Rob Schlein
Last week Rob Schlein, president of the Dallas chapter of Log Cabin Republicans, went on The Michelangelo Signorile Show to discuss his recent op-ed for Dallas Voice in which he said he’d support Texas Gov. Rick Perry if Perry is the Republican nominee for president. Schlein also appeared Friday on Pink Noise: The Dallas Voice Radio Show to discuss the piece.
On Monday, Signorile posted audio of his interview with Schlein on his blog, The Gist. Listen by going here.
Is it just me or is Rob becoming more despicable by the moment. I think he has been reading way too many Ayn Rand books.
I don’t interpret what he said to suggest he would make up a reason to fire someone for being black. The way I interpret what he said was, that Texas it is a right to work state and that an employer can fire anyone at will. No reason is necessary but that any employer could make up a reason if they wanted to in order to get rid of someone without violating any laws or appearing discriminatory. That’s not news. Gay people have dealt with that probably since the first gay person existed. All successful long term businesses have probably had to let someone go at some point in time, and didn’t give the real reason they were letting the person go in order to cover their ass and stay out of trouble. It’ll always be that way. Someone will always get fired with a different reason being given.
So what if he DID say he would fire someone for being black? All he has to do is backtrack, recant and/or deny it later (even if it’s the truth). That’s the one thing that the Rethuglicans do extraordinarily well. Mr. Schlime (or however it is spelled) is simply following in his leaders’ footsteps.
that’s not what right to work state means..it means you have the right to work in the state without being mandated to join a union. An employer can’t really fire someone “at will” but usually must document and give specific performance or attendance or financial reasons for letting someone go. Rob Schlien is so far into self hatred I wonder if he really is gay. Can you imagine being friends or being in love with someone like that? Sick
Brett, you got it right about what right to work means. But an employeer can fire someone at will with the exception of certain protected categories such as race, ethnicity, sex, religion, etc. The laws protecting certain categories could be federal, state or local laws.
Boy, the Dallas Voice knows how to inflame a story that isn’t there! Thanks to Carl for actually listening to the interview. This headline repeats one from Michael Signorile’s radio show and website that is untruthful. Michael was making an assertion that Republicans are against ENDA, and my response was an attempt to convey that even if that were true, if you vote for a candidate that supports ENDA, but who also votes for policies that are destructive to job creation that ENDA won’t matter. OF COURSE I don’t fire someone for being a minority! But I don’t want gay people to feel that their jobs will all of a sudden be protected from layoffs if ENDA exists. Employers fire for many reasons, and that was my point. I asked the Dallas Voice to modify the headline because it’s inflammatory and inaccurate. They have been producing a lot of sensational headlines and subheadlines lately. John Wright knows better.
Thank you John, for removing the offending headline especially after it’s been google alerted.
Rob
Well, I hope everyone is happy with the audio and headline now. I understood what the “right to work” and all the other stuff is about. However, I’m still not going to vote for a party that doesn’t vote for me. “Shooting yourself in the foot”, “Self inflicted wound”…whatever it may be referred to as with the LCR group, I don’t care to vote Republican because no one in that party that is running in 2012 has spoken for the over 1,100 rights the GLBT people are denied. Just because you vote for the lesser of two evils doesn’t make the lesser good. Sure, I’m all for a good economy just as much as the straight person in my office, but that straight person can file a joint tax return with their spouse, they can visit their husband/wife in ICU or make decisions regarding the estate should they experience the loss of the person they said “I do!” to! That straight person can hold their head up when they walk hand in hand with their spouse in public because they are considered an American citizen to whom the US Constitution applies 100%. I want a party that view me as 100% American and feels I deserve all the rights and protections of the next person.
So Rob, are you saying it was someone else on the Signorile show, not you, who said:
SCHLEIN: Texas is a right-to-work state. So as an employer, which I am, I can fire anybody at will.
SIGNORILE: You cannot fire somebody for being African-American.
SCHLEIN: Well, I wouldn’t tell them.
SIGNORILE: You wouldn’t tell them, but you’d do it anyway?
SCHLEIN: I’d find a reason if I wanted to fire them.
I’m originally from NC, a right to work state, and my strong advice to you is to consult with your attorney about what that means. As other commenters above have noted, “right to work” is right-wing Orwellian newspeak for “no unions.” It is not relevant to employment discrimination laws.
@Lil’ Carl. “I want a party that view me as 100% American and feels I deserve all the rights and protections of the next person.” I couldn’t agree more. I only wish there was such a party. Our President has made it pretty clear he supports separate but equal. A democrat, President Clinton, signed DOMA. I’ve got a letter on my wall from President Bill Clinton dated July 2, 1997 where he states “I signed the bill sent to me by Congress because it was consistent with my long-held views.” He is referring to the DOMA bill in his response to my letter letting him know how disappointed I was in him for signing the bill. As a Gay male, I have a better shot with the Democrats at eventually getting the rights I am denied. However, there is no party like the one we want. Maybe the Democrat version of the Tea Bag Republicans would be that party, if there was one.
I have always found Rob to be an extremely candid, accessible, and open individual who is willing to discuss his views and opinions. The vile and repugnant comments which attacked Rob under an inflammatory headline are quite revealing.
The entire conversation about the effects of anti-discrimination laws in a right to work state is a very advanced topic which cannot be fully evaluated in one radio show. Rob’s point seemed to be that ENDA, creating a federal cause of action for discrimination, would likely have little impact in states like Texas where an employer can terminate, whether for a discriminatory reason or not, under the mere guise of state at-will employment laws. In essence, and employer need not “paper a file” here or meet union rules or procedures to terminate an employee. Absent those laws, it is extremely difficult to prove discrimination in a termination decision, and it is even less likely that the average worker would have the proof, much less the resources, to sue a former employer in federal court. Whether one would support one presidential candidate over another is a matter of personal preference.
Anyone who thinks Rob was trying to suggest he enjoys firing black people is not looking at the conversation objectively or with any context.
Thank you Justin! If I had been as artful as you in expressing my views, perhaps the story wouldn’t have been so big and we could have spoken about other issues on Signorile’s show.