Richardson Grok
Richardson Tries to Recover from Choice Comment
By Emily Esterson, 8-13-07
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We locals sure know how inappropriate old Bill Richardson can be at times. He pinches and pokes at Lt. Governor Diane Denish (affectionately), he teases and embarrasses staff members, CEOs and other important people in public, he gets so far off message that audience members forget there even was a message. Richardson’s penchant for off the cuff remarks and his casual, down-to-earth behavior have been greeted outside our homey little state with both affection and disdain. His recent comment during a question- and answer-style debate with Melissa Etheridge and Washington Post columnist Jonathon Capeheart, that being homosexual is a choice, has raised an unwelcome blogger and media firestorm.
The Washington Blade recounts: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who boasts a strong record on gay rights issues and is arguably the most experienced of the lot, drew audible gasps from the small studio audience when he fumbled a question from Etheridge about whether homosexuality is a choice. Initially, Richardson responded, “It’s a choice.” Etheridge interrupted him, assuming he hadn’t understood her question, but he continued, “I’m not a scientist. … I don’t like to answer definitions like that.”
PlanetOut.com writes today that Richardson, who blamed the gaff on jet lag, says he misunderstood the question and apologized. Richardson, whose modus operandi has been to ram his record down voters’ throats at every opportunity, told The Advocate of New Mexico’s legislative victories on gay rights, even recounting the story of Billy Griego, after whom a state act, the Billy Griego HIV Act, is named.
But was the frantic backpedaling enough, or is this Richardson’s “Howard Dean Shouting” moment? Capeheart himself wrote the following in the Washington Post: That rationale and his initial answer are inexcusable. To gays and lesbians, flubbing the choice-vs.-nature question is like botching the answer to “What’s one plus one?” Note to Richardson’s current and former gay staffers and supporters: Do an intervention—and get him an Ambien—before he implodes again.
Nonetheless, Capeheart notes that Richardson’s assessment of gay marriage in the political landscape, saying the country isn’t ready yet and needs to be brought along.
Back to safer ground, Richardson wants to spend more money on schools and less on Iraq. In his plan, recounted in the UK’s Guardian, he’d repeal No Child Left Behind, call for longer school days and an extended school year, and pledged a federal minimum wage for teachers—$40,000—from the average first year teacher salary of $31,000.
Angus Reid Global Monitor released the latest democratic poll numbers this afternoon: Hilary Clinton: 48 percent; Barack Obama, 23 percent; John Edwards, 12 percent; and Bill Richardson with 4 percent. Richardson’s campaigning on a very pro-labor position, promising collective bargaining for teachers and promoting fair labor practices with our global economic partners.
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Comments
I hope you can share this important document with your friends, colleagues, and readers. It is a very important international policy breakthrough by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, which appeared in the Harvard International Review. It deserves to be read and considered by every single American, the entire diplomatic community from every nation, as well as your
insightful readers!
I am not officially connected to his campaign, but as a private citizen, I do recognize the importance of this statement enough to send it to you with the hope that you will send it on widely.
Thank you,
Stephen Fox
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“New Realism: Crafting a US Foreign Policy for a New Century”
Governor Bill Richardson
Redacted from the Harvard International Review
US foreign policymakers face novel challenges in the 21st century. Jihadists and environmental crises have replaced armies and missiles as the greatest threats, and globalization has eroded the significance of national borders. Many problems that were once national are now global, and dangers that once came only from states now come also from societies—not from hostile governments, but from hostile individuals or from impersonal social
trends, such as the consumption of fossil fuels. The piece does a credible job of laying out the problems before us and arguing that the Bush Administration has not taken the appropriate measures to deal with them.
The highlights of Richardson’s plans:
First and foremost, the United States must repair its alliances. US leaders also must restore commitment to international law and multilateral cooperation.
Promoting expansion of the UN Security Council’s permanent membership to include Japan, India, Germany, and one country each from Africa and Latin America.
Ethical reform at the United Nations so that this vital institution can help its many underdeveloped and destitute member states meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Expanding the G8 to include India and China.
The US government must join the International Criminal Court and respect all international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions.”
On environmental issues, the United States must be the leader, not the laggard, in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by embracing the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, Lead the world with a man-on-the-moon effort to improve energy efficiency and to commercialize clean, alternative technologies.
Stop considering diplomatic engagement with others as a reward for good behavior.
Various efforts including ratification of the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty The United States needs to start showing, both through its words and through its actions, that this is not, as the Jihadists claim, a clash of civilizations. Rather, it is a clash between civilization and barbarity.
Closing Guantanamo
The United States also needs to pressure Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other friends in the Arab world to reform their education systems, which are incubators of anti-US sentiment.
Spend more to develop first responders and to drastically improve public health facilities, which, five years after 9/11, are not ready for a biological attack.
The United States needs to lead the global fight against poverty, which is the basis of so much violence.
Encourage rich countries to honor UN Millennium goal commitments.
Lead donors on debt relief, shifting aid from loans to grants, and focus on primary health care and affordable vaccines.
Promote trade agreements, which create more jobs in all countries and which seriously address wage disparities, worker rights, and the environment.
Pressure pharmaceutical companies to allow expanded use of generic drugs, and encourage public-private partnerships to reduce costs and enhance access to anti-malarial drugs and bed nets.
Promote a multilateral Marshall Plan for the Middle East and North Africa.
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