Duncan Hunter’s apple does not fall far from the tree. His son, the aptly named Junior, aims to continue his legacy of inanity and outlandish statements. With that, I give you Junior’s latest tirade:

Interviewer: You are not in favor of repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Why not?

   Rep. Duncan Hunter: No, because I think that it’s bad for the cohesiveness and the unity of the military units. And, especially for those in close combat — in close quarters — in country right now. It’s not the time to do it. I think the military is not civilian life. I think the folks who have been in the military, that have been in those very close situations with each other — there has to be a special bond there. I think that bond is broken if you open up the military to transgenders; to hermaphrodites; to gays and lesbians.

   Interviewer: Transgenders and hermaphrodites.

   Rep. Duncan Hunter: That’s going to be part of this whole thing. It’s not just gays and lesbians, it’s the whole gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual community. If you’re going to let anybody in, no matter what preference — what sexual preference — they have, that means the military is going to probably let everybody in. It’s going to be like civilian life. And, I think that would be detrimental for the military. (Pam’s House Blend

First, I would point out that hermaphrodites are people who are born into the world as they are. Even the right wing arguments against the LGBT community, that it’s some sort of choice, carry no weight whatsoever against those who were born with non-standard genitalia. Perhaps Duncan should read one of the biggest bestsellers of our time, Jeffry Eugenides Middlesex.

Yet the bigger question is what does this say about Duncan Hunter, Jr, and what does it say about what he thinks about the military.  Gays and lesbians have been serving, closted, for years. Order has not disappeared, the ranks haven’t descended into chaos.  In Europe, militaries have integrated gays and lesbians a long time ago. Yet, somehow, the American military can’t handle that?

I think these comments say far more about Duncan Hunter and his perceptions of the military than anything about gays and lesbians in the military.

UPDATED with the audio from media matters.

Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA9], proved she has a backbone when in 2001 she stood up against war and became the only member of congress to vote “No” on the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF), and she was oh so right.

Now, Barbara has again taken the lead in trying to stop the insane decision to expand and escalate the war in Afghanistan. Her bill, H.R. 3699 “To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan,” has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee. Link: http://www.govtrack.us/congres…  

Cosponsors:

Yvette Clarke [D-NY11]  Emanuel Cleaver [D-MO5]   Steve Cohen [D-TN9]

John Conyers [D-MI14]   Donna Edwards [D-MD4]     Keith Ellison [D-MN5]

Bob Filner [D-CA51]  Alan Grayson [D-FL8]  Raul Grijalva [D-AZ7]

Maurice Hinchey [D-NY22]  Michael Honda [D-CA15]  Sheila Jackson-Lee [D-TX18] Dennis Kucinich [D-OH10]  John Lewis [D-GA5]      James McDermott [D-WA7]

James McGovern [D-MA3]    Jerrold Nadler [D-NY8]  Fortney Stark [D-CA13] Edolphus Towns [D-NY10]  Nydia Velázquez [D-NY12]Maxine Waters [D-CA35]

Diane Watson [D-CA33]    Lynn Woolsey [D-CA6]

As you can see, MOST of our 53 California representatives have NOT signed onto the bill. No Waxman. No Berman. No Sherman. No Schiff. Just those heroes in bold above are on this short list. CONTACT your representative to ask that they co-sponsor and support this important legislation to take back the war powers as in our constitution. And thank those who have signed on.

Here’s the link to the committee: http://www.govtrack.us/congres…  The Democratic Chair is Rep. Ike Skelton [D-MO4] with the ranking Republican member Rep. Howard McKeon [R-CA25] (Santa Clarita and east), Rep. Duncan Hunter [R-CA52], and the TWO DEMOCRATS from CA:

Rep. Susan Davis [D-CA53] (San Diego) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez [D-CA47] (Garden Grove-Santa Ana).

Please CONTACT these people on the committee right away and ask that this bill be brought to a vote immediately. With the impending announcement coming from Obama, there is no time to lose.////

Links?  I’ll show you some links!

• The latest Don Perata story concerned money he took from his own ballot campaign account into his legal defense fund.  He’s entitled to do that for the time being, but the Fair Political Practices Commission is considering new rules to strengthen the campaign finance laws around these kinds of accounts.  I think “abolished” might be a good way to go for these slush funds.

• Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has a pretty cool tribute to Martin Luther King on his website today, on the occasion of his 80th birthday.  Eight elected officials in LA County answer the question, “What is the significance of this year’s Martin Luther King Day to you?”

• New Rep. Duncan Hunter, following in the legacy of his father, is whining about potential Guantanamo detainees behind held temporarily at Camp Pendleton.  He claims their presence would “distract” the Marines there.  Considering these detainees have been held in what amounts to a concentration camp and tortured, I think “distraction” is but a small price to pay.

• On yesterday’s SCHIP vote, which passed resoundingly in the House, Hunter joined most California Republicans in voting against medical care for children.  Only Mary Bono Mack defied her Republican counterparts.

• The CBP blog thinks we should look at enterprise zone programs as a good place to start cutting the budget.  A new study by the PPIC claims they are completely ineffective.  I’m all for eliminating useless tax breaks.

• There is a Los Angeles municipal election on March 3, and the only race worth following is a crowded contest for Jack Weiss’ old city council seat.  Six candidates (including progressive former Assemblyman Paul Koretz) all raised roughly the same amount of money in the last quarter.

• This is a pretty big ruling for environmentalists, as an Australian firm has bowed to pressure and scrapped their plans for an LNG terminal off of Santa Monica Bay.

• And then there’s the story about the California man who tried to sell his 14 year-old daughter into marriage for cash, beer and meat, and then attempted to have the groom arrested when he wouldn’t pay up.  Hey, I didn’t know that the dowry was back in fashion!

First, it was Duncan Hunter Sr. who would always refuse to debate. He was the incumbent Republican, in a very red district, so in a way that makes sense. But now his son is doing it too. Only his son isn’t an incumbent, though he’s trying to run like one. First, it was a debate hosted by the East County League of Women Voters, next, it was a debate on a conservative radio show, hosted by Rick Amato. Little Duncan Jr. apparently is terrified of facing off with his opponent, Commander Mike Lumpkin. This tactic of avoiding debates is undemocratic, and insult to the voters of the 52nd district. We deserve to hear from the candidates themselves.

It’s a pattern, and an unfortunate one, of behaving exactly as his father does.

Next on the list is his campaign contributions, the names of his top contributors bare a startling resemblance to those who’ve received earmarks from his father, daddy Duncan calling in favors for his heir? Junior has previously defended the importance of earmarks, by claiming that it’s the only way the Pentagon gets funding. A remarkably stupid statement, particularly given that he himself is a Marine Reservist, he should know better. Then again, he’s a Hunter, so “How government works,” along with integrity and decency, are concepts lost on him.

Judge someone by the company they keep? Perhaps we can. Little Duncan seems to be best buds with the Minutemen, endorsed by them, received money from their PAC, he even spent 4th of July palling around with those ludicrous vigilantes. His father was obsessed with “Border security” as well.

The earmarks and the Minutemen ties would be one thing, if he was at least willing to face his opponent in a debate, giving the voters the opportunity to get to know the both of them. But he isn’t. He wants the seat handed to him, thinks it’s his inheritance, and is generally behaving like a petty, spoiled brat.

Mike Lumpkin of course, put it far more diplomatically:

“Duncan Hunter Junior expects to inherit his father’s congressional seat and not work hard by showing voters what he’s made of in a broadcast debate,” says Commander Lumpkin. “But being a member of Congress is a job-not an entitlement. In a debate he can’t ask his father what to say; he has to be his own man and stand on his own two feet.”

Mike Lumpkin’s website

Mike’s ActBlue page

For the last few months, Calitics has been part of the Ruckus Blog on Newsweek. This week we’re starting a question feature. The question this week asks who would be a bold pick for John McCain and Barack Obama as VP candidates. This being a California blog, I have some answers for that question.  I’m not going to say these would be good picks, but they will be bold.  McCain: Duncan “wildebeest” Hunter.  Barack Obama: Barbara Boxer.

Duncan Hunter: Let’s look at Duncan Hunter first. He’s a longtime congressman and first time presidential candidate this cycle.  The man is clearly insane, so much so that he wants to feed the Darfur refugees with wildebeest that he shoots himself.  And that’s not all. He wants to turn Santa Rosa Island into a hunting park for, well, anybody that carries enough political clout for him to get through. He tried veterans, then moved to disabled veterans. I’m pretty sure he’ll next say that Santa Rosa Island should be a wildebeest hunting refuge for the Darfur refugees next. Or something like that.

Hunter is a conservative’s conservative. He won’t help you carry California, but he will bring the NRA and a whole slew of gun enthusiasts to your side. He won’t bring the votes of military families that have been torn apart by the foolish war in Iraq, but he will bring you Pentagon contractors.  He’s real tight with them.  This is a certainly a bold pick.

Duncan Hunter: Conservative, Gun-toting, and Completely Insane. Now, that’s Bold.

Barbara Boxer: On the more serious side, Barbara Boxer would be a phenomenal choice to take the lower line of the Democratic ticket. She is enormously popular with the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party (meaning us liberals), and would create an historic ticket. While I’m not sure that Boxer would make up for a Clinton loss, the Obama/Boxer ticket would break boundaries that should have been broken long ago.

Boxer has been fighting for California in the Senate since 1990 and has truly done a phenomenal job. Her leadership regarding climate change has been overshadowed by Al Gore, but has been critical to whatever movement there has been on the issue. She opposed the Iraq War, reinforcing Obama’s position.

She’s not on the short list, likely because she would be seen as “too liberal” or due to the fact that she’s from California, a state where Obama leads by 24 points.  That’s a shame. Yet, Boxer would be a truly visionary selection to usher in a new governance that could build a progressive majority for years to come.

The real question here is whether these military contractors think they’re contributing to the same Duncan Hunter or not.

Records show connections between companies Rep. Hunter has worked with and some individuals who are contributing to his son’s campaign.

Rep. Hunter added language to the 2008 Defense Appropriations bill awarding $19 million to L-3 Communications, which has an office in San Diego, for the development and testing of a missile system, according to data compiled by Taxpayers for Common Sense. Executives from that company contributed $2,750 to Duncan D. Hunter’s campaign.

Rep. Hunter also earmarked San Diego-based Trex Enterprises Corp. $1.5 million for the development of a device that will help helicopter pilots navigate with limited visibility. Campaign finance records show Trex employees, including a scientist, donated $4,800 to Duncan D. Hunter’s campaign.

Lobbyists working for the companies have also supported Hunter’s campaign. Patrick McSwain and Frank Collins, who were listed as principals at the lobbying firm Northpoint Strategies, collectively donated $2,500. Northpoint worked on behalf of L-3. McSwain and Collins were both former [Rep. Duke] Cunningham chiefs of staff.

You know, why wouldn’t they?  Hunter was a reliable champion for whatever boondoggle weapons system these contractors thought up, even planes that can’t fly.  There’s no reason to believe that his son won’t act the same way.

Calitics has endorsed Democrat Mike Lumpkin in this seat.