The Bomb Goes Off!
One 7th District Republican Congressional candidate says he is the victim of dirty tricks by his opponent. Former City-County Council member Ron Franklin says comments made in a recent interview about gays and some individuals on disability are being taken out of context.
In an interview conducted last month, Franklin was asked about gay rights and social security. On the gay rights issue, Franklin says the Indianapolis city county council was wrong to pass the human rights ordinance. He says marriage should be between a man and a woman, however he concludes the interview by saying “he likes it better when they [gays] kept it in the closet.”
Later in the interview after touching on other issues he comments on people on social security disability (SSI). He says he’s seen too many people getting disability and tells his office manager to not rent to them. Franklin manages the Mosell Sanders public housing complex on east 38th Street in Indianapolis.
Franklin says he knew he was being set up by his opponents so he gave answers that weren’t to be taken seriously.
He blames the entire matter on the Eric Dickerson campaign, which he says has tried to use a number of dirty tricks to derail his campaign. Already the two sides are hinting at legal action against each other over the interview.
The implications of this are far reaching. By making his comments, as the slated (party-backed) nominee, Franklin has put the party in an awkward position. They must either denounce his comments and possibly his candidacy, or appear to be endorsing what he said. Thereby giving an opening to their Democratic counterparts who will definitely pounce on this by putting out news releases and making public statements that Franklin should get out of the race and his party should call him on the carpet.
Trust me, the bomb just went off. Now we have to see how much damage it does.
