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brooklynite

(94,641 posts)
Sat Oct 29, 2016, 04:29 PM Oct 2016

HRC Revokes Endorsement Following Racist Comments of Senator Mark Kirk

Source: Human Rights Campaign


Today, HRC announced it is revoking the endorsement of Senator Mark Kirk. HRC has also endorsed Tammy Duckworth for Senate and is contributing the maximum to her campaign.

HRC President Chad Griffin released the following open letter to members and supporters explaining this decision:

“After careful consideration, HRC’s Public Policy Committee of the Board of Directors has taken the unprecedented step -- a first in our 36-year history -- of revoking an endorsement. We are a bipartisan organization and our staff and board make endorsement decisions based on a proven record of LGBTQ equality and a candidate’s ability to drive legislative change. We will not continue to make progress and pass the Equality Act without Republican support. It’s vitally important that we continue to build bipartisan coalitions so that we may continue to move equality forward. We endorsed the sitting senator, Mark Kirk, because he has been a strong supporter of our cause time and again, scoring a 100 percent on HRC’s most recent Congressional Scorecard. But events this week have gone beyond the pale for our standards of leadership.

“Leadership is about more than the legislation one sponsors and the votes one casts. On Thursday night, Senator Kirk's comments about his opponent's heritage were deeply offensive and racist. His attempt to use Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth’s race as a means to undermine her family’s American heritage and patriotism is beyond reproach. Yesterday, Senator Kirk tweeted an apology that failed to adequately address the real harm and magnitude of his words. So today, following a vote by our board’s committee, the Human Rights Campaign withdrew our support of Senator Kirk.


Read more: http://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-revokes-endorsement-following-racist-comments-of-senator-mark-kirk
38 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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HRC Revokes Endorsement Following Racist Comments of Senator Mark Kirk (Original Post) brooklynite Oct 2016 OP
It did really disappoint me that they endorsed him in the first place. He is toast. mucifer Oct 2016 #1
Wow. Take that, asshat! nt lillypaddle Oct 2016 #2
I am glad to see this- Now let's get Tammy Duckworth elected! NBachers Oct 2016 #3
There's no way that line of his wasn't scripted ahead of time. It was a well crafted sentence. TeamPooka Oct 2016 #4
There is deep resentment of her military service and the visual IronLionZion Oct 2016 #11
Good. nt sheshe2 Oct 2016 #9
Please edit Op to say "Human Rights Campaign" Coyotl Oct 2016 #12
DU rule, breaking news must use exact headline from article. actually some media knows sites Sunlei Oct 2016 #35
I've done it many times. Coyotl Oct 2016 #36
That's good to know, thanks Sunlei Oct 2016 #37
That is interesting and informative. Ligyron Oct 2016 #38
The HRC has way outlived its usefulness rusty fender Oct 2016 #13
Your statement that "equality has been achieved" is more than a little bizarre ... Hekate Oct 2016 #15
Fair enough, but you do realize that rusty fender Oct 2016 #16
Equality has been achieved huh? ForgoTheConsequence Oct 2016 #23
No, marriage equality has been achieved. Meanwhile the GOP is trying to pass religious liberty laws Crash2Parties Oct 2016 #32
I agree rusty fender Oct 2016 #33
I would ask if you were kidding, but apparently you are not. Behind the Aegis Oct 2016 #34
good except Lucretius Oct 2016 #14
Thank you. Chellee Oct 2016 #22
That caught my eye, too. Sand Rat Expat Oct 2016 #31
HRC = elitist out of touch corporatists nt msongs Oct 2016 #17
What the hell were they thinking, endorsing him in the first place? calimary Oct 2016 #25
Finally. I may renew my membership now. sinkingfeeling Oct 2016 #27
Find a different organization. Chicago1980 Oct 2016 #29
Thank you, HRC! Cha Oct 2016 #30
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mucifer

(23,557 posts)
1. It did really disappoint me that they endorsed him in the first place. He is toast.
Sat Oct 29, 2016, 04:30 PM
Oct 2016

I wonder how the Human Rights Campaign felt when The Chicago Trib endorsed Tammy and they didn't. I wonder if they were looking for an out.

He sure gave them one.

TeamPooka

(24,236 posts)
4. There's no way that line of his wasn't scripted ahead of time. It was a well crafted sentence.
Sat Oct 29, 2016, 04:37 PM
Oct 2016

it was premeditated racism.

IronLionZion

(45,472 posts)
11. There is deep resentment of her military service and the visual
Sat Oct 29, 2016, 05:14 PM
Oct 2016

of her missing legs. Kirk has been called out for lying about his service.

Sunlei

(22,651 posts)
35. DU rule, breaking news must use exact headline from article. actually some media knows sites
Sun Oct 30, 2016, 04:44 AM
Oct 2016

like DU require exact headline and use headlines for their political propaganda.

Some media is very good at creating a press release, creating a news story as "breaking news" with the objective as a carefully crafted headline. Headlines are the only thing many cellphone users/people read.

I don't think HRC planned their headline but perhaps in future they should start to use their full name because Hillary will be our next President soon.

 

rusty fender

(3,428 posts)
13. The HRC has way outlived its usefulness
Sat Oct 29, 2016, 05:20 PM
Oct 2016

Their continued pestering for money is so obnoxious

Move on, HRC, equality has been achieved

Hekate

(90,744 posts)
15. Your statement that "equality has been achieved" is more than a little bizarre ...
Sat Oct 29, 2016, 05:34 PM
Oct 2016

....given events in the news and given Trump's presidential campaign.

Human Rights Campaign and similar groups are still needed. If you don't like their requests for support, don't support them. But don't try to tell us their work is done.

Crash2Parties

(6,017 posts)
32. No, marriage equality has been achieved. Meanwhile the GOP is trying to pass religious liberty laws
Sun Oct 30, 2016, 02:39 AM
Oct 2016

And 21 states are attacking trans & other gender non-conforming children...

Besides, there's no proof HRC ever had much usefulness to start with (other than providing jobs for people who have no clue what intersectionality is).

 

rusty fender

(3,428 posts)
33. I agree
Sun Oct 30, 2016, 02:46 AM
Oct 2016

HRC exists primarily to enrich it's head honchos. Perhaps some of their lobbying has paid off, but private party lawsuits that have reached the supreme court have been the biggest movers of gay rights.

Behind the Aegis

(53,965 posts)
34. I would ask if you were kidding, but apparently you are not.
Sun Oct 30, 2016, 02:52 AM
Oct 2016

27 States do not protect LGBT in housing (it is legal to discriminate against LGBT people in providing housing)
16 States do not protect LGBT in employment (it is legal to fire people for being gay)
17 States do not record hate crimes against the LGBT (crimes against the LGBT are not added to the national data base)

There are also issues with conjugal visits, medical issues, and adoption issues which actively, and currently are legal, discriminate against the LGBT community.

So, no, "equality" hasn't been "achieved" by any stretch of the imagination.

Sand Rat Expat

(290 posts)
31. That caught my eye, too.
Sun Oct 30, 2016, 12:46 AM
Oct 2016

And I facepalmed. I catch errors like that all the time in media sources, and it always makes me wonder if proofreading is a thing that happens anymore. I suppose not. Welcome to DU, by the way!

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