HRC AZ disappoints with Ethan “Bros Before Hoes” Orr endorsement as news media fawn over his weed announcement

Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

I learned via good sources on Facebook earlier that the Human Rights Campaign of Arizona has decided to endorse incumbent Ethan Orr (R) along with Dr. Randall Freise (D) for Legislative District 9. It’s bad enough they are snubbing Orr’s seatmate Victoria Steele (D) but they are throwing their support to a guy who has a lousy voting record on human rights issues. (CORRECTION: I have since learned that HRC AZ is endorsing Steele. They picked Orr over Friese.)

I understand that Orr is nominally pro-LGBT rights and, who knows, maybe he has finally come out in support of marriage equality. HRC AZ may be rewarding him for voting against SB1062 (not that it mattered since the bill passed anyway). If that’s the case, I would urge extreme caution about that. Ethan Orr strongly opposes a woman’s right to choose, which should be upsetting enough if you believe that human rights should be a full meal for all, not a cafeteria plan for some. But what that also means is that if/when SB1062 comes back, it will be (as I’ve explained many times) disguised as a “Hobby Lobby”-type measure. They’ll just say the magic word “abortifacients” and Ethan Orr will be on board. Thus, he really cannot be pro-LGBT if he is also anti-choice.

Orr has gotten a mystifying amount of earned media for recently promising to introduce a bill to legalize recreational weed next year. It’s not as if Orr is breaking ground with this because Ruben Gallego introduced something similar last year and debated it publicly with conservative opponents. Hell, I said we should consider legalizing recreational pot at my Clean Elections debate when I was running for state senate back in 2006! (I caught a ration of crap for that, by the way. Ethan Orr has nothing on me!)

It’s unlikely Orr’s weed bill will get anywhere, unless the GOP is seeing strong indications that the planned ballot 2016 initiative on legalizing recreational MJ is going to be gangbusters, in which case he would deserve no credit for it. What offends me about Orr’s posturing about pot legalization, as much as I agree with his position, is how this is yet another way he demonstrates his “moderation” by only supporting personal liberties that could enjoyed by men, and in some case disproportionately so. Orr is all for the gun rights, for the gay rights (supposedly), and (now) for the weed rights. Is he for women’s reproductive rights? Hell no.

Ethan Orr is a cafeteria-style “moderate Republican” who thinks you should give him cookies, and your vote if you’re in his district, for looking out for his bros while kicking dirt on women. This is pure “bros before hoes” libertarian douchewad politics. Just say no to it.