Former Mayor Tom Leppert shakes hands with spectators along the route during the 2007 Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade, Dallas’ annual gay Pride parade.
Your weekday morning blend from Instant Tea:
1. In an interview with the National Journal’s Hotline on Call blog that was published Thursday, former Dallas mayor and current Senate candidate Tom Leppert addressed his recent shift to the right on LGBT issues, claiming his views haven’t changed:
Leppert insists that he has not pivoted to the right in preparation for his statewide run. Observers simply mischaracterized his beliefs in the past, he said.
“My positions that you’ve seen that would put me clearly on the conservative side, they’ve never changed,” Leppert told Hotline On Call. “I was somebody that got some things done and somebody that could bring people together. Sometimes that got labeled a certain way.”
Leppert said he worked together with gay rights groups and other typically liberal constituencies in order to successfully run the city of Dallas. But he maintained his beliefs have never wavered, regardless of public perception. Leppert explained that he was never asked for his position on gay marriage during his City Hall tenure.
“As mayor I thought it was my responsibility, and I think I did a good job, in leading the city where I engaged all groups,” Leppert said. “On a lot of the issues I would disagree with the folks, but I would still find common ground.”
Leppert’s assertion that he was never asked about same-sex marriage while mayor is patently false. I posed the question during an interview with Leppert about his first year in office in 2008. And I posted his response on Instant Tea:
“I don’t know, to be truthful with you,” Leppert said when asked if he supported same-sex marriage. “It hasn’t come up. It hasn’t been an issue that I’ve spent any time on. I don’t know. I’d probably have to give it some thought, to be truthful with you. I would see pieces on both sides, to be truthful with you, so I haven’t thought about it.”
2. The Texas Legislature refuses to protect gays from workplace discrimination, but Tarrant County Republican State Rep. Bill Zedler has filed a bill that would protect creationists.
3. A majority of Americans now support same-sex marriage, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll. Support for same-sex marriage has gone from 36 percent five years ago to 53 percent today.
Are we really surprised? A liar is a liar is a liar…….
Once again Leppert is proven to be someone who will say anything to get elected and to get what he wants, in other words a Republican. Let the flaming begin!
I’ll be voting for the person running against him
Loved the repeat of “to be truthful with you.” A dead giveaway that the guy was/is lying.
He should’ve said “I never answered a question about gay marriage,” but if course that would make him look indecisive – and I guess that’s less acceptable than being a liar, in those circles. Either way, pretty shameful the way he blows off the community after being part of pride festivities, etc,..
Interesting that he uses the phrase “to be truthful” so many times in such a short response. Does this mean when he doesn’t caveat his responses with “to be truthful” he is lying?
I posted on an article awhile back regarding the fact I actually like Mayor Leppert. A few folks on these comment sections gave me a hard time for being a gay man in Dallas who supports the former Mayor, but I still really like him and the work he did.
I had the opportunity to meet him a few times and he was always honest regarding my questions and just seemed like a nice man. Obviously, we have some pretty big differences on a couple of really important issues…but if he can work with people from all walks of life, and from all across the political and social spectrum as he did when Mayor, I think he’d be a very good Senator.
Tool Time with Tool Tom