A Republican Senate candidate with a history of bigoted anti-LGBTQ rhetoric says he should get a pass because he made them while appearing on "Christian radio."
A Republican Senate candidate in Virginia said that his anti-gay commentary should be excused because he made them "on Christian radio."
E.W. Jackson, a pastor at The Called — Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Virginia, is running for the Senate seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine. Jackson, who previously lost the 2013 election to be Virginia's lieutenant governor, has a history of bigoted comments about gay and transgender Americans.
Jackson has referred to gay people as "perverted," "degenerate," "spiritually darkened," and "frankly very sick people, psychologically, mentally and emotionally." He also said homosexuality "poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it brings the judgment of God unlike very few things that we can think of."
That's not all.
Jackson said that gay people want to "sexualize [children] at the earliest possible age" and falsely claimed that there is a "direct connection" between homosexuality and pedophilia. When discussing the HIV rate among black men, Jackson said that homosexuality is "killing black men by the thousands."
He described same-sex marriage as "spitting in the face of every Bible-believing Christian in America."
But now that he wants a seat in the Senate, Jackson is insisting that his venomous bile doesn't count.
Speaking to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jackson offered the pathetic excuse that some of his statements were made "not in the context of a campaign but on Christian radio where I'm speaking as a pastor and minister to Christians."
Jackson now says he has "regret" for using "words that hurt people." Of course, he still opposes same-sex marriage and other efforts toward LGBTQ equality, like nondiscrimination laws in housing and employment. But he "says he hopes to communicate his conservative values in a less offensive manner," the paper noted.
Indeed, Jackson told the paper that he is seeking Virginia's Senate seat to help Donald Trump pass his conservative agenda: "I agree with the president's agenda and I want to see his agenda implemented."
In his 2013 campaign, Jackson made similarly phrased comments in an attempt to stave off criticism. Virginia voters didn't buy it, and he lost by nearly 11 percent to Democrat Ralph Northam.
And Virginia has already weighed in on the Trump agenda with a resounding "no," as Jackson's 2013 opponent was elected governor of Virginia in 2017, winning his race over Ed Gillespie, who was also promoting the Trump agenda.
The blue wave of Democratic voters rejecting Trump was already strong in Virginia, and it's not going to abate. And these voters are not about to support Jackson's virulent hatred, no matter how many paltry excuses he offers.
