Really Queer--Right-wing Gay-baiting Gays

[mistertrickster]

“Defending Marriage Act.” “Family values.” “The politics of personal responsibility.” Ever since 1996 when gay marriage first rocketed to national prominence, the Republicans have set themselves up as defenders of rock-solid traditional probity and morality. On January 8th, “Justice Sunday,” our nation witnessed a parade of self-righteous pols and their pious fellow travelers thundering hell and damnation for the pagans and perverts intent on “attacking people of faith."


Comes now, Mark A. Foley, a Republican congress-critter from the state that gave the world George W. Bush, founder and co-chair of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, devote Catholic. And gay-baiting gay pedophile.

Uh oh.

The racist Governor of Alabama George Wallace once lost a close election to a virulent segregationist early in his career. “I got out-segged,” he said, “and I’m never going to get out-segged again.” Like Wallace, the Rapture Right have turned gays into the new “colored” to create yet another form of American apartheid, and none want to be left behind in their denunciation of the gay lifestyle.

Consider this—18 states have passed bans on same-sex marriage including my home state of Kansas. Texas recently prohibited gay couples from becoming foster parents, a restriction that borders on a hate crime and shows a sickening callousness toward abused children; a proposed law in Alabama would ban from schools any work of literature written by a gay author. On to the bonfires would have to go “Leaves of Grass,” “The Glass Menagerie,” “Dr. Faustus,” “The Importance of Being Ernest,” “Of Human Bondage,” and perhaps “The Gettysburg Address.” Republican Congressman Rick Santorum has gone so far as to say that same-sex marriage could lead to Man Weds Dog.

Of course, President Born-Again has sanctioned the pogrom by throwing the full weight of the Oval Office behind, not the acceptance of diversity, but the further segregation and alienation of the gay community. His championing of the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage can result in only one outcome—to further demonize the one minority that remains fair game. So much for the “I’m a uniter, not a divider” crap.

Which leads to the strange situation that many in the neo-con wing of the Conservative movement find themselves—they’re gay too. The right-wing is shot through with practicing homosexuals. By day, they go about their professional lives aiding and abetting the persecution of gays for political advantage, sharing a stage with the likes of Jerry Falwell who once preached that “even animals don’t do that” and Pat Robertson who blamed the 9-11 terror attack as divine retribution for the evil of America’s homosexuals.

By night, they frequent the same gay bars many others do.

By day, they rail against the “deviancy” of a sin-corrupted lifestyle, responsible for the AIDS plague and destroying the family. By night they post messages to gay websites seeking sex contacts, like this one from Dan Gurley, Field Director of the Republican National Committee: “8+ cut; switch/versatile – I’ll be whatever you want me to be; just looking for good sex with one or several; I’m into anal sex, body contact, groups, kissing, one-on-one, oral sex, porn.”

Here’s a rogue’s gallery of ultra-right conservatives who furthered their careers persecuting gays while practicing a homosexual lifestyle themselves—

J. Edgar Hoover


According to zpub.com, “As head of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation for 48 years, Hoover led an ongoing crusade against communism, espionage and deviant behavior. On his own time, however, he and his life partner Clyde Tolson led a life of gay, albeit closeted, abandon. One special treat was the anniversary portrait that Hoover had done as a surprise one year for Clyde, which soon turned into an annual event, with Hoover dressing up as famous transvestites throughout history.”

They reportedly remained together for 44 years, often dressed alike and vacationed together, and are now buried side by side. (salon.com) His own lifestyle “choice” however did not prevent him from using others’ homosexuality for blackmail and persecution.

Roy Cohn


Pictured here with Sen. Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn is perhaps the archetypal gay-baiting gay. One of the key players in the “red scare” of the fifties, he blacklisted and ruined hundreds of patriotic Americans in an anti-communist witch-hunt that furthered the right-wing agenda and made him professionally.

As Wikipedia puts it, “though his closeted sexuality was far from unusual at the time, it was in extreme contradiction with his public life in right-wing politics. Cohn and McCarthy (whose own sexuality was the subject of rumors) targeted many government officials and cultural figures not only for Communist sympathies but for homosexual tendencies, sometimes using sexual secrets as a blackmail tool to gain informants. McCarthy may not have known Cohn was gay, but it was widely believed that his aide Schine was Cohn's lover—a rumor alluded to in the Army-McCarthy hearings by Army attorney Joseph Welch: when Cohn produced a photo of Schine as evidence, Welch joked that the photo came from "a pixie ... a close relative of a fairy."

“In the 1970s, no longer a national figure, Cohn frequented gay bars semi-openly, but still denied all rumors and lent his support to anti-gay political campaigns. During debates over New York City's first gay rights law, he said homosexuals should not be allowed to be schoolteachers.”

“In 1984, he was diagnosed with AIDS, and attempted to keep his condition secret while receiving aggressive drug treatment. He insisted to his dying day that his disease was liver cancer. His denial not only of his sexual orientation but of the disease that killed him made Cohn an emblem of conservative hypocrisy.”

In one of his last political acts, Cohn opposed New York City’s gay rights ordinance saying that it “defended fags.” camprehoboth.com

Arthur J. Finkelstein


Campaigns cost money. No one knows that better that gay-financier to the right-wing gay bashers, Art Finkelstein. "As recently as September 10th, 2005, four of Finkelstein's clients voted against the anti-gay discrimination bill -- Lauch Faircloth (R-N.C.), Jesse Helms (R-N.C), Don Nickles (R-Okla.) and Sen. (Bob) Smith (R) of New Hampshire." According to CNN, “Homosexuality is wrong, it's immoral and it shouldn't be condoned and it certainly shouldn't be elevated to a special protected status by the federal government," declared Nickles (R-Okla.) in a Senate speech.

Strangely, that didn’t stop Finkelstein from marrying his male partner in December of 2004 in Massachusetts, one of the few states to allow what Finkelstein’s clients want to deny to “his kind.” He claimed that marriage provides benefits to his spouse. No kidding? Do tell . . .

He and his partner also have two adopted children, enjoying the same legal right that Texas recently tried to curtail.

Ed Schrock


Former Congressman from Virginia, this piece of work stood on the morality plank of God’s party’s platform.

As the Advocate puts it, “Schrock, an active Baptist who is married to a retired schoolteacher, was no friend to gays. He earned a zero from gay rights group Human Rights Campaign for his support of antigay legislation, while the Christian Coalition gave him a 92% approval rating. A vocal opponent of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ from a military-dominated district, he was happy to explain to his hometown Virginia Beach newspaper why he wanted the military kept a gay-free zone.”

But Schrock apparently ran seven personal ads on MegaMates/MegaPhone Line: ‘I weigh 200 pounds . . . very buffed-up, uh, very tanned . . . I’d like him to be in very good shape . . .well-hung, cut . . . nothing real heavy-duty go down on him, he can go down on me.’”

Because of the allegations, Schrock backed out of his reelection race. But even then he couldn’t own up to the simple truth. In a press release he said, “after much thought and prayer, I have come to the realization that these allegations will not allow my campaign to focus on the real issues facing our nation and region.”

Right . . . especially when one of those ‘real issues’ is whipping up the rapture-right by demonizing gays.

Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe


The old “do as we say, not as we do” rule, how well it’s worked for Republicans lo, these many long years! He votes against gay marriage but then is forced to admit . . . well, you know the rest.

Time/CNN wrote in 1996:

“Two weeks after voting for the bill restricting gay marriage, Kolbe, a Republican, went public with his homosexuality, which had been an open secret around Washington, to pre-empt an article that he knew was coming in the national gay magazine Advocate.”

Despite his admission, the Congressman went on to win re-election in his district, proving that his constituents believe in tolerance more than he and his party does.

And, Congressman, don’t forget what Jerry Falwell said not too long ago on Meet the Press (about another gay conservative): "Well, the fact that he’s a gay Republican means he should join the Democratic party.” Media Matters Damn, right! Come on over and ride in the front of the bus, my friend.

Matt Drudge

The man who skyrocketed to fame serving up the dirt on Clinton during the Lewinski sex scandal proves that like Conservatives everywhere, he can dish it out but he can’t take it.

The gay web-editor allegedly killed a book deal that reported on the sex lives of Starr team special prosecutors, including his own and the little known Ann Coulter. I for one would like to thank Mr. Drudge for that . . . some things like Ann Coulter’s sex life are better just left alone.

While he seems to be strangely reticent about his own sexuality, he had no compunction in casting aspersions at Kerry and Edwards of all people for touching too much during the campaign. "Hugs, kisses to the cheek, affectionate touching of the face, caressing of the back, grabbing of the arm, fingers to the neck,” Drudge reported breathlessly, “John Kerry and John Edwards can't keep their hands off each other!”

Here’s how Buzzflash saw it: “Of course, the photos of Kerry and Edwards are just your standard political glad handing, arm-in-arm, patting-the-back stock-in-trade. Every politician engages in such gestures. If you assemble photos of Bush with other male politicians, he's a regular ‘touchy-feely’ kind of guy.

“So how can Drudge, an outed gay, post a totally slimy gay exploitative piece that doesn't even make any sense, in the context of run-of-the-mill male political body contact? Because, he's just another GOP slimeball hypocrite, that's why.

“Drudge reported that Harris and Klebold Columbine killers were gay, citing their Goth black nail polish. The Reverend Fred Phelps, picketed Littleton memorials with signs that claimed ‘Fags Killed Them.’”

In a head-spinning double irony, Drudge condemns a fellow reporter with this headline: “ABC News Reporter Who Filed Troops Complaint Story — Openly Gay Canadian” Commondreams.org. Oh my god, the ABC newsman is one of those limp-wristed sissy boys, you know, a Canadian! Well, at least Drudge isn’t . . . uhm . . . Canadian.

Jay Timmons

Jay Timmons, the former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was instrumental in unseating former Senate Minority Leader, Tom Daschle. Because he has instituted his own “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, Timmons worked for Virgina’s Senator George Allen who had previously held the position NRSC director. Allen, a prominent conservative, announced his support for a constitution ban against same sex marriage, and the organization Timmons heads has declared its intent to use same-sex marriage to elect more conservatives.
Timmons spoke at a conference last April at Regent University with a number of other conservative pols and pundits. Regent bills itself as “the nation's academic center for Christian thought and action” Regent.edu. They’re number one in the Christian virtues . . . including humility, apparently.

Pete Williams, NBC News Correspondent

Perhaps you’re wondering why a gay newsman should make this list.
Well, from 1986-1991 before he worked for NBC, he was press secretary for a Congressman who later became the Assistant Secretary of Defense. Williams followed his man to a position as a Defense spokesperson. That Assistant Secretary’s name? Dick Cheney.

“Williams had the unsavory job of defending the Pentagon’s insidious policy of witch hunts and purging of gay and lesbian service members.” soonerthought.com

Keep Mr. Williams in mind when you hear the right-wing rant about “liberal media bias.”

Armstrong Williams and Jeff Gannon, Right-wing Media Whores

Speaking of “liberal media bias,” who could forget the salt and pepper combination, the ambiguously gay truth-fighting duo, the presstitutes nonpareil? Did they actually sell their integrity for money to shill for the Bush Administration? Did they pretend to be straight while attacking the “gay agenda”? Did they pass for neutral observers while they were secretly taking money from the sources they reported on?

Oh, yes, that and so much more!

Williams not only accepted nearly a quarter of a million to write articles favorable to the Bush administration, but according to “Raw Story,” he “was sued in a massive $200,000 50-charge sexual harassment suit for repeatedly kissing his trainer Stephen Gregory who he had promoted repeatedly into his talk-show staff. Gregory claimed Williams had also grabbed his buttocks and genitals and climbed into bed with him on business trips. After rebuffing him, Gregory alleged, the pundit retaliated by reducing his pay and subsequently firing him.
“At the time, the Williams had just teased an explosive quote from then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott who said that gays should be treated like those who have a problem with ‘alcohol ... or sex addiction ... or kleptomaniacs.’

Williams roundly supported this view.” DailyKOS

Good old sexual harassment coupled with overwhelming hypocrisy . . . it’s not just for Bill O’Reilly anymore!

As for Gannon/Guckert, White House security records show him breezing into the inner sanctum of power under an assumed name over 200 times, often spending the night. The man who sold his escort services at “HotMilitaryStud.com” finds the West Wing a warm and welcoming place, so much so that the staff has given him a new title: “knob polisher.”

Jim West, Former Mayor of Spokane

All I can say is, thank goodness this individual was a Republican. What he stands accused of goes way beyond just being a gay-hating gay, although he’s certainly that too. He died in July of 2006.

A May 9th Seattle Times editorial points out that “on several occasions, West voted against legislation that would protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. According to the Spokesman-Review, he supported legislation that would have prohibited gays and lesbians from working in schools and day-care centers.

”As recently as last week, he opposed a Spokane City Council ordinance extending benefits to domestic partners of city employees.

”The sad irony is West now seeks the kind of respect for his privacy and sexuality that he was unwilling to grant, legislatively, to others.” craigslist.org

In his defense he said, “my private life is my private life, and always has been . . . there's been a strong wall between my public life and my private life.” Spokesman review.com

Yes, indeed, Mr. West—-don’t you just hate politicians who come snooping around trying to score points by making an issue out of someone’s sexuality? You know, like YOU DID?

Ken Mehlman

Imagine if Howard Dean the Chair of the Democratic National Committee were gay and tried to hide it. Imagine the outrage on the right, the huffing and puffing by Limbaugh and Hannity, the trickle of stories in the mainstream media that turns into a torrent, the snide questions on the infotainment channels: “does Howard Dean have a secret? Why can’t he admit it? What else is he lying about?”

Here’s how Ken Mehlman, the Chair of the Republican National Committee answered the simple “yes” or “no” question of “are you gay?”
“You have asked a question people shouldn’t have to answer,” he said.

As Gaypeoples' Chronicle.com puts it, “Mehlman managed the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign and, according to the campaign’s Ohio co-chair, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, directed Ohio anti-gay activists to mount the campaign to put the Issue 1 marriage ban amendment on the ballot.

“Internet bloggers have pointed out that if Mehlman, 38, unmarried and never with female companionship, is gay, he is a hypocrite.

“Activist and blogger John Arovosis says Mehlman should be outed if he is gay because ‘Mehlman has already said publicly that the gay issue is fair game for politics. If it is fair game, then the same rules apply to him.’”

Sorry, John, the Republicans have shown over and over again that the same rules don’t apply to them.

Mark A. Foley & “Masturgate”

Even the Freepers are having a hard time spinning this one. The man who co-chaired “The Missing and Exploited Children Caucus” which handled sexual predator laws turned out to be a sexual predator himself.

His now pulled web-site intones that in 1998, I helped to establish the Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus in Congress in order to bring more attention to legislation and issues that provide law enforcement and parents with the tools they need to keep children safe. He once called people who do what he does “sick-os.”

Republicans who knew about the Republican representative’s proclivities seemed more interested in protecting themselves than the boys he’s approached. For years, congressional pages have been warned against “Mark the Shark” without any action taken against the congressman himself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Foley

Despite Foley’s resignation in September 2006, the FBI points out that soliciting underage children for sex violates federal laws and immediately launched a probe . . . and not the kind of probing that this guy likes, apparently . . .

But never fear, because Foley “resigned,” his state pension of 100 K a year is guaranteed by the full faith of the United States government.

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

1. Great thread, thanks

:kick:

[TwentyFive]

2. Excellent! Makes Bush/Rove boytoy Gannon look tame in comparison.

I really wonder about Gannon's 200+ late night visits to the WH. That's a story that will probably never get told.

[Flirtus]

3. There's no correlation between homosexuality and pedophilia

"consenting adults" vs. "inability to grow up"

[mistertrickster]

5. True, most pedophiles are hetro. But Foley liked teenagers.

That's different than for a true pedophile, isn't it? To my mind, he was more gay than pedophile, but I could be wrong.

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination . . .

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. Not really.

" That's different than for a true pedophile, isn't it?"

He was targeting them specifically because they were underage.

"To my mind, he was more gay than pedophile, but I could be wrong."

You've got it backwards.

[mistertrickster]

8. Okay, maybe, but what about this?

From SourceWatch:

"During 2004 Senate campaign, longstanding rumors surfaced that Foley is either gay or bisexual and is in a longterm relationship with a man. Initially published only in the gay press, the New Times broke the story in the mainstream press which led to other papers including the New York Press addressing the topic.

"Foley held a press conference to denounce the 'revolting' rumors and stated that his sexual orientation was unimportant. 'He wanted reporters to know that he won't answer questions about his sexuality; it has nothing to do with his candidacy.' <4>

(http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/01/Perspective/Don_t_ask__because_Ma.shtml)

"A few weeks later, he withdrew his Senate candidacy, saying he wanted to spend time with his ailing father (the seat was later won by Republican Mel Martinez)."

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mark_A._Foley

[Flirtus]

10. I think of pedophile as "other"

and as a form of abuse. To Disclaim: My background is neglect, which in the social services world is different from abuse, and my understanding of pedophilia comes from training that wasn't so specific as to make me think I'm an expert.

But I am convinced that homosexuality per se is not a threat to anyone, and pedophiles are. The percentage of those who are both is small.

Mr. Foley is also terribly naive, I can imagine that his IM's were a great source of amusement to the pages.

[Az_lefty]

4. devout Catholic??? Where did that come from...

I thought he was tied to that heritage baptist church in Florida?

[mistertrickster]

7. Here's the link . . .

http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/fogleson-folse.html

[davidinalameda]

9. in defense of Kolbe

he's really tried to correct some of the damage he's done in the past

not crazy about his stands on some issues but he's really taken the leadership on gay issues in the House