Posted on 04/14/2005 6:50:38 AM PDT by MplsSteve
But they don't tell you about it. They don't say, "I'm an anal sex Republican and my wife and I are swingers. Vote for me!" If they were open about it I think a vote for them would be condoning that behavior.
ummm...we are not used to your NY and FL lifestyle here in MN. Please, I'm just now learning that the word missionary is not just used for people that spread the Gospel across the world. Did you know it can relate to a sexual position?
As to how it affects him as a state senator, to all those who (like Clinton's defenders) say "It's just his private life," I'd offer this thought:
If a man wanted hold a position where he'd be influential in financial matters, would it matter if you learned that, in his private life, he believed that 1 + 1 = 3.92? Of course it would.
So here we have an office where moral clarity matters. You learn that a man who wants to retain that office doesn't have the minimal moral clarity it takes to figure out that homosexual desires are immoral and should not be embraced.
Should that matter?
How do we support someone who lives a lifestyle the is in direct contradiction with our morals? Would you keep this guy if he was your son's Cub Scout den leader, your pastor, or, God forbid, your proctologist? Though maybe not quite so personal, isn't being a Senator who speaks for you in creation of laws an important role that should reflect your beliefs?
This is an easy one for me . . . I'm a Texan and don't currently have this problem . . . but I'd vote him right out of office.
My thoughts exactly.
I've often read your posts and find myself more in agreement with you than against..
But let me ask you this... Koering is gay, yes, but he is against abortion (at least the last time I heard). Koering is not forcing his lifestyle by joining parades or even being flamboyant and open about it. He has even stated that it is up to the voters and not himself who should decide as to whether Minnesota should allow same-sex marriages.
If you listed everything about Koering on a sheet of paper, you would find 99% of what he thinks/believes is on the conservative side, but he is gay.
Your analogy about the Clinton supporters does really stand here because they tried to confuse the issue and make it about sex, but as we all have said, this wasn't about sex, it perjury. This isn't a private matter.
Like I said earlier, I knew Koering was gay even before I voted for him and NO, I didn't vote just because of the "R" after his name. And I believe his opponent was an abortion supporter. I would make the same decision again.
As for those who at least get a partner of the correct species and gender, no, they cannot do whatever they want and remain moral. However, I don't see too many Senators out there calling press conferences to "out" themselves as anal-sex-loving heterosexual swingers. If that was so, their constituents would, in most areas of the US, remove them at the next opportunity.
Homosexuality is a behavior. When he says he is a homosexual, he is talking about something he does.
Dan
I'm not condeming those who knowing vote for this man after his immorality has been publicized as it's not my vote. However, we all have to rank our pros and cons and do the math.
Personally, I rank pro-abortion as my #1 vote-killing issue and will not make concessions on this. If a pro-abortion but fiscal and foreign-policy conservative ran against a pro-life anti-war, pro-tax liberal . . . hummmmm . . . I'd have to support the liberal (but probably wouldn't vote).
What I really hate is that our supposedly conservative Republican party continues to field those who are not conservative on some very important issues (or personal characteristics). It may not be long before we find the GOP is way left of us and have to make a mass exodus to the Constitution party.
Thanks. Good questions.
I'm responding to the issue of "Does it matter?", and my answer is, "Yes, it does" -- for the reasons I explained.
I wasn't really answering the question, "Should I ever vote for him?" In that, I'd say you vote for the candidate who is likeliest to move forward the issues you most care about. Politics is the art of the possible. Heck, I had to vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger out here for that very reason, and it sounds as if I share more specifics with this poor guy in MN than I do with the Governator.
So in other words, I'd disagree both with those who say, "Sure, heck, it doesn't matter, it's his personal life," and those who'd say "I could never vote for him!"
My position would be, "I'd rather not be forced to vote for him, and I'll never agree that his embrace of perverse sexuality does not matter."
Does that clarify much?
Oh, and as to Clinton, what you say wasn't quite my approach. I included the sex-on-the-job. At the moment, I was working as a security guard, among other things. If I'd done on the job what Clinton did on the job, I'd have been fired, no discussion, bye-bye. He should have been, too.
Dan
Exactly my point that I was clumsily trying to make. My vote for Koering was because I agreed with the majority of his positions while I disagreed with the majority of the opponent.
And as for fielding better candidates ? Well, unfortunately, it's getting to the point where good people just do not want to run. They don't want their family dragged through the cesspool that the libs always do, trying to dig up (or more likely MAKE UP) every piece of filth that they can. I have been asked to run for office numerous times, but I refuse to put my family through it -- call me a coward, but my husband and kids are too important for me to do that to them.
So, we are generally left with 2nd tier candidates, those who aspire to power instead of good. Very sad
Would I prefer Koering wasn't gay ? Absolutely... Will I drop my support for him if I find that his lifestyle is affecting his senate votes and decisions ? Absolutely....
As of right now, it's not so much that his personal life doesn't matter, it's more like his personal life hasn't been an issue --- maybe that explains better how I feel.
I knew he was gay and I've been watching him on the job. When this story came out, it's like I had forgotten his preference 'cuz I have not seen it play a role (yet).
Also, sorry if I mis-read your clinton reasoning - we have the same opinion on that one.
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