Bill Richardson keeps trying to explain himself...
The more Bill Richardson talk, the less I like him. I thought he gave a pretty good speech at the HRC dinner last March but it's pretty much been downhill since then. After his big faux paus at the HRC/Logo presidential forum last week, he sat down with The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld to try and do some damage control.
It seems he has an excuse for every occasion:
Click HERE to read the entire interview...I've pulled out a few questions as an appetizer...
The Advocate: What happened last night when you were asked whether being gay was a matter of choice or biology and you said that it was the former?
Richardson: I misunderstood the question, and I made a mistake in the way I answered it. I thought it was a trick question. I made a mistake and I apologize. ...I've always understood that [being gay is biological], I just haven't thought about that in a very long time. Again, I'm very action-oriented. I deal with getting things done for gay and lesbian people, as I have as a governor. And I fully understand that it's something you're born with and it's not a lifestyle choice. I've always understood that, but when you're flying all night from New Hampshire as I had—we're human too. We flew all night to get here. That shouldn't be an excuse. I am here in a symbolic visit to The Advocate to say I misunderstood the question, I handled it in a bad way, and I caused a lot of confusion. But my main message is that I should be judged by my actions, on what I've done, not words that don't accomplish anything, that had been misunderstood.
The Advocate: You also said that if the New Mexico state legislature passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, you wouldn't sign it. Why?
Richardson: What I would sign is a civil unions bill with full marriage rights. That's what I would sign. But that's not the issue. The issue is, what can I get done in my legislature. I was unable in a special session to get done a domestic-partnership bill, and we lost by one vote in the regular session. But then I called special session a few days later to deal with the full domestic-partnership bill. No other governor has ever done that. It failed, so I'm going to bring it up in January again in the new legislative session.
The Advocate: Regarding the maricón comment you made on the Don Imus show, the native Spanish speakers I've asked all say it's a derogatory term for gays. But you've indicated that maricón is just a term for homosexuality and doesn't have a negative connotation. Do you want to clarify?
Richardson: I also said I shouldn't have used that word. It was at the end of an interview and I was goaded into doing that, and I shouldn't have said it. But in my day, and I'm older than most, there was no such word as faggot. It was more in the sense of being demeaning to someone, more of a pejorative term that was not given the connotation that it has now. But if you look at the transcript of that show, I was goaded into saying it because Imus was trying to stipulate that I'm Hispanic. It was wrong and I apologize.
Any final thoughts, Governor?
I hope the gay and lesbian community supports my candidacy and doesn't judge me on the basis of one silly misunderstanding that I take full responsibility for. They should look at the record and what I've done and what I can potentially bring the country in pursuing equal rights for everybody. I came here today to send this message.
Greg Hernandez has covered the entertainment industry for the Daily
News since 2001. He's considered a bit odd by some for his obsession
with box office numbers, has been known to camp out near the kitchen
at premieres for first crack at the hors d'oeurves, and Greg's never
seen a red carpet he didn't want to stroll down.