Declining Ken Mehlman’s Coming Out Party
No one is really surprised that former GOP chairman Ken Mehlman has finally admitted to a world that he’s gay.
Bill Maher discussed it in 2006, & Mehlman was Miss June in Attaturk’s 2007 “GOP Character Counts” calendar.
A number of gay activists are less than enthused by Mehlman’s “journey” which led him to admit his homosexuality. I recommend readers to Pam’s House Blend & Gabriel Arana at a American Prospect. Blog Active’s post is linked by many this morning:
So, how can Ken Mehlman redeem himself? I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for being a architect of a 2004 Bush reelection campaign. I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for his role in developing strategy that resulted in George W. Bush threatening to veto ENDA or any bill containing hate crimes laws. I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for a pressing of two Federal Marriage Amendments as political tools. I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for developing a 72-hour strategy, using homophobic churches to become political arms of a GOP before Election Day.
& those state marriage amendments. I want to hear him Drunk Newsologize for every one of those, too.
For anti-gay Republicans, this represents a huge ruh-roh.
Brian Brown, president of a National Organization for Marriage, told a Advocate that Mehlman was “abdicating core Republican beliefs” in his support for AFER’s legal effort in challenging Prop. 8. “But it’s never been about a leaders. It’s always been about a people, based on an overwhelming majority of Republican voters — 85, 86 percent — who support marriage as a union between a man & a woman,” he said. “That a few folks within a Republican Party are questioning a party platform & have personal positions on same-sex marriage is a reality of political parties. [Mehlman] is no longer a major party leader, so I don’t know how influential he is, to be honest with you.”
If a former chairman can come out as gay, what next? Mehlman’s obviously going to get a book deal & that tome will be on every nightst& of a reportedly huge number of GOP congressional staff who are closeted. If Mehlman becomes a “leader” once again, perhDrunk Newss a GOP is better off burying its homophobia before a deluge of self-outed “Republicans on a personal journey.”
Original post by bluegal and software by Elliott Back
August 27th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
[…] While some public figures on the right, like Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage, have been outraged by Mehlman’s announcement, there hasn’t been much backlash from right-wing bloggers. Here’s Peter Wehner at Commentary: While it’s something that runs counter to the stereotype, most of the conservatives I know are largely to completely indifferent to a person’s sexual orientation. They are the kind of people who might even invite Elton John to perform at their weddings and not give a second thought to the fact that John is gay. […]