Bob Poe revealed in the video on this page that he is HIV positive.
While I applaud Mr. Poe, Democratic candidate in CD 10, for having the courage to reveal this information on the one hand, there is another nagging part that asks the question, why now?
Why, during a congressional campaign in which he is losing? Is it for free publicity? He sure as hell is going to get that.
Is it for voter sympathy? If so, I'm not so sure this was the way to go.
If Mr. Poe had given out, in this video, some actual numbers to resources that could help someone who has HIV, or listed places where someone who maybe doesn't have insurance could go to get free testing, I probably wouldn't have that nagging feeling.
Even a website would have worked. The video was "close captioned," so those things could easily have been added.
As a Registered Nurse, I see all kinds of diseases, including HIV. When I talk to people about them, I give resources that these people can go to for help. Look at the video. He gave that information to "Linda," right?
Someone in Bob Poe's camp filed a complaint against Val Demings related to an old race of hers, and had that not happened, perhaps I wouldn't be so skeptical of the motives behind this video that lacks any real information to help a person looking for it. (Demings is beating him in the polls.)
Let's face it. We all know someone who is HIV positive. Getting them the help they may need should be what's important. A multi-millionaire who can loan his campaign $1.2 million isn't going to need free testing or help paying for expensive drugs.
Politics.
Leslie Wimes is founder and president of Women On The Move, and the Democratic African American Women Caucus, www.daawc.com.
