And, remarkably enough, it was Jerry Thacker himself, who has withdrawn from his appointment to the Presidential Advisory Commission on HIV and AIDS.
This is the gent who has previously referred to AIDS as the “gay plague,” and to the “gay deathstyle” as being a major cause of the disease. And when he and his wife discovered they had contracted HIV due to a transfusion they’d received, the worst part of it was (to them) the disease’s association with the “sin” of homosexuality, and the fear that folks might think (gasp) they were gay.
I think it’s fine that a straight man was chosen by the Bush administration to be on the commission. I don’t even mind a modicum (though the Bushies are aiming for a lot more than that) of discussion about abstinence in the context of AIDS prevention.
But to have chosen someone whose homophobia is so clear to such a panel was … well, just damned stupid of the administration, despite the shucking and jiving by Ari Fleischer today:
“The views that he holds are far, far removed from what the president believes,” Fleischer said. “The president has a total opposite view. … The president’s view is that people with AIDS need to be treated with care, compassion.”
Then why the heck was he chosen to the commission? Didn’t anybody read his damned web page? Yeesh.
(via JillMatrix)