Who knew? Evidently there is some formal certification process for becoming a lesbian. How else to explain former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s dismissal of state gubernatorial aspirant and actress Cynthia Nixon as an “unqualified lesbian.”
Quinn, a supporter of current Gov. Andrew Cuomo and herself a lesbian, told the New York Post in an interview:
Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City. Now she wants to be an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York. You have to be qualified and have experience. [Emphasis addded]
Quinn acknowledges that Nixon, who appeared on the HBO series “Sex and the City,” is progressive but maintains it takes “more than being a reliably leftist celebrity to run the Empire State.”
She’s an accomplished actress, a supporter of political causes and that’s a good thing. Participating in rallies is important.
But she’s never run an organization. Being an actress and celebrity doesn’t make you qualified for public office. This is a time to move away from celebrity and toward progressive leadership.
Quinn provides a laundry list of of Cuomo’s “accomplishments,” which include supporting a $15 minimum wage (despite which fact the minimum wage remains fixed at $13) and opposing fracking (despite which New York State continues to import shale gas from neighboring Pennsylvania and is planning to process it in a mammoth power plant under construction 65 miles northwest of New York City).
Nixon counters that her focus will be on addressing corruption in Albany — a subject Cuomo knows a thing or two about. When an ethics panel created by the governor turned its attention toward his office, he quickly disbanded it.
