Nasty. This American Presidential campaign has been nasty since day 1. It didn't take Donald using that statement in reference to Hillary for us to realize that. But there have been too many times where trickle down hatred has occurred. Here's the most recent case. This one is a little different for the backing of the offending candidate by the Human Rights Campaign is being called into question.
During a debate on Thursday, Republican Sen. Mark Kirk made a shockingly racist comment about his Democratic opponent, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a disabled veteran of mixed-race heritage. Explaining why she should be in the Senate when “the drums of war” sound, Duckworth said: “My family has served this nation in uniform going back to the Revolution. I’m a Daughter of the American Revolution. I’ve bled for this nation.” Kirk retorted: “I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.” In fact, Duckworth’s father and his family have, indeed, served in uniform since the Revolution. Kirk appeared unable to accept that fact because Duckworth’s mother is a Thai immigrant of Chinese heritage. He later refused to apologized, but eventually relented and apologized in a tweet.*
None of this, it seems, is especially troubling to the Human Rights Campaign, the world’s biggest and most influential LGBTQ rights group. The HRC announced on Friday that it is maintaining its endorsement of Kirk over Duckworth, though it hopes Kirk will “rescind his comments”—i.e., his racist jab.
The Kirk question had already left the Human Rights Campaign in an awkward position. Kirk is perhaps the most pro-LGBTQ Republican in Congress, and so the group endorsed his reelection bid in March, even though Duckworth actually has a better record on LGBTQ issues. This decision seemed odd, because the Senate will never pass a pro-LGBTQ bill so long as it remains GOP-controlled, and Kirk’s reelection would help ensure continued Republican dominance. But it had a certain logic to it: So few Republicans actually support LGBTQ rights that the HRC feels compelled to lavishly reward those who do.
Now that logic should have collapsed. Whatever the HRC might admire about Kirk’s lack of homophobia, it should not be able to forgive his racism: The organization purports to oppose all forms of discrimination. But apparently, for the HRC, racism is lower on the hierarchy of bigotries than homophobia, and thus less disqualifying than anti-gay bias. To the HRC, it seems, a candidate can mock his opponent for having mixed heritage so long as he still supports marriage equality.
This position is indefensible. If a pro-LGBTQ Democrat made a similar comment about his Republican opponent—or anyone, really—I would hope that the HRC would promptly withdraw its endorsement. The decision should be even easier with Kirk, whose opponent has a superior record on LGBTQ rights. Instead, the organization has taken the cowardly path, ditching its principles for political expediency. The HRC already has a massive diversity problem and is increasingly known as a white man’s club. With its decision to stand by Kirk, the organization proved its worst critics right. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that at this point, the HRC is simply irredeemable. – slate.com
And as for Tammy Duckworth. She is a strong individual. No, this does not make Kirk's statement any less wrong, but have a look at the following video. It was the first time I remember hearing about Duckworth.
"Rep Tammy Duckworth Scolds IRS Contractor Braulio Castillo for 'gaming' veterans Benefits Program."
Instincters, do you think the above transgression by Kirk enough to demand the HRC remove its support?
Do you think Kirk's apology was enough?
Do you think he was racist in his statement?
UPDATE:
HRC pulls its support for Kirk.
h/t: slate.com
HRC is irrelevant and this is
HRC is irrelevant and this is why I stopped giving.
HRC has finally revoked the
HRC has finally revoked the endorsement.