RNC Chair Candidate: "Homosexuality is a compulsion that can be contained, repressed or changed."

Yes, that's what Ken Blackwell, the sketchy former Ohio Secretary of State who now has a good shot at running the Republican National Committee, told me a few months back, among some other very interesting and kooky things. It's a far cry from the days when the RNC was led by the 38-year-old "bachelor" of questionable sexual orientation, Ken Mehlman, but, according to The New York Times, Blackwell, a failed Ohio gubernatorial candidate who compared homosexuality to arson and kleptomania at the height of the campaign, may well be the RNC's next chair.

Because of the much-publicized racist eruption by one of the other six candidates over the holidays, Blackwell's supporters' efforts seem to be part of a twisted, laughable attempt to make the RNC appear "diverse" because Blackwell is African-American, even though he is a lockstep, antigay religious fundamentalist. The homos, after all, can still be publicly kicked around with glee:

[A]nother candidate, Chip Saltsman, the Tennessee party chairman, was roundly criticized for distributing a holiday CD to party members that included a parody song called “Barack the Magic Negro.”

Some Republicans argued that electing a black chairman could prove helpful as the party struggles to rebuild.

I caught up with Blackwell in all of his evangelical enthusiasm at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul back in September, where he called homosexuality a "compulsion" which can be "contained," among many things he told me in an interview. You can listen to the full 13-minute interview, which we broadcast back in September, below. Here are some choice bits:

KB: I believe that our sexuality is, that we have two orientations: you're female or you're male. A union between a male and a female produces babies. I thought that is was a mistake to start to equate the union between one man and one woman with a marriage between two men and between two women.

MS:I realize that that was on the issue of marriage, but you compared homosexuality to kleptomania--

KB: No, if you go back and you look, at what, no, at what I said--

MS: Well, here's what you said, "Homosexuality is a lifestyle. It's a choice. And that lifestyle can be changed. It's a transgression against God's law." And you compared it to arsonists and kleptomaniacs, that those things were criminal activities...a compulsion, right?

KB: No. What I said is that, in that regard, you can choose, people choose to be who they are, as they choose to break civil law and God's law...I think you can choose not to be homosexual...

MS: Did you choose to be heterosexual? Did you wake up one day and say I want to be heterosexual?

KB: The answer is that I've never had to make the choice because I've never had the urge to be other than a heterosexual, but if in fact I had the urge to be something else I could have in fact suppressed that urge.

***

MS: But you realize people were insulted when you compared [homosexuality] to arson and kleptomania. I would like you to explain that because, how does that get into this whole "choice" issue? I mean, kleptomania is a compulsion.

KB: Well, the fact is, you can choose to restrain that compulsion. And so I think in fact you don't have to give in to the compulsion to be homosexual. I think that's been proven in case after case after case...

***

KB:Where you and I disagree is that I do not think homosexuality manifested in behavior is a behavior that should in fact make us change the laws of this land.

MS: But many laws have been changed already. The Supreme Court says that homosexual behavior is not illegal. Arson is a crime. If somebody burns your house down, that's hurting you, hurting other people. The Supreme Court has said if it's in your bedroom it's not hurting anybody else.

KB: If in fact you would feel better for me to say to you that, one, I believe homosexuality is a compulsion that can be contained, repressed or changed, and that makes you feel better, then that is what I'm saying in the clearest of terms.

Listen to full interview.

Sheer Lunacy: Ken Blackwell Interview

I interviewed Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State, at the RNC last week. We played it for the first time yesterday on the show. This is a man who ran for Ohio governor against Ted Strickland in 2006 and lost, while comparing gays to arsonists and kleptomaniacs. Listen in, and notice how he tries to run away from that now.

Sally Kern: The Video

We did so many interviews at the Republican National Convention that I lost track of what I had, and on what equipment, or how good the quality was, as we were juggling so much stuff. We were using our audio recorder for the show, digital cameras, Iphone cameras and a camcorder for video, and it all became overwhelming down on the packed floor at times.

So it was a nice treat to go through the camcorder over the weekend and find the Sally Kern interview (which we've played on the show) pretty much intact on video as well. The sound quality goes out for a brief moment or two, and it doesn't include the very end, where she mentions that "Siganorelli" guy. For that you'll have to check out the audio clip I posted. But otherwise, it's a gem.

For those who might need a refresher, Sally Kern is the Oklahoma legislator who made national headlines when she said homsexuality is a worse threat than terrorism. She also was caught a couple of times carrying a loaded gun into the state capitol.

Here's the video, in two parts. I began by asking her how she felt about the Log Cabin Republicans endorsing John McCain (you don't hear my first question but the audio is pretty good from then on).

The RNC Protests: Amy Goodman Interview

The police action against protesters at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul -- including the arrests of members of media, among them Democracy Now's Amy Goodman -- was chilling and got very little coverage, though we saw hundreds of arrests and the use of tear gas. I interviewed Amy Goodman (the interview, which we played on the show, is posted below) the day after she and others on her staff, as well as members of the Associated Press, were arrested, on the night that nearly 300 people were taken into custody. The next night we saw the use of tear gas, and don't forget, this all began before the convention, when several protesters' homes were raided.

Police shut down free speech zones, arrested people who were doing nothing but exercising their rights, and rounded up or silenced media, a tactic that allows them to basically be watchdog-free. This ABC News report shows some of the tactics police used:

Police in riot gear swarmed the area outside the convention center, deploying tear gas and distraction devices known as "flash bangs" in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

Approximately three-hundred protesters were held on the bridge for nearly an hour over Interstate 94 in St. Paul. After hours of people protesting, police instructed demonstrators to file onto the bridge and then announced everyone would be arrested, refusing to allow anyone off the overpass. Law enforcement barricading the bridge fired pepper spray, instructing protesters to put their hands behind their heads.

ABC News' Jennifer Duck was trapped with the marchers on the bridge and observed many young children scared and crying. She spoke to several marchers who said they wanted to go home, but the police refused to allow any movement. Members of the media, and many trying to follow police direction were being pepper sprayed in the face.

I spoke with Amy Goodman on Radio Row the day after she was arrested and after Democracy Now aired the video of the protest. She and her colleagues are asking people to demand the charges be dropped. Listen in to the interview as she describes what happened, and underscores how it is vitally important in a democracy that the press be allowed to cover protests without fear of arrest.