The GOP's Bathroom Problem

[Hepburn]

The Nation -- What's up with Republican politicos getting arrested by undercover cops for soliciting sex in public restrooms? First, Florida state representative Bob Allen, formerly John McCain's state campaign co-chair, was arrested in July after he offered a police officer $20 for the privilege of performing oral sex. And today, news broke that back in June, Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho), long the subject of gay rumors, was arrested in a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes cop investigating lewd conduct in the men's bathroom. Both men are married--to women. (See Max Blumenthal at Campaign Matters for more details.)

The moment is so thick with irony, I scarcely know where to begin. But let's start with their incredibly lame attempts at damage control. Upon arrest, both Allen and Craig attempted to use their positions of power to escape charges (Craig handed over his US Senate business card to the officer and asked, "What do you think about that?).

Post-arrest, Allen, appealing at once to homophobia and racism, mounted a "black (gay) panic" defense. You see he wasn't really interested in giving head, he was just trying to save his neck. Apparently, the cop was "a pretty stocky black guy" and "there were nothing but other black guys around in the park." Fearing he was "about to become a statistic," Allen did what any other, rational, straight (straight!), white man would do if he just so happened to find himself cruising a public restroom full of black men: fork over a Jackson and drop to your knees.

Less hysterical, but equally flimsy, is Craig's story. Through his spokesman, Craig said that the whole incident was just a "he said/he said misunderstanding." Last year, when gay blogger Mike Rogers alleged that Craig had engaged in same-sex relations, Craig called the story "absolutely ridiculous, almost laughable." I wonder if Craig was laughing on August 8--when he plead guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges in a Minnesota County Court.

More...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070828/cm_thenation/15227318

There is nothing wrong with being gay...or being bi or straight. But there IS something very wrong with lying about who and what you are and making a total fool of yourself. Even worse? Being so full of self-hatred (apparently) that one is bigoted about what one is.

Sen Craig, Rep Allen: Please come out of the closet. You are what you are and there is nothing wrong with being something other than 100% straight. However, there IS something wrong with lying to yourself and/or covering up the way you were born and your natural inclinations/sexual orientation to win votes and keep a job. That is soooooooo out of line....and very sad. Give up the hypocrisy and deal with reality, OK? You don't need to hide out in any bathrooms to get what you want...there is NOTHING wrong with what you want...but there sure is something wrong with looking for sex in all the wrong places.

JMHO

[pnwmom]

1. You may be forgetting Dem. Gov. McGreevey in N.J.

He admitted to a restroom habit, too.

The difference seems to be that closeted Repubs are far more likely than the Dems to oppose gay rights.

[djjimz]

5. It's called Hypocrisy

I actually pity these people to some degree.
How horrible it must be to deny who you really are, because of a political party who wants you to be something you are not!

Hypocrisy
:thumbsdown:

[Cobalt-60]

8. It smells worse than anything else in the bathroom.

[struggle4progress]

7. No, McGreevey wasn't soliciting in public toilets

[pnwmom]

9. Yes, he acknowledged having sex in public restrooms in highway rest stops

as well as in booths at adult bookstores.

He admitted to that in print, in his memoir.

He didn't specify whether he was a solicitor or a solicitee. Does it matter?

From a Princeton N.J. newspaper:

http://www.towntopics.com/sep2706/book.html

"The moments of maximum deceit in The Confession usually also inspire the flattest, most stereotyped prose. On the other hand, when he's describing his cruising days, he illuminates, perhaps inadvertently, the whole sexual/political dynamic at the heart of his book and his career: "As I got older, my sexual expressions became even more baroque, I began lurking around Parkway rest stops, exchanging false names and intimacies with strangers. I met every conceivable type this way: bikers, executives, blue-collar workers, old and young, every shade of race."

"Notice how closely cruising anticipates the politician's form of the same thing in regard to the voters in his constituency, a rehearsal of the soliciting for votes he becomes so adept at as he pursues his career. Later he admits as much: "By now I'd mostly given up on anonymous sexual encounters; I'd sublimated my sexual appetites and refocused all my energy into campaigning."

[DCKit]

10. Mmmm, not so sure about that. I heard he was well known at the rest-stops along the interstate.

But that is hearsay... I wasn't there.

[yellowcanine]

18. Right, It's the hypocrisy. MdGreevy wasn't backing anti - gay amendments.

I could gin up more sympathy for Craig if he didn't have a ZERO percent rating on gay-rights issues. As it is, I do have some sympathy for him as a human being. No one really "deserves" the humiliation of being busted for lewd behavior in a public restroom. If fact, Craig is himself a victim of our twisted sexual mores in this country - BUT one cannot excuse the rank hypocrisy of campaigning against gay rights at the same time soliciting sex in the men's room. It makes it worse if he actually isn't gay as he says. Actually I suspect he is bisexual and has a sexless marriage. But as sad as that combination may be - it does not excuse the gay-bashing hypocrisy.

[jaysunb]

2. Can't stop laughing at "this"

Post-arrest, Allen, appealing at once to homophobia and racism, mounted a "black (gay) panic" defense. You see he wasn't really interested in giving head, he was just trying to save his neck. Apparently, the cop was "a pretty stocky black guy" and "there were nothing but other black guys around in the park." Fearing he was "about to become a statistic," Allen did what any other, rational, straight (straight!), white man would do if he just so happened to find himself cruising a public restroom full of black men: fork over a Jackson and drop to your knees.

definitely sharing w/ friends. :evilgrin:

[pnwmom]

3. It would be hard for him to be openly gay

as long as he wanted to stay married to his wife.

The problem is he is probably very conflicted about what he wants, as are many gay or bi men who are married to women -- especially when they have children.

Imagine the impact this has all had on his family.

[Hepburn]

4. Craig is a bit older than I am...but not by much....

...and, yeah, with our generation, it was really was not OK for anyone to come out and say he was gay. So they did what all other "straights" did ~~ they got married and raised families. So I do agree that it would be hard to come out of the closet at this stage of his life.

[pnwmom]

6. The saddest part is

that this is still happening with younger men and women, who marry straight partners before they've come to terms with their sexuality. I have spoken with a number of teenagers in this position (either keeping a secret for their gay parent, or dealing with a sudden and often unexpected "coming out,") and it is very hard on the families.

[Raejeanowl]

15. His Family Will Need The First Apology

I'll wait at the back of the line. My thoughts turned to them in reading the OP.

I don't care about his conflicts or what his actual orientation may be, and it probably doesn't make any form of difference except to his most conservative constituents. But we all care about hypocrisy and lies, don't we?

And I deeply disrespect him for lying to his wife and family, first and foremost, and prolonging their agony.

[sce56]

11. Conspiracy of Silence is what there Bathroom problem is all about

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x50273

[tomreedtoon]

12. Why do you want him out of the closet?

Seriously, if I were gay, I wouldn't like this congressman to represent my lifestyle.

And yes, that's kind of being presumptuous. There isn't a single "gay agenda," any more than there's a "black agenda" or a "blonde agenda" or anything like that. But this guy was engaging in a sex act in a semi-public place. What would it say to the public if he stood up and said, "Yes, I'm gay!" Wouldn't it be saying "Gays do weird things in public?" Do you guys really want that on people's minds?

Let him stay in the closet. Or, as Bill Maher said about Bush's "thinking outside the box" comment, "Outside the box is for people who can think. The box is for you. Stay inside the box."

[4_TN_TITANS]

13. LMAO....

"Allen did what any other, rational, straight (straight!), white man would do if he just so happened to find himself cruising a public restroom full of black men: fork over a Jackson and drop to your knees."
:ROFL:

[Sequoia]

14. What's a Jackson?

[Skittles]

16. um

president on paper money

[Sequoia]

17. Grin. Thanks. Never would've guessed.