Former MA Gov. William Weld, friend or back stabber?

The news hopped from table to table on Sunday at an oceanside fund-raiser in this Long Island village: William F. Weld, the former Massachusetts governor who announced last week that he would join New York’s race for governor, would not be attending the party.

He owns a house next door, is friends with the hosts and promised a year ago to speak at the event, which raised money for Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth, organizers said. The absence came a few days after Mr. Weld, a Republican and longtime advocate of gay rights, said he did not support legalizing same-sex marriage outside Massachusetts. [...]

Some others took Mr. Weld’s absence from the fund-raiser as notice that he was distancing himself from gay men and lesbians out of political convenience.

Mr. Weld, a former United States attorney, ardently supported the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s 2003 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. But in New York, even Democratic politicians dance carefully around the issue, many opting to support civil unions rather than delve into the moral battleground of same-sex marriage.

“Obviously, Governor Weld felt the extreme heat from his party and decided not to come,” said Teresa Hyndman, 42, who helped plan the event. “I’m very disappointed.” (source)

He’s neither a “friend” or a “back stabber”. He’s just a politician. It’s amusing to me, in a way. The Republicans have, by trying to appeal to their Right Wing constituency, have themselves become part of the Right Wing litmus test. It seems that it’s now impossible to support gay people in any way, shape, or form, and still have the support of the Republican Party.

So now, Ex-Governor Weld had a chance to show what he’s about and stand up for his principles. Unfortunately, he has no backbone. Either that, or he was lying when he said that he supported gay marriage.

Either way, he doesn’t look to be good governor material.