Former New York City Council President Christine Quinn has a well-earned reputation as a tough fighter. But she may have crossed a line in taking on Cynthia Nixon for announcing her candidacy for New York governor.
As a lesbian, Quinn should have known how not to attack Nixon, who is bisexual and married to a woman. Instead, Quinn has blasted Nixon in pointed terms as an “unqualified lesbian.”
Nixon certainly doesn’t have the political experience that Quinn has. And Quinn’s comments came as she contrasted her own candidacy for New York City mayor as a “qualified lesbian.” But the remark was particularly off-key, even by Quinn’s street-fighter standards.
There’s a history behind the current drama, of course. When Quinn ran for mayor in 2013, Nixon supported her opponent Bill de Blasio, who ended up beating Quinn. Clearly, that decision still rankles Quinn, who is working for incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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“Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City,” Quinn said. “Now she wants to be an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York. You have to be qualified and have experience. She isn’t qualified to be the governor.”
Quinn subsequently clarified her comments in a four-part Twitter statement. “To be clear, Cynthia Nixon’s identity has no bearing on her candidacy and it was not my intention to suggest it did,” Quinn said. “I want to be clear about that. I would never, EVER, criticize someone because of their identity.”
Still, Quinn couldn’t help but take another shot at Nixon for “aggressively opposing” Quinn’s candidacy. With the primary not until September, there’s plenty of time to rehash old grievances and maybe even create a few new ones along the way.
Quinn’s tweets are below, but the fun starts beneath those. You’ll die of laughter.
To be clear, Cynthia Nixon’s identity has no bearing on her candidacy and it was not my intention to suggest it did. I want to be clear about that. I would never, EVER, criticize someone because of their identity. 1/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
I’ve experienced it time and time again, and would never support it or condone it. As a lesbian who ran one of the most high profile races in the country, i know what that’s like. And I know it’s imperative that we encourage more members of our community to run for office. 2/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
Cynthia Nixon aggressively opposed my candidacy in New York despite my qualifications for the office and despite my strong progressive credentials. I was attempting to make a comparison between the two of us. 3/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
The real point I am trying to make is that qualifications matter and records matter. I do not believe she has the qualifications or the record. 4/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
Quinn embraces universal lesbian background checks to prevent unqualified lesbian electioneering https://t.co/DiNKURU3xr
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 20, 2018
"Unqualified Lesbian" is the title of my memoir.
— Marie Connor (@thistallawkgirl) March 20, 2018
The Unqualified Lesbian sounds like an Oscar Wilde play that Cynthia Nixon wins a Tony for.
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) March 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/lpolgreen/status/976154654345252864
https://twitter.com/megmccarron/status/976217918462554112
“Vote Cuomo, Not the Unqualified Lesbian” just doesn’t have the same ring to it https://t.co/hXUfB2qY8c
— Harry Siegel (@harrysiegel) March 20, 2018
i, too, am an unqualified lesbian
— Shannon Keating (@skeatings) March 20, 2018
