Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Another Day, Another "Rebranding" FAIL

What else can we say? We told you so. And we definitely saw this coming. After all, G-O-TEA politicians are good at following their true leader. And today, Cresent Hardy proved our point... And then some.

So what exactly did the current Nevada Assembly Member and NV-04 Congressional Candidate do? Let's start with his interview with the Las Vegas Sun this week. When asked about his views on LGBTQ civil rights, Hardy dropped these bombs.

“I will always vote against same sex marriage because of my religious beliefs, the way I was raised,” said Hardy, who is Mormon. “For me to vote for it would be to deny the same God that I believe in.”

Hardy also would oppose the Employment Nondiscrimination Act [ENDA], a federal measure that would make it a crime for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on the employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity, adding that language to a list of federally protected classes. In 2011, Hardy voted against a similar law in Nevada; Horsford supported it.

“When we create classes, we create that same separation that we’re trying to unfold somehow,” he said. “By continuing to create these laws that are what I call segregation laws, it puts one class of a person over another. We are creating classes of people through these laws.”

Let's start breaking this sh*t down. So Cresent Hardy believes he'd have to deny the god he believes in order to grant LGBTQ families the same freedom (and responsibilities) that other families enjoy. What kind of god does he believe in? News flash: Cresent Hardy doesn't have to deny his faith to ensure legal equality.

And that leads us to the other bomb he dropped on The Sun this week, which also happens to be the bomb that the national media are now noticing. How on earth is ENDA a "segregation law" that "creates separation"?

Actually, ENDA would do the opposite. In 34 states, LGBTQ workers are forced to work in fear (or lose their jobs) because some companies engage in unjust discrimination. ENDA would actually remedy this and prevent segregation by ensuring equal opportunity for all workers.

This is why Governor Brian Sandoval (R) signed into law a state level ENDA in 2011 (that Cresent Hardy voted against). And this is why US Senator Dean Heller (R) voted for the federal ENDA last November. Both are fellow Republicans, and Heller is a fellow Mormon, so what's Cresent Hardy's problem? Why doesn't he get what they get?

But wait, there's more! At the Hispanics in Politics brunch this morning, Cresent Hardy doubled down on his anti-equality platform with another declaration of his opposition to marriage equality. And in case that wasn't enough H8 for the audience, his G-O-TEA primary opponent, Niger Innis, also declared his opposition to marriage equality. And funny enough, Niger Innis considers himself to be a "civil rights leader". Oops.

So how's that "Republican rebranding" coming along? Did no one else get Governor Brian Sandoval's memo? Or are they just ignoring it? If the NV-04 G-O-TEA primary is showing us anything, it's that the newly "rebranded" Nevada Republican Party looks exactly the same as the old one.

Oh, and they've yet to learn this very important lesson. If they want to wow us, they better not remove that wig... Unless there's another wig under that wig.

No comments:

Post a Comment