Ted Busiek, a Republican running against state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, should stop wasting time campaigning for the job because, frankly, he is not welcome on Beacon Hill.
Busiek sent out an extremely offensive tweet over the weekend using a homophobic slur. And yesterday, his would-be boss, Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg, who is gay, told me on Boston Herald Radio that the Littleton politician should apply for another job.
“The Senate and the Legislature in general would not benefit by having a person with that kind of mentality and approach in our midst,” Rosenberg said. “If you want me to be clearer: ‘Stay away, we don’t want you.’ ”
On Saturday, Busiek a big Donald Trump supporter, tweeted out an old video clip of the New York billionaire discussing casinos at a congressional hearing, along with this statement: “DONALD TRUMP. Putting self-righteous (homophobic slur) in their place since 1993. How I love this fellow.”
Instead of apologizing for his hurtful words, Busiek has since doubled-down in a blog post saying, “The long and short is that I kicked over an SJW (social justice war) ant-hill in referring, in a tweet, to a certain politician as a (homophobic slur)...
“The whole thing presents an interesting question: Can a word that makes one segment of the population uncomfortable but is in common usage by another segment be ‘culturally verified’ as unspeakable if the segment that doesn’t like it demonstrates a loud enough consensus on the matter?”
It’s alarming to learn that particular homophobic slur is in common usage among Busiek and his peers, and that he is OK with that. You have to wonder what other bigotry he finds acceptable.
The same guy who’s against gay marriage now wants to refine a word that homosexuals find offensive and encourage its use.
What’s next — bring back the “N-word”?
This is common sense, not a social justice war. Just because the First Amendment gives us cover to say just about whatever we want doesn’t mean we should, especially if you are seeking public office.
“If we do nothing else in public office, we should set an example of civic behavior of civil discourse,” said Rosenberg.
The head of the Massachusetts Republican Party is equally horrified by Busiek’s comments and lack of remorse. Kirsten Hughes told me, “There is no place for that talk and doesn’t reflect my values or the values of the party … He should apologize.”
Copyright © 2024 Jaclyn Cashman.
