Alabama Senate Candidate: "We're Too Interested In Homosexual Activities"

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill

A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama told supporters over the weekend the problem with the United States today is Americans are too “preoccupied with homosexual activities” and “the wife swap shows.”

It would seem the Senate race is also a race to prove who is the most homophobic politician in Alabama...

John Merrill, currently serving as Alabama’s Secretary of State, is one of many Republicans looking to unseat Sen. Doug Jones (D) in the 2020 election cycle.

The senate seat was held for 20 years by former Donald Trump toadie, Jeff Sessions, who vacated the position to become U.S. Attorney General, which didn’t work out too well for him, but that’s another story.

At a town hall event in DeKalb County this past weekend, Merrill was asked his thoughts on “culture shift” in the country (that’s code for the gays emergence in the mainstream) and the erosion of moral principles.

It was great to be back in Fort Payne this morning and speak to the folks in attendance at the DeKalb County Republican Breakfast at the Western Sizzlin! I was honored to talk to them and answer questions about my campaign for the United States Senate! #All67 pic.twitter.com/00cN2DmzUC

— John Merrill (@JohnHMerrill) July 13, 2019

“[T]hat’s what we’ve allowed to happen,” said Merrill first reported by YellowHammerNews. “How have we allowed it to happen? There are no more good TV shows on like ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘Bonanza,’ ‘The Virginian,’ ‘Andy Griffith,’ ‘I Love Lucy.’”

“We don’t have those shows anymore,” continued Merrill. "We’re too interested in homosexual activities. We’re too interested in seeing how this family’s finding a way to mess on this family or to see how people are trying to date on TV, or having wife-swapping on TV. That’s what we watch.”

Bolding is mine.

So, basically, Merrill longs for the good old days of TV shows that glorified guns and had wives stay at home in the kitchen.

The comments were confirmed by Alabama news site AL.com on Monday evening during a phone interview.

“The foundational principles which we have grown up as a nation are no more,” lamented Merrill. “There’s no more TV shows like ‘Gunsmoke’ or ‘Bonanza’ or ‘The Virginian’ or ‘I Love Lucy’ or ‘Andy Griffith.' I said people are too interested in homosexual activities. They’re too interested in the wife swap TV shows and the shows that are not morally uplifting. That’s the problem.”

Asked by reporter Howard Koplowski what exactly that means, Merrill repeated himself.

“I meant what I said. People are too interested in anything that is not uplifting, edifying. They’re too busy being preoccupied with homosexual activities and the wife swap shows."

According to Koplowski, Merrill demurred from offering any specific examples of how Americans are too preoccupied with “homosexual activities.”

The secretary of state did bemoan about the lack of TV shows “that are based on biblical foundations,” however.

I guess we should have seen that coming.

“Shows that promote family and culture with a father, a mother and children based on biblical teachings and biblical principles on which our nation was founded,” explained Merrill.

Merrill also told USA Today, “There are too many TV shows preoccupied with people’s sexual orientation instead of messages that edify our basic moral foundation.”

The Human Rights Campaign's Project One America Director Meghan Kissell issued this statement regarding Merrill's comments:

"This attack on LGBTQ people and our values only further underscores the fact that the Alabama Senate Republican primary is becoming a race to the bottom and a competition for who is the most virulently anti-LGBTQ. Alabamians deserve a leader who fights for the equality of everyone and every community, not someone who would feel more comfortable in America’s oppressive past.”

I seriously think people in the republican party are more obsessed with "homosexual activities" than I am.

And I'm pretty dang gay. pic.twitter.com/TwBL2AK94D

— Caine (@CaineWithAnE) July 16, 2019

this man looks like he needs to experience some "homosexual activities" and/or be on a dating show

— VKA (@VyMercurious) July 16, 2019

Much like me, John Merrill is apparently too interested in homosexual activities to watch Nick at Night. pic.twitter.com/pK5ENhpLgB

— Gabriel Rosenberg (@gnrosenberg) July 16, 2019

The only people preoccupied with homosexual activities appear to be GOP politicians...

— Linda Allen (@lindaballen1) July 17, 2019

Also, the top viewed TV drama of 2018 was “This Is Us,” which is noticeably not about homosexual activities or, uh, wife swapping?

— Jane Coaston (@cjane87) July 16, 2019

Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema Could Be First Bi U.S. Senator

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona

 Last night in Arizona's primary election for the upcoming fall mid-terms, Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, Kyrsten Sinema is the first openly bisexual member of the House.

She is the first openly bisexual candidate to run for the Senate from Arizona, and should she win in November, would be Arizona's first female Senator.

But another woman stands in her way.

Rep. Martha McSally clinched the Republican nod in the race for GOP Sen.Jeff Flake’s seat, who announced early that he would not be running for re-election.

McSally was forced to tact far to the right to defeat her primary opponents, former state Sen. Kelli Ward and virulently anti-immigration former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who appeared to split the more extreme fringes of the GOP.

McSally was the first woman to pilot a fighter jet.

HRC released the following statement on Sinema's victory in the Arizona primary:

“HRC proudly supports pro-equality champion Rep. Kyrsten Sinema -- a strong, effective leader who puts solutions first and fights to ensure every Arizonan has a shot at the American Dream,” said HRC Arizona State Director Justin Unga. “The stakes in November could not be clearer. In the coming weeks, HRC will continue mobilizing more than 800,000 Equality Voters and tens of thousands of members and supporters in the state to turn out for Sinema.”

The Republicans currently have a slim one vote edge in the Senate. They can only afford to lose one seat in the Senate without losing control of the chamber.

As I've written before, this year marks a big uptick in the number of LGBTQ people running for public office at various federal, state and local levels.

Alabama's Largest Newspaper: Reject Roy Moore, Vote For Doug Jones

Alabama's largest newspaper endorses Democrat Doug Jones over embattled Roy Moore.

An excerpt from the editorial board at AL.com:

How can we look our neighbors, our parishioners, our colleagues, our partners, or our children in the eyes and tell them they are worth less than ensuring one political party keeps a Senate seat? How can we expect young Alabamians to have faith in their government or their church, when its leaders equivocate on matters as clear cut as sexual abuse?

A vote for Roy Moore sends the worst kind of message to Alabamians struggling with abuse: "if you ever do tell your story, Alabama won't believe you."

Or, worse, we'll believe you but we just won't care.

To be clear: it's not only his record on women and children that disqualifies Moore. If we vote for Roy Moore, Alabama will also show that we don't care about you if you're gay or Muslim or Catholic. If you're an atheist or an immigrant. We'll show each other that we only care about Roy Moore's definition of Alabama. And that there's not room for the rest of us.

[snip]

What is disqualifying is the conduct of Roy Moore against women and children. It was disqualifying for his party leaders. It was disqualifying for Alabama's senior senator. And it should be disqualifying for his state party.

By the various misdeeds, miscalculations and mistakes of its voters and leaders, Alabama has left itself with few options. Alabamians must show themselves to be people of principle, reject Roy Moore and all that he stands for.

There is only one candidate left in this race who has proven worthy of the task of representing Alabama. He is Doug Jones.

For a deep red state like Alabama, this is pretty stunning stuff. I highly recommend you read the entire editorial.

Senate Poised To Vote On Obamacare Repeal

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

As the U.S. Senate votes to proceed to some kind of movement regarding health care reform, it looks like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plan is to get past the motion to proceed, then offer up the "repeal and replace" bill known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act.

No one really expects that to pass.

From reading sources I follow online, McConnell would then look to put together a handful of amendments that would repeal just certain parts of the Affordable Care Act, something being referred to as a "skinny repeal."

Not a huge bill, but something that can perhaps pass in the Senate which would then head over to the House for a compromise bill.

If House and Senate Republicans can come to an agreement, it could be at least something Trump and Republicans could call a win.

I don't think Trump cares what the eventual legislation looks like. He just wants a victory lap of any sort.

Stay tuned.

Poll: Mitch McConnell Least Popular U.S. Senator, Bernie Sanders Ranks Most Popular With Constituents

Morning Consult surveyed over 85,000 registered voters to evaluate the job performance of their senators.

Bernie Sanders keeps the title as the most popular senator in America. But it's not all good news: Since our last rankings (just before the election), Sanders approval has dropped 12 points and his disapproval has increased by 9 points.

Mitch McConnell is still the most unpopular senator in America, and the only senator to have an approval rating that is underwater (44% approve, 47% disapprove).

More at the link.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Goes "Nuclear" On Judge Gorsuch Vote

Sen. Mitch McConnell

From Huffington Post:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his fellow Republicans pulled the nuclear rules trigger Thursday, ending filibusters for Supreme Court nominees after Democrats blocked President Donald Trump’s conservative pick, Neil Gorsuch.

Democrats had argued that Gorsuch, a Colorado federal appeals judge, was simply too conservative, and were nearly united in opposing a cloture vote to end debate on the nominee. Opposing cloture amounts to a formal filibuster, which takes 60 votes to break. With just a few Democrats joining the chamber’s 52 Republicans, McConnell’s only way to confirm Gorsuch was to change the rules.

He began by launching a string of procedural moves to allow a Senate majority to change longstanding rules with a simple majority, or 51 votes.

What this means is, now and moving forward, all Supreme Court nominees will only need 51 votes to be confirmed.

While this serves the Republicans now, at some point in the future the Dems will have the majority. And the shoe will be on the other foot.

Republicans Win Louisiana Senate Seat For 52/48 Majority

Louisiana elects John Neely Kennedy to the Senate, giving Republicans a final 52-48 advantage over the Democrats https://t.co/iR2UGPxF41

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 11, 2016

New York Daily News Dubs Senate "Slaughter House" After Failure To Pass Any gun Reform

From the NY Daily News:

The GOP-controlled Senate failed to pass legislation aimed at keeping suspected terrorists from buying guns and tightening background checks Monday, shrugging off the worst mass shooting in U.S. history with more inaction.

Barely a week after the Orlando nightclub massacre that killed 49 people and just days after a 15-hour filibuster from Democrats, it felt like “Groundhog Day” on Capitol Hill, with votes falling mostly along party lines to defeat four gun control measures.

“What am I going to tell 49 grieving families? What am I going to tell those who are still in the hospital fighting for their lives?” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). “Sadly, what I’m going to have to tell them is the NRA won again.”

First Attack Ad Aligning Donald Trump and Down-Ballot Senate Republicans

Should Donald Trump become the Republican nominee for president (and it's looking like that's where the GOP is headed), you can expect to see a LOT more campaign spots like this from Democratic U.S. Senate candidates who declare their support for the Donald.

From Connor Eldridge, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Arkansas.

Marco Rubio Gets Applause For Returning To His Job

A few minutes ago, @marcorubio U.S. Senate staff welcomed him back to the office: pic.twitter.com/neRSJ1ANMD

— Alex Burgos (@BurgosGOP) March 17, 2016

After ending his presidential campaign Tuesday night, Sen. Marco Rubio returned to the U.S. Senate today.

His staff greeted him with applause as he made his way to his office.

Having missed 34 of 37 roll call votes in the Senate this year, you have to wonder if he remembered how to find his own office.