John McCain hits a new low
Facing a likely re-election challenge from J.D. Hayworth, John McCain — bad pilot, bad husband, bad senator, bad presidential candidate, and noted maverick-when-convenient — continues to struggle to regain some of his right-wing bona-fides.
WSJ story today on McCain’s problems here.
He’s already come out opposing the current push to end “don’t ask don’t tell” in the military. John Stewart last night dug up a clip that shows the strenuousness of the contortions the moves are putting McCain through.
Video clip at the end of this post. The clip from four years ago shows McCain deflecting an inquiry about his position on the matter then by saying, “The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy,’ then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it.”
Of course, at the historic hearing the other day, the leadership of the military came to the senate to tell them they should consider changing it.
McCain yesterday: “I’m extremely disappointed in your statement…. At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the ’don’t ask don’t tell’ policy. I’m happy to say we still have a Congress of the United States that would still have to pass a law to repeal ’don’t ask don’t tell.’”
(By the way, as we move toward the 2010 elections, I think it’s interesting how the Obama administration is deliberately highlighting issues like this. So even though there is evidence of an anti-Democratic momentum in the air, however knuckle-headed it might be, the media spent the last two days talking about historic moves by the Dems to right what most rational people think is a long-overdue wrong — and re-running clips of drawling good old boys opposing it for the usual laughable reasons. It looked to me like evidence the administration was going to be using some of these wedge issues against the right in the coming months.)
The Daily Show:
9:12 PM
Go Daddy's banned Super Bowl ad
CBS is refusing to show the local internet company’s 2010 Super Bowl ad, the Phoenix Business Journal reports. Here it is:
The ad is offensive, but since when are mincing homosexuals not allowed on network TV? The real issue, I think, is that it shows a former footfall player in that role—and one mustn’t disturb the fragile sexuality of the current players.
1:18 AM
McCain still supports "Don't ask, don't tell"
Barack Obama in his State of the Union address last night said he would “work toward” ending the military’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy. John McCain immediately said "he still supported it":http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/28/obama.dadt.react/?hpt=Sbin:
“This successful policy has been in effect for over 15 years, and it is well understood and predominantly supported by our military at all levels,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, in a news release. “At a time when our Armed Forces are fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield, now is not the time to abandon the policy.”
McCain didn’t mention the thousands of gays, both men and women, in the military “fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield” the policy threatens every day. McCain’s wife, Cindy, recently appeared in magazine ads decrying the recent California anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment.
1:07 AM
Desperado Gay Film Fest dates set—trailer released, too
The Desperado Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is scheduled for Paradise Valley Community College on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29 and 30.
Here’s the trailer for the fest, which is amusing:
The main film is a Swedish work called Patrik, 1,5, written and directed by Ella Lemhagen; the odd title refers to the film’s plot, which sees a gay couple adopting what they think is going to be a one-and-a-half year old boy, but who turns out to be 15 and not very gay-friendly.
The film won an audience award at this year’s San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. There’s no official trailer yet (and the poster to the left is from the retitled French version), but you can see scenes from it here.
7:00 AM
Dept. of Dumb Arizonans: Rep. Ray Barnes
PHXated is just getting to this, a speech delivered by Ray Barnes, a state representative from Phoenix, during a debate on school funding at the capitol. Video below.
The best part comes 30 seconds in, when Barnes, running down a litany of what he feels are excessive bureaucratic positions in the schools, ends with this laugh line:
“And unless we have a bisexual teacher somewhere, there’s probably a principal of the girls’ restrooms and a principal of the boys’ restrooms!”
The synaptic misfire that produces the conflation of sexual orientation, gender and, uh, public bathrooms is probably something Barnes should seek professional help with.
Kyrsten Sinema is the only person in the chamber with the presence of mind to call him on it.
I don’t like to comment on folks’ public appearance, but Barnes might seek some fashion advice as well. Is that how elected representatives dress here—like they’re on their way to the early-bird special at Olive Garden?
11:51 PM