I Left My Brain in San Francisco
In the wake of the recent victory by Joseph Cao, the folks over at The Next Right envision what it might be to run a Cao-type candidate in San Francisco. They name this guy, who is Korean, Rob Wong (I thought Wong was a Chinese name). It’s an interesting and even an appealing read until you get to the last few paragraphs:
At the same time, this Gay Marriage stuff has gotten under Rob’s skin. While he has gay friends, and doesn’t really have a problem with Gay Marriage, he was appalled by the arrogance of the CA supreme court decision and quietly voted against Prop 8. He thought that was the end of it. He was wrong. Nothing prepared him for the circus following Prop 8.
All this has left Rob Wong livid and ready to take it out on the incumbent leadership in his home city. He’s decided to run for the House and he needs your help.
So let me get this straight: a Republican is going to run for Congress in San Francisco, against gay marriage? San Francisco. Known for being a “gay mecca.”
I’d like to know what planet or alternative universe are these folks living in.
Never mind that Cao, whom the fictional Wong is patterned after, has said that he doesn’t like church and state mixing together, these folks somehow believe that a man who voted against Prop 8 has a fighting chance in an area that is about as gay as one can get.
How removed from reality can you be?
The fact is, no matter how much one might agree with his economic platform, the fictional Wong has a snowball’s chance in hell to even be competitive because of his stance on an issue like gay marriage.
The sad fact is, someone who was socially liberal but also fiscally conservative would have a chance in the Bay Area. If you are going to run a candidate in Dem strongholds, you are going to have put up people who are more socially liberal since that is the predominant ethos of the area. But that would be an anathema to those who hold fast to their socially conservative views. Here in Minneapolis, we have had socially conservative candidates run for Congress and get trounced every time.
I think this shows how addicted some are to social conservatism in the GOP. Instead of trying to moderate those views in Democratic leaning areas to put forth competitive candidates, they basically think they can just put forth an attractive package like being a minority and still have the same socially conservative views.
If people even think that someone opposed to gay marriage could have a shot in San Francisco, then it shows how out of touch conservatism has become.
opinions powered by SendLove.to
8 Responses to “I Left My Brain in San Francisco”
A Republican winning would depend on how much crime the city current is experience. That is what would make it either the normal no-chance or the alternative, maybe-on-a-special-day. You have to keep people like Feinstein, Alioto, and Moscone in mind, not only Milk.
Generally agree with your points and it's probably a mistake in the original post at NextRight, but voting No on 8 was the “pro-gay marriage” position.
I’d like to know what planet or alternative universe are these folks living in.
The alternative universe where things like gay marraige are all about 'political correctness'. I honestly think it never occurs to some conservatives that legal gay marraige effects the ability of gay families to take care of each other. It is abstract politics or theology to them, not bread and butter.
I still can't get over that Cao is a civil rights attorney and community organizer. That's just too rich.
The comments on that thread are interesting, pointing to a real life San Fran Republican and the comment “However, this article does illustrate well the big problem with today's GOP. What makes Mr. Wong (sigh) so appealing to Republicans? He's resentful. That's it! That's the whole appeal.” People are also giving the author a hard time for the whole Wong thing.
But they have a good point, the Republicans that are doing well in major cities and amongst minorities are those that have an optimistic vision and actively are involved in community projects instead of just griping about the government.
Yeah, the author's total lack of understanding of SF in general is belied by his giving a Korean the last name “Wong” and saying that he was against gay marriage and therefore voted no on prop 8. Yeah, good luck with that one, buddy. SF'ers really really don't like Republicans. They cannot win there. Even the “conservative” people who win office in SF are merely conservative in the sense that they don't think we should be doing things like voting on whether or not we think the president should be impeached. They might have a more conservative way of dealing with the homeless (like arresting them instead of paying for their housing). You can't win without the gay community; you can't win if you advertise being pro-life; you can't win if you think you're going to shut down the expensive programs we have in place to help poor people and homeless people.
We like public transportation and free health clinics and lots of safe sex and gay youth outreach and biodeisel and volunteering and poetry slams and drag shows and feminist porn and universal healthcare. We are willing to be taxed to keep the things we like up and running. We don't like ab-only sex ed or saggy-pants bans or guns or corporate welfare or McDonalds or buildings made from unrecyclable materials or agribusiness or God as taught in your basic evanelical church. What would a Republican do here?
Having read the whole post it appears that the writer thinks biography is everything. If the guy was a gay Korean Medal of Honor winner he would have no chance of winning Pelosi's seat because of the (R) after his name.
This is an attempt to say that Republicans can compete anywhere without sacrificing core conservative positions (i.e., without being a dreaded RINO). It's absurd.
“If the guy was a gay Korean Medal of Honor winner he would have no chance of winning Pelosi's seat because of the (R) after his name.”
Well, not only in Blue states, but in hard-core Blue Nation pockets like San Francisco, the best-known parts of Marin County, across in Berkeley and in Oakland, or to the south in places like Santa Monica or Hollywood,
that Medal of Honor would be a liability, too.
(I grew up in the Bay Area and have lived in the Southland as well, and know the state well.)
The correct way to vote on Prop 8 was “No”. A vote for Prop 8 meant taking away marriage rights gay people already had.