Ginger Lee's First Interview

Candice Raines (aka Ginger Lee) gave her first interview after the Anthony Weiner scandal. Journalist Richard Lawson gives the fairest media treatment of Raines that I have seen. I have blogged that the media treatment of Raines was unfair. Raines explained that part of her support was Weiner being one of the few male politicians to speak at the pro-choice Walk for Choice rally.

“He was one of the only male politicians to attend one of the rallies and spoke during it,” she said. “And when he did so, he was very adamant about the fact that women have a right to choose what women do and it’s not really up to other men to legislate what a woman does with her own body because they are not the ones in possession of said uterus.”

This part of the fascinating contradiction with Raines. She can sound like Amanda Marcotte when talking about progressive women's issues. Raines can then rant about her love of Hello Kitty and Britney Spears. A person can be pro-choice and collect Hello Kitty merchandise. There is nothing wrong with that. It is just rather unexpected.

Raines told Lawson that she has needed health care since she was a teenager because of a mental illness. Raines would not disclose the illness to Lawson. It is well-known that Raines suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The illness is treatable but requires constant medication. Raines also has lupus, which affects her body's immune system. Raines financially falls into the bracket of making too much for Medicaid to buy private health insurance.

Raines isn't being quite candid about her obsession with Weiner.

“I have said I love and want to have babies with Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper and Keith Olbermann,” Raines said of her blog, adding that no one has mentioned that.

Raines posted on her blog about what she wanted to do with Weiner.

Oh my god. Yes. He can get buck wild anytime I’m around. Did I just type that out? I think that was supposed to stay inside my head. Oh well, fuck it.

Raines has a personal history of getting involved with older and immature men. Two of the relationships were with employees that her and the men involved were trying to keep secret. The relationships were eventually discovered. In Raines, defense, there is no evidence that she ever tried to hook up with Weiner. It may have well been just an online crush.

Raines has a grounded outlook on the Weiner scandal. She is self-aware enough to know the scandal is not the most imporatant event in the big scheme of things. Raines also plans to keep on being a progressive activist.

“This whole fiasco is a drop in the bucket,” she said. “And it was over something so inconsequential and so insignificant that it doesn’t really make a giant difference. … I’m still going to talk about the things I care about.”

Good for her. I hope Raines keeps blogging about the things is cares about. Whether it is health care or getting Britney Spears tickets.