The Nation: Homos, Hypocrites and Haters

[marmar]

comment | posted September 4, 2007 (web only)
Homos, Hypocrites and Haters
Timothy Patrick McCarthy


It doesn't take much for Americans to get on their high horse about homosexuals. The most recent pony ride comes amid the revelation that Idaho Senator Larry Craig was arrested in June following a game of footsie with an undercover cop in a men's room at a Minneapolis airport. According to the dizzying array of "experts" who have flooded the airwaves in the past week--almost none of whom, I might add, are gay--such foot-rubbing is evidently standard foreplay to bathroom buggery. Who knew?

The Craig controversy, which has led to his resignation from the Senate, is only the most recent in a series of sex-related scandals involving Republicans who consider themselves "social values conservatives." Last September Florida Congressman Mark Foley resigned after allegations surfaced that he had sent sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages to teenage pages. On the Saturday before the midterm elections, the Rev. Ted Haggard--named as one of the nation's "25 most influential evangelicals" in a 2005 Time cover story--stepped down as head of his 14,000-member mega-church after a gay prostitute claimed the pastor had repeatedly solicited him for sex and drugs.

Sex and sexuality figure prominently in modern American politics. From Clarence Thomas's confirmation hearings to Bill Clinton's impeachment proceedings, much of the current political landscape--from right to left--has been shaped by public battles over private matters.

But the recent scandals involving Foley, Haggard and Craig are different for at least two reasons: First, they involve alleged homosexual acts vigorously denied by the accused; and second, they resulted in public shaming and professional resignation.

By contrast, consider the recent case of Louisiana Senator David Vitter, who issued a public apology in July after news broke that his phone number was on the "call list" of a multimillion-dollar escort service in Washington, DC. This is not the first time such allegations have been leveled against him; during his 2004 Senate campaign, Vitter was accused--by the Republican Louisiana State Committee, no less--of having had an ongoing affair with a female prostitute in New Orleans. Still, Vitter remains in office, a proud supporter of "mainstream conservative principles," according to his Senate website.

There is an interesting lesson here: If you're going to be a hypocrite, it pays to be a straight hypocrite. Just ask Rudy Giuliani. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070910/tpmccarthy2

[ismnotwasm]

1. If you're going to be a hypocrite, it pays to be a straight hypocrite

Best line on the topic I've read.