Elizabeth Dole Says "Fück You" To Americans With AIDS
 

Are you kidding me Liddy? You want to rename an AIDS funding bill after the late and unlamented Jesse Helms?
Liddy, do ya think maybe, just maybe, that you could find a more appropriate bill to remember him by?

Well, there is a small part of me that would find this funny (if the re-naming went through). It would be like rubbing his nose in his own idiocy by naming something he would have voted against (and spent his whole life rallying against) after him.

But I still say no.

BTW: so far, I can only find one link to this story (besides the one above) and it is basically a link to the Joe.My.God story. I would really like to see more on this.

Half of me says, 'Ugh!' the other half of me finds it funny.

Yeah, me too. I mean, she can't mean this any way but ironically, right?

...right?

Seeing as how I live near "Regan National Airport" this whole issue sounds like business as usual for our Marie Antoinette'ish government.

I would hope so. This is a woman who held a major position in the Red Cross, after all. And in an ironic sense, it's the ultimate f-you to Helms.

I don't know, maybe her position on "abstinence-only" prevention would be telling (which I honestly don't know).

But Moonie is right. Regan Airport is not an ironic tribute to the traffic controllers he made a point of screwing over.

This is not irony by Libby. It's the same old fvck you.

A few things, though this is, regardless, a PR blunder of biggy proportions:

1. I've seen it reported that she is trying to remove Henry Hyde's name from the title of the bill and replace it with Jesse Helms. That's not accurate, the proposed amendment changes "This act may be cited as the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde ..." to "This act may be cited as the Tom Lantos, Henry J. Hyde, and Jesse Helms..."

2. Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde both recently passed away so it is possible that Dole (or which ever staffer put this in front of her for rubber stamping) didn't think it through and just though the bill name was just a tribute to recently deceased congress critters and that Helms should be included.

3. It isn't just an AIDS funding bill but also a bill for funding efforts against malaria and tuberculosis. I have no idea where Helms stood on those issues.

But if done out of spite or some sense that Helms specifically should be mentioned on the issue of AIDS it is pretty skanky. I'm not familiar in detail with her specific policy positions on gay rights, AIDS research, etc., so for a bit I'll give the benefit of the doubt on this just being an ill-considered pro forma amendment.

Well, reading the page from the Congressional Record, it does look as if Libby may indeed have been making a "funny." The bill is regarding the appropriations for fiscal years 2009-2013 to provide assistance to foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, etc. The amendment proposed (among other amendments by other people) would have added Helms' name to the bill, and the amendment was tabled.