As part of C-SPAN’s “Newsmaker” program, reporters interviewed Rep. Tammy Baldwin about the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, House legislation that would prohibit employers from discriminating against people based on sexual orientation.
Baldwin, D-Wis., acknowledged that even though the House passed the bill, it is not likely to become law in the 110th Congress because President Bush has threatened to veto it. “It was a historic vote,” she said.
Baldwin avoided entering the debate over Sen. Larry Craig, an Idaho Republican who this summer pleaded guilty in charges related to alleged homosexual activity in an airport men’s room. “I haven’t the slightest idea,” Baldwin said when asked if Craig is gay, and she declined to comment on whether he is a hypocrite for opposing gay rights while purportedly engaging in homosexual relations.
Six years into his presidency, George W. Bush is channeling the veto spirit of his father, former President George H.W. Bush.
Until this week, President Bush had vetoed only one bill. He vetoed his second on Tuesday, rejecting a measure that would have set a timetable for removing U.S. troops from Iraq. And then today, Bush issued a veto threat against a “hate crimes” bill just hours before the Democratic-led House passed it on a 237-180 vote. The legislation would expand the categories of violent acts punishable as hate crimes to those based on the victims’ sexual orientation, gender or disability.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
All of the veto news this week is reminiscent of the presidency of Bush’s father from 1989 to 1993. The elder Bush clashed constantly with the Democrats who had controlled both chambers of Congress for the better part of four decades. He vetoed 44 bills in four years — all but one of which were upheld.
If this week is any indication of what the current President Bush can expect for the remainder of his second term, it could be a long two years.
The Hotline team is talking about this week’s hottest controversies — a top general’s pointed words about gays in the military and the outcry over the firing of federal prosecutors. The latest political news, including the resurrection of the “Straight Talk Express” bus by Republican presidential candidate John McCain of Arizona, also is on the agenda.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace caused an uproar this week when he defended the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military and called homosexuality immoral.
Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and 2008 presidential candidate, criticized Pace and called for “a complete and total repeal” of the policy. He encouraged the other Democratic candidates to do the same.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., was among those who did just that. Although “don’t ask, don’t tell” was enacted during the administration of her husband, Bill Clinton, Sen. Clinton said she has been against it for many years. “It does a grave injustice to patriotic Americans who want to serve their country,” she said.
Clinton also clarified her thinking on homosexuality more broadly in response to Pace’s statement of personal belief that homosexuality is immoral. “I do not think homosexuality is immoral,” she said.”
Sen. John McCain built his run for the presidency in 2000 on his reputation for “straight talk.” But as he contemplates an expected second bid for the White House in 2008, McCain’s critics are eager to turn that phrase against the Arizona Republican, and they are using today’s online video technology to their fullest advantage.
Now playing at TheRealMcCain.com, a production of Brave New Films, is a mini-movie that pits McCain’s seemingly conflicting statements against each other. The film covers topics from the Iraq war and the flying of the Confederate flag to his views on the religious right and gay marriage.
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