Let’s be clear: Former US Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY) is an asshole. But, you know, when you’re right, you’re right.

32 replies on “Republican Alan Simpson: “We Have Homophobes in Our Party””

  1. There was certainly no love lost for Simpson amongst the three democrats I knew when I lived in WY in the late 80s, and yes, the consensus was definitely that he was an asshole, but primarily for the things that earthy-crunchy dems hated repubs for: a poor record on environmental issues, oil&gas exploration, that sort of thing. One thing that’s notably absent from his portfolio, as far as I can tell: religion. If he’s religious, he keeps it to himself. Religion–well, evangelical, fundamentalist religion–seems to be what informs the most appalling opinions of the current crop of Republicans.

  2. Wow, I actually agree with Simpson on 2 things! There are homophobes in the GOP and male legislators should not be allowed to vote on abortion-related issues. Why is it that Repugs get more tolerable and perhaps somewhat reasonable once they leave office (obviously there are some major exceptions there, like palin-the-ass and the salamander one), but even Bob Bennett’s been a little more decent since his seat went to child-labor-loving Lee.

  5. Simpson’s always been able to romance the media pretty good. He’s just like that, a charmer who seems to delight in his own rascality. And dang, Canuck, just earlier tonight you were reminiscing about Spy magazine helping you keep your wits about you when you were stuck in Wyoming, and now here’s a post about the Senator, who most recently fucked us in the kaheiney with his Deficit Committee bullshit….

  6. There’s a line in the movie “Prizzi’s Honor”, Kathleen Turner’s character talking to Jack Nicholson’s character, and she says “Sicilians would eat their children, before they’d part with their money, and you know how they feel about their children!” Simpson is that kind of republican. They have no ideals, other then money. Don’t interfere with their money making, don’t regulate their money making and don’t tax their money, and they don’t give a shit what you do about anything else. They really don’t care. Only money counts.

  8. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, if and when the Republican Guard backs down from its stance against basic human rights, I might give them another look. I’m pretty damn liberal, but character counts. Right now, any Republican stands hip deep in santroum. But I know a lot of folks my age (early 40s) and younger who are going to start running for orifice as Republicans soon. If they win, and establish an acceptable record on education, reproductive freedom, and equality, they could get my vote for reelection. A politician of any stripe who has the balls to outright advocate repeal of the Controlled Substances Act and massive prison reform could have a lot wrong with him and get my vote.

  9. Well, o.k., that’s well said, but he’s not running for office. Is he? When somebody who’s running has the guts to say these things, then we’ll be making progress. But they also would need to admit they’ve been harboring racists and religious bigots. Fat chance. They’re just too mean spirited.

  12. @5 That’s some weird Slog syncronicity (Slogrinicity?) at work there, gus. I miss the day when Republicans were just environment hating, money making, school lunch cutting asswipes–you know, the kind we could understand. And is it just my faulty memory, but other than saying the pledge of allegiance, wasn’t it a no-no for a politician to talk about religion when we were kids? Weren’t they mostly established-church Protestants who would never, ever wear a cross on the outside of their T-shirts (why, that’s what the Catholics did…)?

  13. His voting record seems to agree with his statements. On the issues has no votes attributed to him on the topic of abortion. In terms of gay rights, he voted to ban same sex marriage in 1986, but also voted to prohibit job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. So, not a progressive, but not the enemy, either.

    I’d prefer male legislators who believed they should actively safeguard women’s right to choose, but saying “it’s none of my business, so I’m going to stay out of it” is more reasonable than the usual republican stance.

  16. You may not like the guy’s politics, but Alan Simpson criticizing the homophobes in his party is a thousand times more significant than ANYTHING Lady Freakin Gaga might say.

  23. I believe Dick Cheney, whose daughter is Lesbian, has made somewhat similar statements.

    (Which contrasted to the awful insulting statements made by then candidate John Kerry about same daughter…)

  24. #8

    The point is that republicans are not monolithic in ideology. In fact, just the opposite.

    The important thing for everyone is that with a Republican majority in the House, the only “mandate” now is for cutting taxes and the size of Government.

    We saw that same mandate in Washington State.

    The Democrats are wrong for ignoring the spending mandate.

    The Social Conservatives are wrong for subverting it.

    Everyone who seeks greater individual freedom, though, can shape the debate around limiting the size and scope of Government including the subsidies that benefit only a very few.

  26. Thank you, SROTU.

    FYI, I’m not a Republican, not a registered Republican, don’t vote Republican for national office (Pres & Congress), and not a member of Log Cabin Republicans or GOProud. I’m just not foaming at the mouth, that’s all.

  27. I’ve never thought of Alan Simpson as an asshole. He’s a nice guy with a conservative voting record.
    That’s the thing about Wyoming politics. They might not vote to allow gay marriage, but they won’t vote against it either. I think Wyoming would be a very different place if anyone that lived there actually knew a minority (mormon doesn’t count).

  28. @21 I disagree entirely. Alan Simpson saying what he said about abortion and gays is huge, and has a greater impact than liberals preaching to the choir. That said, we rarely hear freaking Democrats talk about abortion as plainly and reasonably as Simpson briefly did, so bravo to Simpson.

    And his saying that NO MEN should even be voting on this “deeply personal issue”?? That’s music to my lady ears! I never thought I’d hear any gov official admit that in my or any lifetime. That’s some radical stuff there (and entirely correct).

  30. I do feel like the GOP has gone downhill. I get the sense that before my time, it was full of actual well-meaning people. I may not have liked a lot of their principles, but they at least had principles and stuck to them, and genuinely cared about their constituents. They were the sort of conservatives we need, and I feel like John McCain was one of the last of their breed, before he went all Sarah Palin Tea Party Fan Club on his supporters. Now, Republicans at the state and national levels only care about staying in power, apart from the odd few RINOs (e.g. Ahnuld).

    @24: Really? I thought that the mandate was to fix the economy that Bush screwed up. Most Americans don’t give a damn about the size of the government; they just want it to keep the country running.
    inb4 “HURR ONLY SMALL GOVERNMENTS WORK”

  31. If you want to, have an abortion; they’re wonderful. Well, at least mine was, but here in Canada we don’t get politcally fucked over by the religious right when it comes to insurance coverage for health services or being forced to sit through anti-abortion lectures from ‘pregnancy counselors’ filled with intentionally false and misleading medical information or threats of hellfire and damnation.

  32. Plus, Canada doesn’t have any specific final date for abortion by law. It’s based on the judgement of patient and professional.

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