UPDATED 4X: Brian Schweitzer: Southern Men Like Eric Cantor 'Have Effeminate Mannerisms'

[DonViejo]

Last edited Fri Jun 20, 2014, 09:36 AM - Edit history (5)

Source: TPM

CATHERINE THOMPSON – JUNE 19, 2014, 8:57 AM EDT

Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) doesn't have much of a filter.

The potential presidential hopeful spoke with National Journal's Marin Cogan for a wide-ranging profile published Tuesday and offered some pretty off-color opinions about politicians on both sides of the aisle.

When Cogan called him up on the night House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) was stunningly defeated in his primary, Schweitzer suggested Cantor set off his "gaydar."

"Don't hold this against me, but I'm going to blurt it out. How do I say this ... men in the South, they are a little effeminate," he told Cogan. When asked to clarify, he offered "They just have effeminate mannerisms. If you were just a regular person, you turned on the TV, and you saw Eric Cantor talking, I would say—and I'm fine with gay people, that's all right—but my gaydar is 60-70 percent. But he's not, I think, so I don't know."

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/brian-schweitzer-eric-cantor-dianne-feinstein

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Update 1:

Montana Dem ex-governor: Cantor sets off my ‘gaydar’ and Feinstein is NSA’s street-walker

ormer Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) of Montana has kicked off a political firestorm with a series of off-color remarks that appeared in a profile published in the National Journal.

In the article, Schweitzer said that he finds southern men effeminate and that Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor sets off his “gaydar.” He then went on to accuse Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of having a meretricious relationship with the intelligence community, calling her “the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees” on government spying.

“The governor, who has somewhat inexplicably turned into a hero of some on the political left, can probably say goodbye to that niche in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary,” said the Washington Post‘s Aaron Blake on Thursday. “And in the process, he gave the GOP a little ammunition to fight back against Democratic charges of its supposed “war on women” and its insensitivity toward the GLBT community.”

On the night that Eric Cantor lost the Virginia Republican primary to Tea Party upstart and political amateur David Brat, Schweitzer told the Journal‘s Marin Cogan, “Don’t hold this against me, but I’m going to blurt it out. How do I say this…men in the South, they are a little effeminate.”

more
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/19/montana-dem-ex-governor-cantor-sets-off-my-gaydar-and-feinstein-is-nsas-street-walker/

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Update 2

GOP Rep. Calls Schweitzer 'Sexist Scumbag' Over Feinstein Comment

CAITLIN MACNEAL – JUNE 19, 2014, 4:23 PM EDT

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) on Thursday slammed former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer for a comment he made about Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

Rep. Mike Coffman ✔ @RepMikeCoffman

What kind of sexist scumbag says something like this? Diane Feinstein has more class in her pinky than Schweitzer has in his 20 gallon hat

Rep. Mike Coffman ✔ @RepMikeCoffman

And Feinstein could teach the Mouth of Montana more than a thing or two about foreign policy http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/18/the-brian-schweitzer-presidential-speculation-was-fun-while-it-lasted/ …
11:00 AM - 19 Jun 2014

-snip-

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/coffman-schweitzer-sexist-scumbag-feinstein

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Update 3:

Schweitzer Apologizes For 'Stupid And Insensitive Remarks'

CAITLIN MACNEAL – JUNE 19, 2014, 5:54 PM EDT

Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Thursday apologized for comments he made during an interview with National Journal, presumably ones about House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

"I recently made a number of stupid and insensitive remarks to a reporter from the National Journal. I am deeply sorry and sincerely apologize for my carelessness and disregard," Schweitzer wrote in a Facebook post.

During the interview, the former governor said men from the South like Cantor "are a little effeminate."

He also made an inappropriate comment about Feinstein when discussing her stance on NSA spying practices. "She was the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees, and now she says, 'I'm a nun,' when it comes to this spying!" Schweitzer told National Journal. "I mean, maybe that's the wrong metaphor—but she was all in!"

###

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/schweitzer-apologizes-cantor-feinstein

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Update 4: Thanks to Beacool for this update.

Here’s Sen. Feinstein’s Curt Response to Schweitzer Likening Her to a Streetwalker

by Josh Feldman | 4:28 pm, June 19th, 2014

Brian Schweitzer, the former Democratic governor of Montana and aspiring 2016 presidential candidate, made some rather off-color remarks in a National Journal profile, musing that Eric Cantor is very effeminate, like most Southern men, and sets off Schweitzer’s gaydar. But there was another comment getting attention when the piece came out: Schweitzer going after Senator Dianne Feinstein on surveillance issues by likening her to a prostitute on a street corner.

Schweitzer found it amusing how Feinstein has been a champion of the intelligence community, and has now turned on the CIA for spying on congressional staffers. He said, “She was the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees, and now she says, ‘I’m a nun,’ when it comes to this spying!… I mean, maybe that’s the wrong metaphor—but she was all in!”

-snip-

Today reporters asked Feinstein for her reaction to Schweitzer’s comments. And according to POLITICO, she kept her comments brief.

Her reaction: “You better keep him away from my husband.”
Feinstein then made a hand gesture indicating that Schweitzer’s remarks were not mentally balanced. “That’s all I’m going to say,” she added.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/heres-sen-feinsteins-curt-response-to-schweitzer-likening-her-to-a-streetwalker/

[LeftinOH]

1. Schweitzer should shut up or switch parties. n/t

[warrant46]

83. He's from Montana

There is a particular type of red neck cowboy there who votes Democratic. But they are slowly switching

[randys1]

2. This Keystone supporter is perfect example of why we need an actual liberal party

[ZombieHorde]

56. You mean the Green Party or the Socialist Party? bt

[d_b]

3. o.0

[question everything]

73. Lovely. My sentiments exactly (nt)

[The Wizard]

4. Some say Eric Cantor has

some gay affects. So what. He's gone.

[warrior1]

5. Good bye Brian

Don't let the door hit you where the mother nature split you.

[reflection]

6. What a tool.

I hate that he is a Democrat. Homophobia and regional broad-brushing all in one sentence. Good job, asshole.

[Nonhlanhla]

7. Ugh

Just dumb. Really.

[aceofblades]

8. Not Needed Mr. Govenor

I can do without the stereotypes and "bluntness". One can have their opinion, but it doesn't mean I need to respect it. Similar stereotypes have been directed at members of the LGBT community and it was not appreciated in that case either. If he ran for the Montana senate(now it will more easily fall into republican hands), and avoided harboring sentiments and making comments like these, I'd have been more interested in his political future

[wyldwolf]

9. Oh dear Darwin!

I'm laughing at the same time I'm shaking my head in disgust.

[Le Taz Hot]

10. I was interested in him for about 5 minutes.

Right up until the time I found out he supports the XL Pipeline. I wonder if people here on DU will still support him after this. This guy's going to be an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. Let's hope we get others who will run against Hillary Clinton who doesn't suffer from this kind of foot-in-mouth disease.

[Coventina]

11. Ick. Extremely disappointing from someone who should know better.

[DesertRat]

12. He blew any chance he might have had to run for POTUS as a Democrat

He needs to stay in Montana.

[Alex P Notkeaton]

74. Brian is no Albert

That's for sure.

[Blue_Adept]

13. What ever drew me to this guy in the first place?

I remember being interested in learning more about him quite awhile ago after some policy ideas came out, but I never got the chance to follow through. Amazing how social positions can really change your view of people and want nothing to do with them.

[LibertyLover]

14. Oh for goodness' sake Mr. Schweitzer

really? So it's true - Republicans really do turn on their own. I am no fan of Eric Cantor, in truth I can't stand him, but when he wants he can be polite, as many Southern-reared men are. Is that what Mr. Schweitzer is claiming is an "effeminate mannerism" - politeness? All I can say to Schweitzer is - you might want to have your "gaydar" realigned. It's picking up stray interfering signals.

[whathehell]

43. Agreed...I don't like Cantor but I don't find him effeminate in the least..

In fact, I'm not getting Schweitzer at all -- I'm a total yankee, but don't

view Southern men that way and never did.

What he said about Feinstein is awful...How in Hell did he get to be a Democrat?

[Reter]

58. I can only imagine what he thinks of high-mainenmence men in NYC

If he seen my hair dryer and my chest razor he'd run.

[whathehell]

62. Or any big city, I'd say, at least those east of the Rockies..

Schweitzer really shot himself in the foot -- In one interview he managed to piss off

women, gays and one huge portion of the country -- Way to go, bro.

[roseBudd]

48. I thinkit is the Southern accent. If you don't look like a Bubba...

the accent sounds weird.

[erpowers]

15. Is He Trying Take Their Manly Image From Them

Is Gov. Schweitzer trying to take away the Republican Party's tough guy image? For many years Republican have tried to claim they are the party of tough guys. Claiming that Eric Cantor and other Southern men are effeminate would seem to be a way to question the image Republican men have put forward.

[DonViejo]

16. If what you write is correct...

what do you make of these comments of his?

He held nothing back in discussing Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), either. Feinstein recently accused the CIA of spying on congressional staffers who were compiling a report on the agency's torture program.

"She was the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees, and now she says, 'I'm a nun,' when it comes to this spying!" he told Cogan. "I mean, maybe that's the wrong metaphor—but she was all in!"

[erpowers]

20. He Used A Bad Metaphor

In my opinion, his mistake was using a bad metaphor. It seems what he is trying to say is that Dianne Feinstein was, at first, a supporter of CIA spying, but now, for some reason, she is angered by CIA spying. Maybe he should have used another metaphor, or just said she is complaining about the CIA spying on Congress, but she was not against the CIA spying on everyone else.

[DonViejo]

35. Indeed...

I side with Beacool on this one, erpowers.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014829346#post32

[freshwest]

79. AGREED! But he felt free to *go there* with both comments. That didn't come out of nowhere. Nope!

[whathehell]

44. Yes, I'd say so..

Sexist as Hell.

[Beacool]

25. Crass and tacky metaphor.

This is a senior Senator, she deserves to be treated with more respect than to equate her behavior with that of a whore under a street light.

I knew almost nothing of this guy, but the more he talks, the more I hope that he stays out of politics. He liked McCain in 2000 and Romney in 2008, maybe he should consider switching parties.

[truebrit71]

26. Her position should garner her no more respect than anyone else...

...it's her ACTIONS that garner (or not) any respect...

It was an inartful comment about DiFI from a guy that is known for making similar statements, but he was spot on with his message..

[Beacool]

32. He had no business using that metaphor.

I don't believe that a man should equate women in power to prostitutes, regardless of who the woman in question may be. There are other ways that he could have made his point.

[truebrit71]

63. But it's okay to call her male colleagues who are just as bought-and-paid for 'whores', yes?

Stunning double standard there...IMHO it had more to do with her actions, and not her gender.

I can see where it was 'awkward' or 'inartful', but the idea that we all need to clutch our pearls and reach for the smelling salts is wildly inappropriate...

BTW i am no fan of the former governor, nor would i have had any interest in him had he chosen to run for the nomination.

[Beacool]

64. No, it's not OK.

Where have I said that it was OK to call her male colleagues whores?????

Besides, he didn't use the word "whore". Instead, he used very descriptive imagery of Feinstein with her dress up above her knees under a street lamp. That took some thought and imagination. He has issues.

[truebrit71]

65. Politicans, of both sexes, are regularly called whores...

...your implication is that a man shouldn't be able to use the word, regardless of how apt, about a woman. I think that is a double standard seeing as how politicians are frequently called whores...

[Beacool]

66. A male politician using the word "whore" regarding a female politician,

is as inappropriate as if a white person calls an AA the "N" word.

You must be a man. A woman would have understood what I meant. You don't seem to get that what Schweitzer said is sexist.

[truebrit71]

68. Ah, i'm just a stupid male, is that it?

"A woman would have understood what I meant."

And just to be clear, 'whore' is NOT just as offensive as 'nigger' in any way shape or form...

I'm not going to get anywhere close to the shitstorm THAT analogy is likely to kick off...

[Beacool]

70. Apparently you will never get it.

Next time you argue with your girlfriend or wife, try calling her a whore and see if she doesn't find it just as offensive. The only more offensive word that he could have used is to have called her the "C" word.

Forget it..........

[whathehell]

45. Okay, then he shouldn't have used the sexist whore metaphor on "anyone else" either.

[elehhhhna]

53. he inartfully called DF a ho and Cantor a "gay"? please just stop minimizing.

his assininity is overwhelming. whether he has a point is not relevant when he's such a jackass.

imo

[truebrit71]

57. I was referring to the Difi is a ho deal..not the Cantor is gay deal...

...one was inartful, one was fucking stupid..

[Beacool]

67. You still don't get it.

Think of a woman in your life who you care about, now think of a man disagreeing with something she said and using Schweitzer's metaphor on her. How would you feel?

[truebrit71]

69. But he didn't say it because he disagreed with her, he said it because of her behaviour...

...that's a BIG difference...

[Beacool]

71. It is still not the proper analogy.

[truebrit71]

72. 'proper' according to whom?

You?

[frylock]

39. acts determine whether someone deserves respect, not some damn title

[Beacool]

40. She is a woman and he is a man.

I expect a bit more courtesy and respect. He was not obligated to agree with her, but the analogy was sexist and offensive.

[frylock]

41. i don't agree with the metaphor that he used..

it was crass and tacky, but I also strongly disagree that she deserves respect based upon her stature as a senior senator.

[whathehell]

47. Yes. Sexist imagery and analogies really don't cut it, especially from a supposed Dem. n/t

[lumpy]

55. I think he's gone potty.

[freshwest]

80. Also a big fossil fuel lover. And suffers ODS. His initial 'progressive' promotion was a sham.

But one has to look at the state he's from, and it's mostly Libertarian, Tea and militia friendly.

I had an acquaintance who worked in the lege there and after seeing what they were doing on a daily basis, gave up on progressive politics as hopeless.

[KamaAina]

30. It is indeed the wrong metaphor.

I'm going to need a large bottle of brain bleach!

[JoeyT]

31. While simultaneously alienating both women and LGBT people.

It's A way to question the image Republican men have put forward the same way burning your house to the ground is A way to get rid of squirrels in your attic.

So he's going to piss off LGBT people because of the bullshit effeminate man myth, and women because to use something as an insult, you have to imply there's something bad about it, and people that support either or both of the former because "Ug think you look like woman!" doesn't play well there.

He doesn't lack a filter, he's just a stupid asshole shooting himself in the foot.

[yurbud]

81. The GOP does seem to have a thing for closet cases for a very pragmatic reason

if you have a big secret, you can be controlled through blackmail.

[Mz Pip]

17. Oh geez

That sure was a shit for brains moment.

[nyabingi]

18. As a southerner myself,

I'd like to ask this dude what the hell he's talking about.

That was a very weird statement and it tells us a lot more about him than it does about Cantor.

[groundloop]

19. Pandering to the tough-guy-rancher crowd maybe?

In any case I'd have much rather heard him calling out Cantor for his obstructionism, pandering to the 1%ers etc. than this. So much for any small chance he had to run for President.

[CherokeeDem]

21. I am a Southern woman....

and I can assure Mr. Schweitzer, there are plenty of masculine, and progressive, men in the South... and most would have the good sense not to utter such drivel.

[LynneSin]

22. I can scratch him off my list of who I will support in the primaries

Mind you if he would happen to win the primaries I'd support him. But I never really saw this guy as one of the top contenders for the democrats.

[Lrobby99]

23. Is Blurting Anything Ever The Best Choice?

Are Montanans just not that bright?

[mike dub]

24. Schweitzer just set off my moron-dar

Hey, Schweitzer -- You're a moron

[carolinayellowdog]

27. Cantor sounds to this Virginian like a stuck-up POS from Richmond suburbia

Hardly a generic Southern politico! I don't think Schweitzer knows the difference between effete and effeminate. Wjhat he attributes to gaydar is really snobdar. Cantor's voice captures to me the arrogance of a smug ruling class-- hence effete:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/effete

ef·fete (-ft)
adj.
1. Depleted of vitality, force, or effectiveness; exhausted: the final, effete period of the baroque style.
2. Marked by self-indulgence, triviality, or decadence: an effete group of self-professed intellectuals.
3. Overrefined; effeminate.
4. No longer productive; infertile.

The sound of a House majority bereft of any idea other than its inherent fitness to rule. Kaine, Warner more assimilated Yankees than McAuliffe but nary a Virginia accent can be found among them. McDonnell has a more generic Virginia sound, but Cantor sounds like he's from a particular social class in a particular city known for being class conscious.

Schweitzer doesn't have much of an ear for such fine distinctions.

[rickyhall]

28. Watch it, yankee, we got more guns than you do and we know how to use them.

My daddy told me everybody north of the mason-dixon are either yankees or canadians.

[Beacool]

34. I don't know about you effeminate Southern men........

[ForgoTheConsequence]

46. Montana is 3rd in guns per capita.

And you obviously don't know how to use them, or you wouldn't have gotten your asses kicked in the war.

[rickyhall]

50. Come down to Arkansas and we'll show you yankees a thing or two.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

75. Show me a thing or two about what? Taking more from the federal government than you pay in?

Bloviating about guns and Obama?


I've been to Little Rock more than once, it's a dump.

[KamaAina]

29. There goes Super Tuesday

[QuestForSense]

33. My gaydar is only 60-70 percent, too.

But I can spot an asshole making a silly, self-serving comment 100 percent of the time.

[hangfire00]

36. Gaydar recall

Silly man those gaydar things never work...oh well I needed a laugh.Off to P-Town for the wkend everybody have a great day

[blackspade]

37. Schweitzer needs to STFU...

and go frack himself. The corporate shill.

[Jefferson23]

38. Really terrible..do we know how Dems in Montana feel about their Gov? What a jerk. n/t

[grasswire]

51. former governor

They like their governor just fine. They liked Schweitzer, too. Term limits sidelined him.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

42. How is this relevant to anything?

If this guy has Presidential aspirations, shouldn't he be raising important issues for the country instead of making such idiotic and meaningless observations?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

61. He seems weird

[freshwest]

49. Didn't care for his ODS pandering before, and don't want to hear from the 'Mouth of Montana' again.

His streetwalker slam is the same one a Tea Bagger who repeatedly called the offices of what was then the all women trio in my state, governor and two senators to threaten to kill all of their family members, including their children and grand children. The language was even more misogynic than this big mouth and very violent and he finally was arrested. A fan of Glenn Beck.

Incredibly vile thinking goes along with what this guy is saying here. It ain't cute and he should be shunned for going after Democrats as he did. This isn't just about some southern repukes he wants to denigrate. His comments don't belong in government. But he must have felt the need to flex his 'man' creds... Loser.

[nilesobek]

77. Hoping for the day this kind of talk and politician

are no longer figureheads in Intermountain West politics. At this point our reputations and honor are being hijacked by clowns like him.

As for Southern men, many Southern men moved to this area because back in the day, Potlatch Corp. was a Southern Corporation and the factory leaders were all from the South. They were considered the hardest working, the most decent family men and rarely caused trouble. Frequently these Southern men from Arkansas and other states were called upon to move to Idaho because the mill was being screwed up by lazy locals here in Idaho.

This guy is a big load of hot air.

[PoliticalPothead]

52. I had mixed feelings about him before. This just makes me dislike him.

I like his stance on healthcare and US military intervention, but I cant vote for someone who makes such homophobic/sexist comments and shills for the oil industry as much as he does.

[madville]

54. Maybe he was drunk

Says the reporter called him at night, he may have been drunk. How do explain such a moronic comment otherwise?

[Beacool]

59. Dianne Feinstein responded.

Last edited Fri Jun 20, 2014, 12:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Schweitzer found it amusing how Feinstein has been a champion of the intelligence community, and has now turned on the CIA for spying on congressional staffers. He said, “She was the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees, and now she says, ‘I’m a nun,’ when it comes to this spying!… I mean, maybe that’s the wrong metaphor—but she was all in!”

Yeah, probably the wrong metaphor.

Today reporters asked Feinstein for her reaction to Schweitzer’s comments. And according to POLITICO, she kept her comments brief.

Her reaction: “You better keep him away from my husband.”

Feinstein then made a hand gesture indicating that Schweitzer’s remarks were not mentally balanced. “That’s all I’m going to say,” she added.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/heres-sen-feinsteins-curt-response-to-schweitzer-likening-her-to-a-streetwalker/

[geek tragedy]

60. "Brian Schweitzer's run as a leftwing Teabagger seeking ACA repeal will fail

miserably"



http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024334348

[immoderate]

76. I have long thought Schweitzer is an idiot.

So I am not disappointed.

--imm

[mopinko]

78. sheesh. the hypocrisy of du. feinstein gets called a whore in every thread about her.

back in the day those kind of comments were removed, but they were made every time difi was in the news.

confirmation bias much?

[Brigid]

82. Yet another example that proves the truth of that old saying:

"Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and leave no doubt."