U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin debated former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson last night in their race for the U.S. Senate seat from Wisconsin that was vacated by retiring Senator Herb Kohl. Baldwin, 50, supports marriage equality, and says that she “recognize[s] what the voters of Wisconsin decided back in 2006,” but she also knows “that every year people are thinking about this issue and changing their minds,” and mentioned President Obama’s “journey to support marriage equality” as an example.
“I believe the principles of equality and I certainly support marriage equality,” Baldwin said, respectfully. “I recognize what the voters of Wisconsin decided back in 2006. We know that every year people are thinking about this issue and changing their minds. I was very moved when I saw the President’s interview in which he had talked about his journey to support marriage equality. He talked about the parents of his daughters’ friends and he talked about meeting soldiers serving our country. He talked about all of the conversations along the way that got him to change his mind. I think that’s what’s happening across America.”
Tommy Thompson, 70, was unable to express any thoughts on the issue whatsoever, merely stating he supports the “71 out of 72 counties [that] voted for a constitutional amendment” banning same-sex marriage, and adding, after an uncomfortable pause, “same-sex marriage is not legal in the state of Wisconsin.”
Thompson, for those unfamiliar, has come under fire for benefiting financially from Medicare changes he promoted while serving under President George W. Bush as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and “was cited by the advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists as part of a report detailing their allegations of politicization of science.”
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Tammy Baldwin, if elected, would become the first open-gay member of the U.S. Senate. She is on Facebook, Twitter, and you can visit her campaign site too.
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