Say what you will about Congressman Allen West, but the guy can come up with really interesting ways of shooting down ideas.
When liberal news website ThinkProgress found him outside of what looks like the Cannon House Office Building last week, a reporter asked him what West's opinions were on "a law that says that it's illegal to hire or fire people because they're gay."
West's response is an ingenious ducking of the issue:
"That don't happen out here in the United States of America," he said.
For real -- that's how he said it.
It's not really clear where he's getting his information, though -- it's perfectly legal in 29 states to fire someone just for being gay, and it's enough of a problem that the Senate (Republicans included) just announced hearings on the matter. Plus RNC Chair Reince Priebus said Sunday on Meet the Press that he thought the law was a good idea.
But that's not the part that makes the least sense. The weirdest, most contradictory part of West's statement is that he knows discrimination happens out here in the United States of Amurrica. If your job happens to be with the United States military, West is actively campaigning for it. And bragging about it on Facebook.
West has long made the argument that gays should not be allowed to serve openly in the military because... well, he's never really explained why. He's ducked the question time after time, replacing actual answers with gobbledegook. He thinks it's icky and that should be enough because look at all his lapel pins.
But that doesn't change the crux of West's argument -- that sexual orientation-based discrimination is not only permissible for the military, but, evidence be damned, it's a good thing.
Here's a video taken last week -- the same week he said LGBT workplace discrimination "don't happen out here in the United States of America" -- of West at a hearing, talking about how important it is to apply a discriminatory double-standard to the military. It doesn't make much sense, but he's quite proud of the footage -- he uploaded it to YouTube himself, gave it the headline "You can't conform the Military to Individual Behavior!" and then shared it on Facebook. He still hasn't explained how letting homosexuals serve openly is any different than letting straight people serve openly.
Check out this Metro Weekly story if you're interested in the issue West was ostensibly talking about, which was about the application of the Defense of Marriage Act to military bases. Let straight soldiers get married, sure, but as soon as you let a gay one get married, we lose wars.
West thinks the military should get special dispensation in any area he perceives will help it effectively kill folks -- be it a budgetary concern, a legal one, or a social one. Whether or not he's right, one thing is abundantly clear -- he certainly supports discrimination in the military.
