I wasn’t going to write this post so soon but as I mentioned yesterday there seems to be a ‘problem’ with lots of closeted gay people at the upper echelons of the Republican Party.

I say ‘problem’ because several groupings see it as a problem. Firstly we have the evangelicals who are reeling at the outing of Ministers who have a predilection for crystal meth and Prostitutes, and who are dismayed at the losses in the Republican Party and the failure of their agenda to advance.

Secondly there is the gay rights movement who have generally decided that outing is a good thing in this regard  – the level of hypocrisy involved in senior staffers for US senators and the Republican Party leadership means that it’s fair game on peoples private lives. The staffers may say that they themselves do not support discrimination against lesbians and gays but working for some of the most homophobic elected officials in the USA does not sit well with their personal lives.

The third group are out gay republicans themselves – who must be reeling from the exposés, the general hopelessness involved in getting gay rights put on Republican agendas and then having to try and mop up the messes left by the actions of Mark Foley etc.

Fourthly mainstream media commentators. They like having this issue to get their teeth into, hypocrisies involved aside, the exposure of scandal and corruption make good copy and fill air time for weeks. There are of course opportunities for some to link gays to pedophiles etc. What the outing and exposure actually does for lesbian and gay visibility and acceptance is hard to tell. Anyone out there got their own ideas and opinions?

Last night comedian and late night show presenter Bill Maher outed the chairperson of the Republican Party, Ken Mehlman. It was not the first time Mehlman had been outed. The ‘outing’ took place on Larry King Live on CNN. The Huffington Post has the transcript and video and also the censored programme which went out on the west coast of the USA three hours later.

Other than Mary Cheney, daughter of shooting Dick, I don’t know of any republican lesbians who have been found to be hypocritical in their choice of workplace/boss. I’m sure they exist!! Mary Cheney worked for Coors Beer Company as their outreach marketer to the lesbian and gay sector before daddy got a job in the White House. She has since stood by and said nothing as the Republicans have touted constitutional amendments banning marriage and equality for same sex couples.  

However maybe it is possible to be gay or lesbian and not believe in queer emancipation? If you are not comfortable in your sexuality is it not a perfect cover to be working for an organisation who espouses hatred and discrimination? See Roman Catholic Church for exhibit number 1 in any future discussion.