… answers questions on Slashdot.

I should clarify a few things regarding my post yesterday about Peter Hort’s campain for Congress.

1. I do not have a problem with anyone running against Jerrold Nadler. I would love to have a ballot with many possible candidates for each position when I vote.
2. I deplore the way the Democratic and Republican parties in New York State have created a complex election law system designed to keep qualified candidates off the ballot unless they are part of the machine. I have seen legal challenges kick many people off the ballot who deserved to be there
3. I still have a problem with Mr. Hort’s campaign literature not stating that he is a Republican. I also believe that anyone running as a Republican these days in a place like New York City needs to explain why a vote for them is not a vote to keep Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay in power. I think it is the hurdle any Republican running for the House has to get over before they can be considered a candidate that any proponent of gay rights, abortion rights, or the health of urban centers like New York can support.

I probably should have used a kinder tone in my previous post, but I am outraged by what the GOP is doing to my city, to my country, and to the rest of the world. I fail to see how why any reasonable person is willing to begin a political career in that party.

I have been meaning to write about this subject for several weeks, but today’s Newsday article on Peter Hort reminded me to do it. Peter Hort is running for Congress against Jerrold Nadler, the incumbent. Nadler is one of the most liberal members of Congress, and I rarely bother to contact him on any issue, because I agree with his position on nearly everything. The only disagreement is that I think he is a bit too ready to give Israel’s government the benefit of the doubt when it comes to its behavior vis-a-vis the Occupied Territories.

Peter Hort is running as a stealth Republican. His campaign literature doesn’t mention it, and barely appears on his web site unless you read fine print like the mention of his appearance on WNYC. He pretends to be an “independent.” New Yorkers need to realize what happens when they vote for a Republican. I don’t care if he marches in the annual gay pride parade. A vote for a Republican in the House is a vote for the House leadership, unless the candidate is promising to work to defeat the current leadership. That leadership includes:

• Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House
• Tom DeLay, Majority Leader

Mr. Hort’s parents are contemporary art collectors, whose taste I respect, and who support very edgy artists, including ones that make sexually explicit art. How their son can be a member of a party that thinks those people should be in jail, if not worse, is beyond me. I have written to Mr. Hort’s campaign to ask his position on the current GOP House leadership team.