Recently, for San Diego CityBeat, I interviewed Republican Nick Popaditch, a retired Marine and the Tea Party favorite to replace Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) in Congress.
We discussed everything from the health-care vote to waterboarding and I even got him to ring in on this question:
Do you think there is any good reason that men with one testicle shouldn't be allowed to serve?
This question follows a statement by Rep. Duncan D. Hunter in which he implied Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell bans hermaphrodites from serving. DADT does not; the anti-hermaphrodite rule is part of a 2005 policy that also covers monorchism, the condition of having only one testicle.
Here's Popaditch's response:
No, I sure don't. I tell you, I was in the Marines for 16 years and even in that amount of time, you don't know everything. So, I believe in enforcing the regulations. Now, if there's a regulation like that, then I certainly believe quality leadership will prevail on that and address the issue and handle it properly. Now, these statements - understand, I don't know what Duncan D. said nor do I know this regulation you're talking about. Just in general, I have a lot of faith in the leadership and our ability to take care of our young Americans on the battlefield and everywhere else for that matter. So, I believe the generals are very smart individuals and if there was a regulation like that, I think it would be handled accordingly. If it's ridiculous, let's get rid of it.
Popaditch was very interested in the question--unsurprisingly, since he's missing another anatomical sphere--and he'd never heard about the monorchism ban before.
For the rest of the in-depth interview (including contradictory statements on waterboarding and health care) click here.