Should Sam Nunn be disqualified as Veep material because of his homophobia?

[ruggerson]

Sam Nunn led the congressional revolt against newly elected President Bill Clinton when Clinton tried to lift the ban on gays in the military in 1993.

"(Nunn) was... vehement in his opposition to President Bill Clinton's proposal to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Nunn

Now, I realize this is not the sum total of the man, he is not a satanic figure, but is his homophobia a disqualifier? Does it not reflect on both his values and his judgement?

He often broke from Democrats on other cultural issues, such as school prayer.

In his defense, he was also moderately pro choice and strong on environmental issues.

But would we support a man for the Vice Presidency who was strong on defense issues but had opposed allowing blacks to serve in the military or had been in favor of keeping the ban on interracial marriages?

I'm a bit surprised that Sam Nunn even is brought up here as a realistic prospect.

And by people who claim they decry bigotry, no less.

[nomorewhopper]

1. if he is indeed homophobic, he should not be VP

[Maven]

2. Yes, absolutely fucking yes.

Nunn should be completely out of the question. He didn't just oppose Clinton's proposal to allow us to serve openly, he led the effort to enact a full legislative ban. Fuck him.

[ruggerson]

5. that's pretty much my feeling

Nunn should be completely out of the question.

You nailed it.

[Forkboy]

3. It's enough for me.

But I think he was a non-starter anyways.

[woolldog]

4. Absolutely not.

I don't care about what his private views are on that matter, whatsoever. I won't ask, and he shouldn't tell me. ;)

[ruggerson]

7. So you'd be ok with a Veep who had opposed allowing blacks to serve in the military?

[babylonsister]

12. He sounds way too bigoted for me; why would Obama want him?

OK, don't answer that, neither of us know the answer. I just hope Obama knows of and is considering better options.

[ruggerson]

20. He keeps getting brought up here and in the media - even by Jimmy Carter

don't ask me why. I think he would alienate a whole mess of Obama's base.

[babylonsister]

26. I have heard his name floated, but it's all speculation.

I stay away from 'what if' threads, because no one knows but the nominee who their intendeds are or why.

[Warren DeMontague]

37. I saw his name floated exactly once in that context around here in recent days.

Not counting this thread, of course.

If I remember, it didn't get a terribly enthusiastic response.

[Muttocracy]

16. I think the wink smiley meant sarcasm. nt

[woolldog]

17. I can't say that I'd care that much, if the issue had been settled.

[last1standing]

21. Just so long as it doesn't affect you, right?

n/t

[woolldog]

29. No....

I'm black. But the military is integrated and it's a settled issue. I'm not going to worry about what some pol thought about it 60 years ago, just like I don't care much that Byrd was in the KKK.

and I don't necessarily agree with the premise of the OP, which is that b/c Nunn opposed gays in the military that he's homophobic. That battle has been won. And there's no going backwards so I don't think what Nunn felt about the issue is important.

[ruggerson]

42. Wrong on both counts

a) Nunn opposed gays in the military, because he is homophobic

b) The battle has not been won. DADT is not a victory, it was a bad, indefensible compromise.

[Maven]

9. He made his private bigotry a prominent part of his public career.

I hope you're joking.

[last1standing]

18. You need to read up on this guy.

He's very homophobic and he doesn't keep it "private". He forced Clinton to rescind his order to allow gays to serve in the military in 1993 and has been the impetus for many socially reactionary policies.

Or are you saying that you don't really give a Damn about gays?

[woolldog]

32. well, he's said he doesn't want the VP slot

so this is probably a pointless discussion anyway.

I don't think that his stance on that issue makes him homophobic, especially since it came up in th military context. But sure, I admit I don't know much about his views on gays in general.

But he is going to need a socially conservative VP, imo.

[last1standing]

35. Why exactly does he need a socially conservative VP?

Do you feel that it's important that Obama express intolerance for others? Or is it just certain people you wouldn't mind throwing under the bus?

[woolldog]

39. He needs to counter the perception that he's a "liberal"

It's BS but the right is going to try to pain him as a fringe left wing radical, who associates with the likes of Rev Wright and Bill Ayres. The best antidote to that is a socially conservative dem on the ticket. That would go a long way towards diffusing the issue.

[newmajority]

31. His private views aren't the issue

His insistence on an official government policy of discrimination is.

[FrenchieCat]

6. Why is Obama gonna run with someone on his ticket older than McCain?

He won't.

Sam Nunn can be a foreign policy advisor or something.

[Egnever]

8. I was not aware of his homophobia but if true then

I would have a tough time getting behind him as a VP choice if not impossible.

[Dr Fate]

10. Is he still around?

I guess I never did hear about him passing yet.

[last1standing]

11. Definitely.

He was the biggest hold out when Clinton tried to let gays serve openly in the military in 1993. I would have a big problem with him getting the VP nod.

[DJ13]

13. I think you're getting worked up for no reason

I seriously doubt Obama would choose someone so closely tied to the old politics he's campaigning against.

His support is great, and he will be an asset in a transition, but I doubt he plays a role after that.

[DB1]

14. In a word..... Yes. Absolutely , discimination is discrimination.

[NewHampshireDem]

15. I have to admit, that factoid had fallen out of my brain

And probably out of most people's brain's--that was 16 years ago, and a lot has happened between then and now.

[ruggerson]

22. probably not out of a lot of gay and lesbian service member's brains however

[IndianaGreen]

19. I certainly think so!

Nunn and Warner were key players in DADT.

[The_Casual_Observer]

23. Nunn was a southern crook politician in the pocket of every defense contractor

that moved in a big ass bomber/bomb/bullet plant to Georgia while he was Senator there.

[mcctatas]

24. absolutely...

any kind of knee-jerk discrimination is not acceptable for any democratic nominee for veep or POTUS...

[RainDog]

25. YES - as in NO, NOT NUNN

I can't believe the consideration is anything more than noise anyway.

[chascarrillo]

27. I'd think that nobody remembering who the hell he is would be enough of a disqualification. But yes.

I have no idea where the Nunn idea came from, but this is a bad idea in so many ways, and not least because of his acceptance of bigotry in the armed forces.

[newmajority]

28. Hell yeah. And besides, he's too old.

Definitely not Veep material. I suppose he could be considered for Secretary of Defense, but if it were up to me, I'd tell him "Look Sam, you can be SecDef, but your first action is going to be fixing the mess you made in 1993. Homosexuals DO serve in the military, and it's time to stop being a fucking hypocrite about it." And maybe bring up the example of those arabic translators who might have intercepted some terra information, had they not been fired simply for being gay.

[donheld]

30. Yes!

[Seabiscuit]

33. Yes ... nt

[thoughtcrime1984]

34. GLBT rights are very important to the Democratic platform

Inclusion in general, is, actually. I don't care for his stance on GLBT rights, and I am not a fan of his moderate politics, as I am more to the left. I don't think he'd work, ultimately, because Obama himself said that he wanted a VP that would carry on the Presidency with the same values and plans that he had, should something unfortunate happen.

[Warren DeMontague]

36. I don't want Nunn in the veep slot. For the reasons you outline & others.

I'd like to see someone like Russ Feingold or Barbara Boxer, but barring that I suspect Richardson makes the most sense. Wesley Clark wouldn't be a bad call.

But Sam Nunn? No thanks.

[Alexander]

38. Of course. But there's no evidence to suggest Obama would ever pick him.

[OHdem10]

40. He is a real Conservative, Economic and otherwise.

This ticket bothers me because the first thing I think of is
the Bush Cheney Ticket.

Younger President with this somber sober VP and Nunn being a
strong Conservative Democrat. It does not float my boat.

[Warren Stupidity]

41. I loathe Nunn, but I didn't even know about his homophobia

He is a relic of the hardass conservative hawk dems from the 70s. He was a shithead then and he is a shithead now. He is also too old, although that is perhaps a plus as it takes him out of contention for 2016.