Montana State University-Billings business professor A.J. Otjen recently announced that she would be challenging incumbent Congressman Denny Rehberg in the Republican primary for his U.S. House seat. During many primaries it is difficult to differentiate between candidates of the same party. This isn’t one of them.
Otjen, of Laurel, says elected Republicans are “too conservative” and, in an interview with Hip Hop Republican (which I didn’t know existed until today), she says that she supports both abortion rights and gay marriage. Oh, and she voted for Barack Obama for president. From hiphoprepublican.com:
HHR Blog: What are your views on Gay Marriage?
A.J. Otjen: I am for it. I have many gay friends who deserve to be happy and have been together for a long time. I do not judge people based on their sex lives and I don’t understand people who do. I believe that all people have a right to privacy and a right to pursue happiness. If I have a right to marriage than every one does. In fact, Republicans should agree on this issue as something with which the government should not interfere as it is our creed to protect individual rights.
HHR Blog: What are your views on abortion?
A.J. Otjen: I believe that a woman is a human that is being, a human being, and that she is the one with the right to privacy. The unborn is dependent on the mother. The government has no right to intrude upon this woman’s right. The best way to reduce the number of abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancy in the first place.
In terms of third trimester medical terminations, I can’t imagination that a pregnant mother wants to lose their child. It must be an incredible medical tragedy. A horrific situation. Has anyone ever known a mother that must lose their child in the third trimester, it is horrible. God bless the doctors still available to these poor mothers in those horrible private situations. Anyone who calls them killers is a disgrace.