Brian Schweitzer: southerners like Eric Cantor set off my gaydar

[Oakvale]

He's not wrong.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

My dad literally said the same thing when we were discussing Cantor's defeat last week.

He's not wrong.

It's not wrong to say that, but it is wrong for a potential presidential candidate to be dismissing Southerners and the LBGT community when both are huge segments of our country. I know quite a few "effeminate" sounding men from the deep south, including my dad’s tenants (they joke about it with one another), but the way Schweitzer said this was in a negative context. He was trying to play the role of a Democratic Rush Limbaugh and only made an ass out of himself.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Glad to finally see there's one politician who says what's on his mind. The rest are too busy saying things that sound important, or otherwise pandering to voters. Regardless of whether he runs or not, it seems he doesn't give a damn. I'd like to be a politician like him someday, if only I could be so blessed.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Glad to finally see there's one politician who says what's on his mind. The rest are too busy saying things that sound important, or otherwise pandering to voters. Regardless of whether he runs or not, it seems he doesn't give a damn. I'd like to be a politician like him someday, if only I could be so blessed.

I agree in principle, but I have become much more political than I used to be and thus worship at the altar of victory instead of philosophy now .

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Glad to finally see there's one politician who says what's on his mind. The rest are too busy saying things that sound important, or otherwise pandering to voters. Regardless of whether he runs or not, it seems he doesn't give a damn. I'd like to be a politician like him someday, if only I could be so blessed.

I agree in principle, but I have become much more political than I used to be and thus worship at the altar of victory instead of philosophy now .

It pains me to think that if I ever were a public figure, I'd have to censor my thoughts on social media. I'd like to think I'd somehow be able to retain my freedom of speech while disregarding the public and acquiring victory. After all, if you follow a politician via social networking, they always post pointless links that no real person cares about, or feel good messages that no one wants to read. The voters need much more than that cold, inhuman interaction with our leaders. They should be able to check their phones and find out that Obama just ate an entire pizza by himself after a long day of "work", or that Romney's been trying to let out silent gas all day due to some badly timed consumption of spicy food the night before.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Glad to finally see there's one politician who says what's on his mind. The rest are too busy saying things that sound important, or otherwise pandering to voters. Regardless of whether he runs or not, it seems he doesn't give a damn. I'd like to be a politician like him someday, if only I could be so blessed.

I agree in principle, but I have become much more political than I used to be and thus worship at the altar of victory instead of philosophy now .

It pains me to think that if I ever were a public figure, I'd have to censor my thoughts on social media. I'd like to think I'd somehow be able to retain my freedom of speech while disregarding the public and acquiring victory. After all, if you follow a politician via social networking, they always post pointless links that no real person cares about, or feel good messages that no one wants to read. The voters need much more than that cold, inhuman interaction with our leaders. They should be able to check their phones and find out that Obama just ate an entire pizza by himself after a long day of "work", or that Romney's been trying to let out silent gas all day due to some badly timed consumption of spicy food the night before.

These problems can be solved by being elected twice and then going batsh*t in the lame duck term .

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Glad to finally see there's one politician who says what's on his mind. The rest are too busy saying things that sound important, or otherwise pandering to voters. Regardless of whether he runs or not, it seems he doesn't give a damn. I'd like to be a politician like him someday, if only I could be so blessed.

I agree in principle, but I have become much more political than I used to be and thus worship at the altar of victory instead of philosophy now .

It pains me to think that if I ever were a public figure, I'd have to censor my thoughts on social media. I'd like to think I'd somehow be able to retain my freedom of speech while disregarding the public and acquiring victory. After all, if you follow a politician via social networking, they always post pointless links that no real person cares about, or feel good messages that no one wants to read. The voters need much more than that cold, inhuman interaction with our leaders. They should be able to check their phones and find out that Obama just ate an entire pizza by himself after a long day of "work", or that Romney's been trying to let out silent gas all day due to some badly timed consumption of spicy food the night before.

These problems can be solved by being elected twice and then going batsh*t in the lame duck term .

The problem is that Americans can't stand to look in the mirror and see how ugly it would be if one of them was elected. As such, we were first led by the elites and the landed aristocracy. As democracy grew, so did the machine of democracy. Even "men of the people" were either rich or had gained heroism in some way. Into the 20th Century, we developed a massive media machine solely for the projection of an image onto candidates. When they claimed to be "one of us", they were still these plastic, air-brushed masks of what one might like to think an American would resemble. There's a deep sickness in this country that we can't even stand to put a real member of the electorate into power.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

His comments about Feinstein are worse
This guy cannot be a serious candidate

[The Mikado]

It certainly says a lot about Brian Schweitzer that his first go-to as an insult for some guy is "he's effeminate."

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

It certainly says a lot about Brian Schweitzer that his first go-to as an insult for some guy is "he's effeminate."

Is this a pattern with him saying people seem effeminate?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

RIP Progressive Hero Brian Schweitzer

He turned out to be more of a Silvio Berlusconi than a Paul Wellstone. Shame, he could have made the Democratic primary interesting.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It certainly says a lot about Brian Schweitzer that his first go-to as an insult for some guy is "he's effeminate."

MANLY MAN BRIAN SCHWEITZER

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Am I the only one who doesn't see how Eric Cantor can remotely be considered effeminate?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Am I the only one who doesn't see how Eric Cantor can remotely be considered effeminate?

Well, I think all Americans sound a bit camp. It's the sing-song accent that does it.

[H. Ross Peron]

Schweitzer apologies:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That said, American needs more masculine progressive politicians to counter the chickenhawks and the Bloombergites.

[Indy Texas]

As a matter of amateur sociolinguistics, I actually do think Schweitzer is correct that many southern men talk in a way that comes across as stereotypically gay to those of us used to the more reserved mannerisms of regions like the upper Midwest (or Canada, in my case).

I've noticed that too, when traveling in the Deep South. It seems particularly common in Alabama for some reason. There's a tendency in Southern speech towards a somewhat nasal tone of voice and to vocalizing from the mouth rather than from lower in the throat, if that makes sense (not sure what the technical linguistic term is); those are features that also occur with the "gay voice."

There's also a weird bipolarity in Southern notions of masculinity - it's simultaneously this rugged alpha-male who drives a big truck and works a blue collar job and is rough around the edges, and the archetypal dandy "Southern Gentleman" who is neat and well-dressed and genteel in demeanor.

[IceSpear]

This guy is much more electable than Clinton though. Because he wears a bolo tie.

Damn right.

#populist
#notready4hillary
#2008redux

[Non Swing Voter]

Why is everyone acting like this guy is a hero simply for spouting off.  If anything this comment is mocking the gay community.  Shooting from the hip is fine, but does he even have a point relevant to world affairs?

[Adam Griffin]

I love how Hillary 2016 is going to go for Obama 2008 voters and Schweitzer's going to be going for Hillary 2008 voters. That tells you the outcome of any such primary, though...

With that being said, Cantor is a big ol' queen.

[rob in cal]

Wonder how he feels about Lindsey Graham, who even had an opponent, Dave Feliciano, who said that Graham was "ambigously gay".

[Paul Kemp]

Schweitzer is terrible. His "regular guy" populist act is cringe.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

This guy is much more electable than Clinton though. Because he wears a bolo tie.

Damn right.

#populist
#notready4hillary
#2008redux

I suggest you look into the history of the American populist movement.  These sorts of comments go hand-in-hand with the populist tradition.  I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it has always been the case.  And more to the point, is there really anyone who hasn't had this thought about say, Lindsay Graham?  Lastly, he may still be more electable than Hillary in a GE, idk.  However, I do know that she's certainly not the strongest candidate, regardless of Schweitzer's electability.

[Antonio the Sixth]

This guy is much more electable than Clinton though. Because he wears a bolo tie.

Damn right.

#populist
#notready4hillary
#2008redux

I suggest you look into the history of the American populist movement.  These sorts of comments go hand-in-hand with the populist tradition.  I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it has always been the case.  And more to the point, is there really anyone who hasn't had this thought about say, Lindsay Graham?  Lastly, he may still be more electable than Hillary in a GE, idk.  However, I do know that she's certainly not the strongest candidate, regardless of Schweitzer's electability.

This sort of behavior might not be incompatible with left-wing populism, but it's not exactly required by it either. And if he wants to be a viable candidate, Schweitzer must understand that being offensive toward oppressed groups is a no-goer for modern progressivism.

[Meursault]

"... being offensive towards oppressed groups is a no-goer for modern progressivism."

Lmao

[Lief 🗽]

Gay people were literally Obama's margin of victory in 2012. Straight voters split evenly between Romney and Obama.

But yeah, let's definitely nominate a guy who goes around making homophobic comments.