A ‘Must-Listen’ Al Show On Tuesday!
Cathy Cloutier came on the Al Mascitti Show Monday to ‘set the record straight’ concerning my claims that, not only hadn’t Cloutier earned the trust of the LGBT community, she had betrayed that trust. At least twice, by my account.
(For the uninitiated, Cloutier’s campaign signs read “She’s Earned Our Trust”).
For the first time for most people, an entire radio audience was exposed to someone who is incapable of thinking on her own, and someone who, even after 14 years in the Delaware General Assembly, is the proverbial deer in the headlights. Oh, and she dissembled and, yes, lied.
You really ought to listen to the WDEL podcast:
http://wdel.com/features/1008cloutier.mp3
Al bent over backwards to give Cloutier the chance to state where she really stands on gay marriage. Over and over again, he was both solicitous and fair. But Cloutier wasn’t buying it. Bottom line: I think she stands for nothing but her own reelection, and I think she amply demonstrated that she has not earned her constituents’ trust. Cathy, if either you and/or Richard Korn are reading this, please call in. I’ve got a few questions I’d like to ask you. Uh, YOU, Cathy, not Richard Korn.
I’m sure the audience would be enlightened by our discussion.
10-noon. Tuesday. WDEL 1150 on your AM dial.
BTW, we’ve got lots of OTHER stuff to talk about as well…
Tags: Cathy Cloutier, El Somnambulo, Richard Korn, Steve Tanzer
Perhaps a mention of the CM Punk-Vince McMahon showdown on Monday Night Raw this evening?
Well, I listened. Your issue is that she refused to state a position on an imaginary piece of legislation? And that’s, um, bad?
I had 4 children at home, mostly attended by lay (certified) midwives. If you asked me whether I support expanded midwifery care in this country, I’d tell you, “Hell yes!” However, if you asked me whether I would support removing legal restrictions on lay midwives I’d say “Show me the bill.” There are a whole lotta ways that could be done that would be bad for children, bad for women, and, ultimately, bad for midwifery. I wouldn’t want to see it happen.
What would be the point of passing a “gay marriage’ bill that would be overturned by the first judge that saw it, due to the “Every church using a religious tax number in this state would be legally forced to perform gay marriages” clause? I haven’t been in the GA for 12 or 14 years, but I think they are, collectively, dumb enough to do that. Can anyone say” medical marijuana?”
So she sees her job as representing her constituents, rather than leading them by her inner voice. That’s a temperament thing. I suspect she has a point of view, which she didn’t put on the radio.Most of us do.
Um, no Heragain. the point is that, on two very important non-imaginary pieces of legislation of the utmost importance to the LGBT community, Cathy Cloutier, who claims that she has earned the trust of that community, and has told people from that community that she stands with them, abandoned them.
BTW, she constantly tells Democrats that she’s really a Democrat. Think she tells Republicans that she’s really a Democrat? Or is she just saying what she thinks someone wants to hear?
On the issue of gay marriage, Al didn’t ask her whether she supported a specific bill. He asked her if she generally favored the concept. Over and over again. Several states have adopted such bills. She basically said that, um, she has a bunch of new constituents and, um, she might do a survey or, um, something. Meaning that when she says that she’s earned the trust of the LGBT community, and her campaign signs say that “She’s Earned Our Trust”, she’s, um, not telling the truth. She didn’t betray the slightest bit of empathy or concern for the LGBT community in that conversation. Other than to say that she would have voted for the civil unions bill if she hadn’t skipped town.
Oh, and if you listen to the show, we’re gonna delve deeper into her ‘show me the bill’ meme. To put it mildly, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. You just might learn something. As will all Democrats who Cathy Cloutier has told that she’s really a Democrat.
BTW, Another Mike? Um, yes…sorta.
El Som, what I’m telling you is that I didn’t hear the “smoking gun” you do in that audio. This is information you need to have, if you think it’s conclusive. It’s very disappointing to have “proved” something and have people not admit that. I certainly know the feeling.
Cathy Cloutier is a registered Republican. John Atkins is a registered Democrat. So is Tom Gordon. I’m not planning to get all holier than thou when it comes to our parties, ya know?
I totally respect your point of view on this, that you think Cathy has failed the LGBT community. I know you don’t think she’s a good legislator. Chris might be a better one, who knows? The thing is that I would say, reading the tiny portion of the district that I spend the most time on, that she hasn’t lost it yet, and that this audio won’t make the difference. That’s all. I’m not trying to pick a fight.
And in contrast, Chris Counihan has a clear position and has supported marriage equality since before it was popular:
http://www.delawarerighttomarry.com/2012/09/endorsement-chris-counihan-for-senate.html
You don’t need to listen to the audio to realize she is not a profile in courage. The the votes were needed, she disappeared. The proof of her lack of courage is her silence on these issues.
“Earning our trust” implies she did something that the LGBT community entrusted her to do. In the two examples cited, two VERY important pieces of legislation, she was not there when it counted.
The LGBT community has put up with a lot of crap over the years from (mostly) democrats who secretly supported their position, but could not sponsor legislation for fear of reprisal at the ballot box, committee assignments, etc. The LGBT is way past that now. You either put up or shut up.
If the issue was some NRA legislation that she supported in rhetoric, but failed to deliver, the republican’ts would be all over her for the same reason.
And Hereagains post regarding “why should she vote for gay marriage when it will be challenged in court by churches….” show a complete ignorance to the gay marriage issue and Constitutional checks and balances.
Cathy Cloutier has an A-Plus rating from the NRA. Do you think she’d dare skip a vote if they needed her there? Of course not.
But the GLBT community? Her slogan should be “When You Need Me, I Won’t Be There”.
Interestingly, I have heard rumblings from people in the Stonewalls that they won’t be pushing for gay marriage. They made some commitments to legislators to sit on their hands if the state passed the civil unions bill.
The guy I spoke to (and at least one legislator) were of the opinion that the ball was in the Feds court (pun intended). I’ll be interested to see who gets in line to support the Governor’s plan.
So, the point is not so much her stance with gays, although, obviously she has no clout with them at this point.
I think what is being expressed without being said, is that she skipped the vote, knowing if she voted either way it would offend one side or the other. What is important, was that she previously committed (as one has to do in legislative hall so they know whether to risk putting the bill on the table), she committed to a “yes” vote before hand, then, disappeared.
Whatever her real demeanor to gay marriage may be, her actions were a “STUFF IN DA FACE” to all normal people who have no qualms about people marrying, as long as they love each other.
For that reason, and that reason alone, she needs to be replaced by Chris.
Because that action showed… that she cared for herself first, and not her constituents. She put her own welfare above that of all the people she serves. She put her electoral future, over a decision that had to be made then and there, partly because she and Dori had previously committed to saying “yes” beforehand…. thereby misrepresenting the outcome to those bringing it up for a vote…..
In case I’m not clear, the issue here is not whether she is for or against homosexual marriage. The issue is that when her district needs her, she disappears. Perhaps next time it will be a bond bill, or the state budget, or another ditch digging bill for Sussex County, or a prison bill, or a union busting bill, or an education bill, or a charter school bill or a carcinogen restrictive bill, or a library bill, or a road bill, or a Bellevue State Park funding bill, or anything else.
She is paid, right? When someone is paid and doesn’t do their job, they are supposed to be fired.
Hope that clears things up.