Just after musician Kid Rock tweeted out the possibility of Senate run in Michigan, Olympic gold medalist and transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner told a New York radio audience she is eyeing a Senate run in California. Joining the list of Celebrities wishing to change careers.
Jenner told radio host John Catsimatidis that she was mulling whether she could accomplish more as an outsider “working the perimeter of the political scene” or “from the inside.”
California Senate incumbent Dianne Feinstein,¹ who turned 84 in June, has not said whether she plans to seek re-election in 2018. Feinstein has become one of the most pro-lgbt and respected Senators in the Country. If she chooses not to run, and Jenner, who is LGBT, as a Republican take the seat, either circumstance could be a disaster, and further embarrassment for the trans community if Jenner runs.
Two months ago, she also in an interview with CNN”s Don Lemon², said “yes, I would consider a run.” Most believe that she’d run as a Republican. Since her coming out, the majority of our community has been outspoken in their disapproval of Jenner’s choice to support the same politicians that would harm trans people. In February, she spoke out against Trump’s repealing of Obama’s transgender school bathroom policies, but continued her support and belief that she has influence with Trump, and urged the few trans republicans, to give him time.
“I have considered it, I like the political side of it. The political side of it has always been very intriguing to me. Over the next six months or so, I [have to] find out where I can do a better job. Can I do a better job from the outside, kind of working the perimeter of the political scene, being open to talk to anybody? Or are you better off from the inside. And we are in the process of determining that.”
Jenner said she has worked with the American Unity Fund to get GOP lawmakers to better understand LGBT issues.
“That’s kind of my issue,” she said.
Jenner, 67, who came out as a transgender woman in 2015³, said she could help change the face of the Republican Party.
“The perception of the Republican Party is that they are all about rich white guys trying to make money. I would hope in the next generation … that we can change the perception of the Republican Party and make it the party of equality,” she said.
Jenner seems to think again, without any regard to the trans community she ‘thinks’ she represents, that she could change the Republican Party from the inside. It would be doubtful she’d have a chance up against the legendary Senator Dianne Feinstein, if Feinstein continues to run for office.
Yet with this news alone, it’s another potential embarrassing moment for our community. In days of slavery, the term Uncle Tom was coined to those that would sell out their own race for personal gain. Now we have a potential Auntie Tammy in the case of Jenner. Yet, there is growing support in our community of those that have seen her efforts to grow. Could there be a change in attitudes within our community about Caitlyn?
A long time advocate, author, and writer of TheTMPlanet Lynnea Stuart says, “Caitlyn Jenner has the right to run for political office and anyone who thinks she will stop her part of the public discourse will have a rude awakening. She’s not going away. And I welcome anyone who seeks to reform the GOP to become a more accepting and affirming party. There was a time when the Republicans were the party of civil rights and the Democrats the ultraconservatives. That changed in the 1960’s after Kennedy and Johnson stood for the civil rights of Blacks and certain other minorities. But I sense that Caitlyn will end up biting off more than she could chew if she goes for the Senate. This is someone who has admitted to having issues with reading and writing due to dyslexia and needed quite a bit of help from others to produce her book “Secrets of My Life.” She will face off against others who have gone through law school and are members of the BAR. These are people skilled in not only writing but debate. Does she have the critical skills necessary to field and LSAT? I seriously doubt it. Worse yet, she will also face off with Evangelical Dominionists, many of whom have shown themselves to have levels of scholarship in Philosophy, the Bible, and Classical Languages. From what I’ve seen her religious position isn’t thought through on the level it would require to confront the likes of Santorum, Pence, or Cruz. Nor have I seen any inclination on her part to expand her understanding of the Bible beyond the cursory spoon feeding she gets from her pastor. I like Caitlyn. I’m not inclined to bash her for her celebrity or her political affiliation. I’ve seen her grow remarkably in a short time despite her frequent gaffes. But I do think she has yet to fully develop her thinking before even beginning to take on a Senate run.”
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- Dianne Feinstein recalls the day she had to announce to the world, the assassination of colleague Harvey Milk.
- Don Lemon is an openly gay news anchor for CNN.
- In 2015, Bruce Jenner, former Olympic Gold Medalist, came out as transgender
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