Heckler Exercises 1st Amendment Right
(Video credit: Colin Campbell of Politicker.)
My late mentor Marty Robinson, who got his start in gay politics when John Lindsey was mayor of New York City, always used offer this advice to me: "Politicians. Use 'em or abuse 'em." Today I would add that goes double for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender politicians.
Like their straight counterparts, gay Democrats looking to make a career out of feeding at the public trough and staying in elective office - any elective office will do - our community's career politicians ultimately fear democracy and the people, unmuzzled. Gay politicians desperately want to be crowned queen and will go to great lengths to not hear from opponents.
Prime example on Monday was New York lesbian Democrat and speaker of the the City Council Christine Quinn, huffily exiting a presser after a constituent exercised his First Amendment rights for a few seconds. Why, Miss Thing was just aghast at someone speaking truth to power about her buddy Mayor Mike Bloomberg being "Pharaoh Bloomberg" and she put on airs of being offended.
Guess she missed the memo about free speech and the right to call people names.
If the Victory Fund, the Human Rights Campaign and scores of other Gay Inc entities and donors have their way, Quinn will be the first lesbian and woman mayor of the Big Apple. And she'll be lording it over everyone that she will not suffer the mildest of truth speaking at her pressers, if the voters of the five boroughs decide they want Bloomberg Light and elect Queen Christine in 2013.
Here's what WNYC.org had this to report on the interruption:
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn stormed off stage at a rally in support of the living wage bill outside City Hall Monday after she was interrupted by a supporter who referred to the mayor — an opponent of the bill as — "Pharaoh Bloomberg." [...]
"Now, look. That's not appropriate," Quinn said, turned around at the crowd.
"You stand here talking about democracy and wanting people to listen. In democracy, people have the right to have different views and they do not, we do not have the right to then call them names. So I would just ask, if that's what this press conference is about then I'll go right back inside and continue the work of business. But this is not democracy — calling people names who don't agree with you. So whoever said I'd ask that you apologize."
Quinn turned back to the podium, then said, "Congratulations on the bill. I'm not going to participate in name-calling." [...]
1 comment:
She should have never even been invited to this press conference that she ruined because she watered down the living wage bill so dramatically that it will only benefit 400-500 people-.01% of the work force. If the LGBT community looked beyond her identity to her actual record, she'd be voted out of public office in a heart beat.
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