Boehner campaigning for gay Republican whose humanity he doesn’t respect

From the Hill:

[Richard] Tisei is now favored by some election prognosticators to defeat Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) in this Democratic district north of Boston. A gambling scandal involving Tierney’s family has dominated the campaign.

Tisei has received significant fundraising help from GOP leaders, and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently visited the district.

But his history-making candidacy also comes at a time when Boehner and the House leadership have waged an expensive legal battle to preserve the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Tisei — along with many Democrats — has called DOMA “unconstitutional.”

“While they don’t agree on every issue, Richard and the Speaker respect one another,” Boehner spokesman Cory Fritz said. “And we expect Richard will be a strong, independent voice for his Massachusetts constituents that want a new approach to help create jobs and prosperity.”

Yeah, I’m sure some of Boehner’s best friends are Tisei.

Richard Tisei

The truth is, John Boehner doesn’t respect Richard Tisei – he doesn’t respect him at all.

John Boehner just blew a million and a half dollars defending the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act so that people like Richard Tisei won’t be able to enjoy any of the federal benefits of marriage. From Jennifer Bendery at Huffington Post:

House Republican leaders have spent nearly all of the $1.5 million they allotted themselves to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court, according to new figures revealed Tuesday by a House committee.

Democrats on the House Administration Committee released a report showing that the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), which took over the legal defense of DOMA after the Obama administration stopped defending it in Feb. 2011, has spent a total of $1,447,996.73. That means that House Republican leaders have effectively spent all the money they allotted themselves: BLAG members House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last year signed a $1.5 million contract with attorney Paul Clement to represent them in cases involving DOMA, or the federal ban on same-sex marriage.

To date, Republican leaders have intervened in 14 DOMA cases. They have lost five in a row.

Batting 100%, heckuva job, Johnnie.

Boehner, and the Republican party generally, have a very odd notion of “respect.”  They think that since they welcome gay people to join the GOP, so long as we give them our money and don’t expect any civil rights in return, they’re “respecting” us.  Yes, like scam artists respect 80 year old retirees and swindle them out of their life savings.

Respect us?  Mitt Romney had to go back on pretty much every pro-gay thing he’s said in the last twenty years – he even had to throw his gay spokesman to the wolves – in order to even attempt to run for President as the head of this bigoted party.

John Boehner’s respect is quite literally killing us.

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