You Be The Judge...

June 14, 2016

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Anderson Cooper in a rather pointed and intense interview with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. After listening to the video and reading the article it was clear to me that nothing was really clear. The individual citizen Bondi may very well differ with the official Republican Attorney General Bondi. But then again if this be the case why didn't she choose a party hat would be more in line with her personal values? We leave it to you all to be the judge.

CNN's Anderson Cooper went after Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) hard in a one-on-one interview Tuesday, calling into question her status as a champion for LGBT Floridians given her work on the legal fight against same-sex marriage in the state.

And for five minutes, he didn't relent.

Cooper began the interview by quoting Bondi as saying that anybody who attacks Florida's LGBT community will be gone after "to the fullest extent of the law." The quote -- and Tuesday afternoon's interview -- were both in regard to the terrorist attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning.

Cooper then noted that many people in the LGBT community he spoke to did not have much regard for Bondi, given her work against same-sex marriage in the state. Bondi notably, in 2014, wrote in court papers that Florida allowing the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states would "impose significant public harm." (Cooper used the words "induce public harm.")

That's when things got heated.

"Do you really think you're a champion of the gay community?" he asked.

Bondi emphasized that she was sworn to uphold the Constitution of Florida and that Florida voters had passed a ban on same-sex marriage (it passed with 62 percent support in 2008). "It had nothing to do -- I've never said I don't like gay people," Bondi protested. "That's ridiculous."

Cooper, who in 2012 came out as gay, didn't back down, though, focusing on the use of the word "harm" in the court papers.

"Doesn't that send a message to some people who might have bad ideas in mind?" he asked.

"Anderson, I don't believe gay people could do harm to the state of Florida," Bondi said.

Then Cooper asked again. And again. By the end, he'd asked some version of that question five times.

A visibly frustrated Bondi sighed and said she would also defend a law legalizing marijuana if it were the law of Florida.