I know that it is tempting to throw all right-winged Republicans in to the same pot as DeMint, as you did in this article (asking his right-wing cohorts to explain his idiotic statements), however that is the same oratorical gymnastics that was performed when Palin tried to link Obama to Bill Ayers. Just because I am a Republican does not mean that I am a DeMint Republican, or a Palin Republican, or any other right wing looney out there. Please note that I didn’t say anything you said was wrong, but if we want to raise the level of political discourse in this country and give people a real option other than screaming buffoons (and they are on the right and the left), we need to point out ridiculous speech, but not by being equally obtuse.
100-Watt Warlock commented on Oct 06 10 at 1:48 pmBut if we leave out gay men and loose women, who will teach the high school drama class?!?
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Oct 07 10 at 12:50 am@Laure68: The Tea Party are, and always have been, Republicans and conservatives.
@Anonimom: you are right about raising the level of political discourse. But please, oh please, direct your ire towards others in your party. Democrats say dumb, disrespectful things, as do liberals and progressives. However, those are not the loudest, nor the most influential or powerful amongst us. Implore the loudest voices of your party to bring rationality back to the table.
JesBelle commented on Oct 07 10 at 2:16 amHey, my high-school drama teacher was a virgin — mostly because she dated gay men, but still.
Manjari commented on Oct 07 10 at 9:44 am“…DeMint is saying stupid things, but is it stupider than saying that you think he believes his savior is Pres. Bush or Sarah Palin? ”
Um, yeah, it is. And what he’s saying is not just stupid, it’s discriminatory.Whether or not there are “screaming buffoons” on both sides (and I personally think they are at least somewhat more plentiful on one side than the other), the gay-hating, sexist hatred is only coming from one side.
Manjari commented on Oct 07 10 at 9:45 amI was redundant with the hate thing, but that is what this is – hatred.
Marj commented on Oct 09 10 at 12:26 pmSeriously, if you want your children to only be exposed to people who share your religious beliefs then you should send them to a religious school. Private school are not illegal, and if it is that important to you, you can cut back on less important expenses and make it happen.
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