The GOP's Gay Problem

The fallout from the Foley scandal has revealed more than just the increasingly desperate and loathsome ends the GOP leadership will go to save their collective asses, it has also opened the closet door and revealed that- GASP!- there are gay Republicans. Ohh, sure they've been very polite and quiet about it (and they are so helpful to fight against their best interests), but the cat's out of the bag now and the religious right is very confused and angry. Why, they thought the Republicans were their partners in ridding America of the homosexual menace. But if the Republicans have been hiding some gays in their midst, what gives? Could gay people be more prominent and diverse than they thought? EEP! And with Foley's loathsome actions appearing to only further solidify the homophobia of many on the right, the Republicans have to decide whether to go it along with it or not. Likely, they will go along, because they've put such a stake in the anti-gay political gravy train.

Here's the Village Voice's Dan Savage on this GOP's gay position-

[I]f someone turned up e-mails or IM chats in which I asked a kid to measure his cock for me—or asked him for details about his masturbation habits, or whether I made him horny, or if he just came—I don't think Dennis Hastert, Tony Snow, Matt Drudge, and Rush Limbaugh would launch a cover-up to protect my skanky ass or, failing that, rush to my defense, pointing out that it was just, you know, a few naughty e-mails or the fault of some dirty-minded teenage beasts. They would call for my head.

So why would they bend over forward to accommodate Foley?

Because, in their eyes, Foley was doing everything right. The religious conservatives in the GOP's base don't seriously believe that gay men can become straight. (Want to stop a straight person from making the ex-gay argument? Ask him if he'd let his daughter marry one.) What they believe in—what they demand—are closeted homos, homos like Foley, a single man who refused to answer direct questions about his sexual orientation. (Has any straight man ever refused to reveal his sexual orientation?) The religious conservatives in the GOP's base want all gays to be like Foley: deny who we are, live our lives alone, refuse to answer any questions about our sexuality. To them, Foley was a good, closeted homo, deserving of every consideration.

The GOP was willing to cover for Foley because Foley, by being closeted, covered for them for years. So what if closet cases act out in sexually inappropriate ways? A few raped altar boys and skeeved-out pages are a price the gay haters are only too willing to pay if it means fewer out homos.

This sounds about right to me.

The Vice President's relationship with his daughter, Mary Cheney (who is the perfect embodiment of a self-hating homosexual), is a great example of the party that feels one way in private but publicly acts just the opposite- and extremely so. The Republican closet is very a crowded and very disturbing place.

Andrew Sullivan had a similar discussion on 'The Colbert Report' last night.