Vivek Ramaswamy again showed himself to be a nimble (though novice) politician in responding to a crass question from a self-described “pansexual woman” at Iowa’s State Fair on Sunday.
The Western Journal reported the person “tried to corner him” and embarrass him with a question “clearly aimed at throwing him off his pace.”
According to RealClear Politics, Ramaswamy is running third place in this early stage of the GOP primary — behind Trump and DeSantis.
But Ramaswamy took it in stride — and delivered a lesson while he was at it.
In the exchange, the person confronted Ramaswamy with a string of initials referring to various sexual lifestyles and asked the candidate for his opinion on the “community.”
Ramaswamy responded: “I don’t think it’s one community,” he answered. “How could it be? Just mashed-together alphabet soup … What’s your opinion?”
The person responded: “I, personally, am pansexual, so I was just wondering what your views on same-sex couples were.”
The novice candidate chose to answer the question directly, to the welcoming ears of many who believe such straight talk is largely absent in today’s political world.
Without disdain or sarcasm, Ramaswamy replied: “I don’t have a negative view of same-sex couples. But I do have a negative view of the tyranny of the minority.
He added: “I think, in the name of protecting against the tyranny of the majority — and there are times in this country’s history where we have had a tyranny of the majority — we have now … created a new tyranny of the minority. And I think that that’s wrong.”
The candidate continued: “I don’t think somebody who is a woman who has worked really hard for her achievements should be forced to compete against a biological man in a swim competition.
“I don’t think that somebody who’s a woman that respects her bodily autonomy and dignity should be forced to change clothes in a locker room with a man. That’s not freedom, that’s oppression.”
RedState noted that Ramaswamy’s comments were resonating with many. He added:
“I believe that we live in a country where free adults should be free to dress how they want, behave how they want, and that’s fine. But you don’t oppress, you don’t become oppressive, by forcing that on others — and that especially includes kids, because kids aren’t the same as adults.
“Adults are free to make whatever choices they want, but do not force that ideology onto children, before children are in a position, as adults, to make decisions for themselves.
“I think a lot of the frustration in the country, and if I’m being really honest, that I also share, comes from that new culture of oppression, where saying those things can actually get somebody punished. And in my case, it’s part of why it’s my responsibility to say them.”
The exchange illustrates how politicians and citizens can engage in constructive dialogue even when their opinions might diverge.
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