By ZACK ROSEN, Washington Blade
Sep 16 2008, 2:39 PM |
|  | 
Comedian Margaret Cho, known for her outspoken views on sexuality and politics, took aim at the Republican Party in a candid interview with the Washington Blade, assailing vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
"I think [Palin] is the worst thing to happen to America since 9-11,” Cho said. “Someone who has no thoughts about women's rights and who wants to send women back to the Stone Age? You might as well not let women vote. I came out of the Democratic convention feeling so proud and excited, but now I fear that our country is so backwards in so many ways and the ignorance that exists is greater than we can even imagine.”
Cho singled out Palin in part because the Alaska governor’s church has encouraged discredited reparative therapy techniques to help gay people become straight.
"The reach of homophobia and hatred is so wide, it's disturbing how deep it is,” Cho said. “Now with Sarah Palin, who is so anti-gay and advocated camps for them to go to be brainwashed, she is a real sign of something very wrong with this country, a real problem. We are battling homophobia on so many fronts."
Cho will be in Washington next week to accept a leadership award from the Victory Fund, a national organization that helps LGBT candidates get elected to public office.
The relationship between Cho and the Victory Fund began in the spring. The gay advocacy group was instrumental in publicizing homophobic comments made by Oklahoma lawmaker Sally Kern (R). Cho worked the remarks, including references to the "homosexual agenda" being a bigger threat than terrorism, into her act. She began auctioning off front row seats to her shows and giving the proceeds to the Victory Fund.
"Margaret Cho stood up for us during the Sally Kern issue," said Denis Dison, Victory Fund's vice president of communications. "It was a really cool thing for her to do; we wanted to recognize her for it.”
Cho also touched on California’s Proposition 8, which would overturn same-sex marriage in the state.
"I'm indignant about the government not seeing gays and lesbians as equals," Cho said. "It is so infuriating that people would want to go out of their way and do things to stop gay marriage when they have nothing to do with it.”
Cho was recently deputized in San Francisco to perform gay marriages. She grew up there and credits the city with influencing her political leanings.
Her parents owned a bookstore that employed many gay men and women and she learned at an early age "what it was to be gay in our society." Cho's speech to the Victory Fund on Sept. 24 will focus on politics with her usual provocative edge.
"San Francisco politics in the '70s were really fascinating. I was a big fan of Harvey Milk. It was the first time we had an openly gay elected official and I thought it was a great thing. It was tremendously heartbreaking when he was assassinated. I was thinking 'How could someone get killed because of their orientation?’ I made a commitment to change that."
Cho feels that the best way to affect this change is to encourage gays to vote, but she’s pessimistic about the upcoming election. She worries that the Republicans will "probably fix the election again" and feels that their vice-presidential pick of Sarah Palin was meant to "appease disgruntled Hillary voters." In Cho's opinion, the consequences of voting for the so-called "pitbull with lipstick" will be disastrous.
Still, though, Cho believes that American gays should not give up hope.
"We really have to buck up and look at this as a big fight. The gay and lesbian community is a big part of this debate. We have to make sure that everyone gets out there and votes so that this doesn't happen again."
|
