Paul Babeu: Arizona sheriff pushes back against new allegations
February 28, 2012, 4:34 p.m.
In recent weeks, Arizona sheriff and once-rising GOP star Paul Babeu has publicly acknowledged that he’s gay, denied allegations that he threatened to deport his ex-lover, a Mexican national, and vowed to press forward with his bid for Congress.
But a new set of allegations has emerged, setting off an ugly -- and public -- family feud between Babeu and his older sister Lucy.
KNXV-TV in Phoenix aired a story Sunday about Babeu’s tenure as headmaster at a Massachusetts boarding school. Former students and state records said the school used controversial disciplinary methods, including something called “sheeting,” in which students were forced to take off their clothes and wear only a sheet.
In the report, Lucy Babeu said her brother, who worked at the school from 1999 to 2001, dated a male student, an allegation former students also made on camera. The TV station did not name the former student, who was 17, which the report said was the age of consent in Massachusetts.
More: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-paul-babeu-arizona-sheriff-20120228,0,6363707.story
= new reply since forum marked as read
Obviously we can comment on any political candidate's policy positions but that should be irrespective of sexual orientation, unless there is an element of hypocrisy (which I am not aware of in this case).
What surprises me in this case is not the level of GOP homophobia, but the degree of tolerance from many in the tea party.
http://www.trivalleycentral.com/articles/2012/02/28/front/doc4f4b9f0f32fc5350966469.txt
In this article the comments from teabaggers about Babeu are very interesting: "I care less. I just care less (about him being gay)." and "I’m a Christian, but who am I to make a judgment about somebody else?". (Ahh, the mental gymnastics required to support a closed mind. If they could only really hear themselves, they might learn something.)
Since teabaggers are not well known for their support of gay rights, their continued support for him is IMHO is due to the fact that they agree with him on other political issues. If Babeu wasn't such a star of the anti-illegal immigration movement, he would be in a lot more trouble with his conservative base.
As you said, "The homophobia in the GOP needs to stop, not be enabled against hypocrites in their own ranks."
Perhaps continued teabagger support for Babeu despite his coming out is a sign of progress within the GOP base. (That is difficult to say. 
) Indeed we should not enable homophobia within the GOP (or anywhere else). OTOH, we should acknowledge progress in tolerance regarding sexual persuasion no matter where it happens.