Carl Paladino, GOP-Tea Party candidate for governor of New York, gave a speech to religious fundamentalists yesterday, in which he expressed his opinions about the gay and lesbian community. Since then he and his staff have been trying to walk back clarify some of those in a rather inelegant and -- dare I say it -- dysfunctional manner.
I did not say this phrase, as was inaccurately attributed to me by some media outlets:
"There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual. That is not how God created us."
I do not agree with this passage, nor did I say it. Apparently a few reporters relied upon suggested remarks distributed by my hosts at the synagogue in Williamsburg after my departure, not the actual statement I made. My campaign staff has worked with the inaccurate outlets and most corrected their stories after viewing video of the event.
A look at a video clip of the event does indeed make it clear that he did not read that part of his prepared speech. However, what it shows him reading was this:
We must stop pandering to the pornographers and the perverts who seek to target our children and destroy their lives. I didn't march in the gay parade this year -- the gay pride parade this year. My opponent did, and that's not the example we should be showing our children, and certainly not in their schools. And don’t misquote me as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way. That would be a dastardly lie. My approach is live and let live. I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don’t want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t.
Based on this comment and his past actions, I take it that Paladino's philosophy might best be put this way:
Live, get married, raise a family, commit adultery, have a child out of wedlock, send emails depicting bestiality to friends and colleagues...but please, please, please let the pornographic, perverted, homosexuals live their invalid, unsuccessful lives -- as long as they do so away from our children and schools.
And of course he's not homophobic because, not only has he actually allowed one gay man to work on his campaign, he also claims he has a good relationship with a gay nephew. (I wonder if he has instructed his children that they are not to be fooled by any of this?)
Finally, as further evidence of Paladino's being anything but a heterosexist bigot, his campaign manager, Michael R. Caputo, offered the following observation:
Carl Paladino is simply expressing the views that he holds in his heart as a Catholic. Carl Paladino is not homophobic, and neither is the Catholic Church.