DeMint takes heat for gays, unwed moms comment
(CNN) – A spokesman for Sen. Jim DeMint tells CNN the South Carolina Republican was merely stating his position that school boards should be in control of hiring decisions when the senator reportedly said Saturday that gays and unwed mothers should be banned from teaching.
"Senator DeMint believes that hiring decisions at local schools are a local school board issue, not a federal issue. He was making a point about how the media attacks people for holding a moral opinion," a spokesman for DeMint said Tuesday.
Speaking at a church rally in Spartanburg, South Carolina, DeMint told attendees people quietly told him he should not back down from a position he took in 2004 that openly gay individuals and single mothers who are involved in a sexual relationship should not be allowed to teach. He did not weigh in on whether unwed men should be allowed to teach.
"(When I said those things,) no one came to my defense," he said, according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "But everyone would come to me and whisper that I shouldn't back down. They don't want government purging their rights and their freedom to religion."
DeMint, who faces an easy Senate re-election battle against Democratic candidate Alvin Greene, has become a king-maker in conservative circles, backing many candidates in the GOP primaries who defeated candidates supported by establishment Republicans.
Responding to DeMint's comments, the Republican organization GOProud said, “Jim DeMint is doing his best to make Alvin Greene look sane.”
“Jim DeMint’s comments can only be described as outrageous and bizarre," said Christopher R. Barron, Chairman of the GOProud Board. "The idea that someone who says they believe in limited government would support the government weeding out gay teachers and unmarried sexually active female teachers simply defies logic.”
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This is ridiculous. Some of my most positive school experiences have been with gay teachers. In addition, some gay people w/o kids spend a lot of time giving to the community. My kids attend are in a local youth league organized by two women and they do everything for those kids - holiday parties, you name it. And given the divorce rates, you would have to fire half the teachers working now. Most teachers really love your kids!! Let's have some serious appreciation for the work they do. How much time has this senator given to working with kids? My guess is zero.
DeMint's a freak. Nothing more. The fact that he's in a position of authority, however, is the real "moral" shame.
Fascism is coming to America.
Our children are killing themselves, why, because we have people like DeMint who spread hate that creates bullying in our schools. Children won't stop killing themselves until adults stop bullying them for their own political gains.
What a scary individual. And he is in public office? I hate to say it but I guess this tells us a lot about South Carolina
The senator's comments are just another example of the ongoing demonization of gays by conservatives. It's a campaign that makes too many people think that it's okay to make fun of, pick on, abuse and discriminate against gays and contributes to the kind of behavior that led to the suiciide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi. Is Senator DeMint responsible for that young man's death? No, and I'm sure that he finds it as tragic as most people do. But it's about time that he and others like him wake up to the fact that their comments and attitudes about gays are a form of low-level pollution that poisons some minds and leads to tragedies such as the Tyler Clementi case.
This guy is a religious fanatic. He can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction. In fact, most of today's republicans do not know and do not care about the truth. Their new strategy is corruption, lies and more lies all raped up in a patriotic mumbo jumbo.
I'm gay and a republican, but have a distaste for many of DeMint's comments.
Wow, talk about taking this country backwards..who in hell elected people like this????
When liberals and their buddies in the media cannot run on the issues and their actual legislative "accomplishments," they resort to this sort of personal destruction.
Good luck with that... any other year, it might have some traction. This year, all bets are off. Even uber-lib Barney Frank is in the fight of his political life with a total unknown.
Move the heck out of the way, Boehner. This guy wants "your job" just as you suspected, and this is how he will be painting the Republican Party, or what's left of it. Thanks a pant load for letting DeMint and his Tea Party mealy-mouths get so much power over us.
He's getting too big for his britches. Needs to be brought down a notch or two. Maybe voted out. He's just too far right, and waaay too power hungry.
WHEW!
What a relief. I thought I was going to have to do something meaningful with my life, but as long as my mom's friends feel this way, I may as well just keep doing the most moronic crap on TV that I can luck into.
difference here is a democrat would claim they misspoke and get a free pass. a republican and all the stereotypes the media has the people believing gets crucified.
unrepentant sin should not be given a blind eye ... they need to be admonished and encouraged to repent in a loving manner. Homosexuality and promiscuity are sinful by God's rules .... even if a culture decides to accept them as "normal".
What century is this guy living in? Does he plan on burning witches too? What does being gay or being a single mother have anything to do with whether or not you are a good teacher? I don't care who my son's teacher is sleeping with as long as she's a qualified, devoted teacher. This cry of limited government from Republicans is a lie. They want government so up in your busines it's frightening. They don't want the government to tax you but somehow they're going to pay for the sexual orientation police to weed out teachers.
Yes, he is "deminted" all right. I don't really think it is up to him either how school boards should hire. Yet another whackjob trying to continue his 15 minutes.
I say BAN ADULTERERS, and MEN who have FATHERED CHILDREN out of wedlock from teaching too!!!!
Better yet- Make DIVORCE ILLEGAL!!!!
The hypocrisy of a republican congressman talking about morality is delicious.
Single moms not dads?
this person I can't even call him a man should have a complaint filed against him for something
First of all, just because a female has a child out of wedlock, it does not mean she's "sexually active". If she's talented, educated, has her teaching credential, and has not committed a felony, she's perfectly suited to teach. No one has a right to pry into the private sex life of teachers, nurses, secretaries, etc. and ban them from earning a living in the field in which they are trained. And, how does allowing the hiring of these people in any way purge anyone's rights and freedom of religion? This guy is a real detriment to any political party and if the Republicans even consider taking up his banner, they'll go down to defeat in mid-term elections. ( I'm a lifelong Democrat who has re-registered as an Independent and intends to help vote out of office as many Democrats as possible. But the kind of message coming from this self-righteous pig is not going to help throw the bums out. And, by the way, I'll bet a fortune that DeMint has done his share of cheating and whoring while in office.
Just shows that Christians are just as bad as Muslims. They both want a theocratic form of government.