"Gays For Pence"... It Has A Ring To It, Don't You Think?

Yesterday, Señor Trumpanzee took the circus to Langley, where he made a fool out of himself addressing 400 CIA employees-- and a cheering squad of his own that he brought along to applaud for him, which the CIA employees sat looking uncomfortable. Did you know that "there is nobody that feels stronger about the intelligence community and the CIA than Donald Trump? There's nobody, nobody." He told them "you're going to get so much backing... maybe you're going to say, 'please don't give us so much backing. Mr. President, please, we don't need that much backing.'" He quickly returned to talking about himself and how much support he got, vote-wise, from the military and told the CIA employees that they voted for him as well. "I know a lot about West Point," he babbled to them... "Trust me, I'm like a smart person." And he is like a smart person. Both Donald J. Trumpanzee and a smart person eat and go to the toilet; I'm not sure if there are any other ways he's like a smart person though-- and many of these CIA employees really are smart people and they must have been aghast at hearing this clown in their midst yesterday. He told them, in regard to Mike Pompeo, their new director, "You're going to be getting a total star, a gem... I feel like I'm 30, 35, 39." I wonder how many resignations there will be this week. Former CIA deputy chief of staff Nick Shapiro noted that "Former CIA director Brennan is deeply saddened and angered at Donald Trump's despicable display of self-aggrandizement in front of CIA's Memorial Wall of Agency heroes. Brennan says that Trump should be ashamed of himself."

I doubt many of the CIA employees were at the DeploraBall Friday night in Potomac, Maryland, sponsored by an actual neo-Nazi group called Gays for Trump. Peter Boykin, who was the host and master of ceremonies, said that "they try to throw Gays for Trump in the Alt-Right [category] but I think we are the Alt-Alt-Right."

At the door to the event Keith McLeod from Georgia was wearing a mask of Pepe the Frog, the fictional character that’s become a popular symbol of defiance among some people who self identify as “Deplorable,” a term used by Hillary Clinton to criticize some of Trump’s supporters.

McLeod, who made it clear that he wasn’t gay, had such a good time at the Gays for Trump event at the last RNC that he decided to join them again last night. “I’m so fed up with liberals you have no idea,” he told Time. “I’m so glad they took a hit today. No one respects us anymore. Trump will make them respect us again.”

Andy Barr, another man who identified as a gay ally from Seattle and who donned a gold Lamé suit, met most of the people attending the event through Twitter. When asked about Vice President Mike Pence’s history on speaking out against gay marriage his response echoed a sentiment that many of the attendees throughout the night repeated: “He will not be the executive. Let’s give Mr. Pence the benefit of the doubt. We saw Mr. Trump holding the LGBT flag. Let’s see how it goes in the future.”

Boykin agreed. “People can grow,” he said, before adding that he had already registered the “Gays for Pence” trademark. For the master of ceremonies, the priority today is “to fight against the notion of the LGBT liberal.” During a late-night speech, he pushed his point. “I want to balance the LGBT community, not try to destroy the liberal LGBT community,” he said. “We need everybody out there together but we have to have a seat at the table.”

Members of the Indiana LGBT community must be laughing their asses off. In case you're not familiar with the most homophobic federal politician in history, here are Mike Pence’s top seven most homophobic moments (out of many).

1. Supporting a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality

In 2006, then-Rep. Pence told 100 of his fellow Republicans that he supported a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex weddings. Or as Pence put it, supported “God’s plan” in the face of the destruction of civilization. “Societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family,” Pence complained.

2. Signed a bill to jail same-sex couples for applying for a marriage license

In an effort to make a bad idea even worse, as governor Pence signed a bill in 2013 that would jail same-sex couples in Indiana who applied for a marriage license. To prove that he wasn’t singling gay people out, Pence was also willing to jail marriage clerks who supplied a license or clergy who performed the wedding.

3. Wanted to divert funding from HIV prevention to conversion therapy

This one’s a two-fer: as a Congressional candidate in 2000, Pence wrapped two awful ideas into a single dreadful proposal. He wanted to ensure that “federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.” So where should the money go? “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” In other words, conversion therapy.

4. Opposed repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Longing for the good old days of complete invisibility for gay people, Pence predictably ignored the preponderance of evidence in support of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Instead, Pence put himself out there as a leading opponent of the policy change. “There’s no question to mainstream homosexuality within active duty military would have an impact on unit cohesion,” Pence argued, dismissing the repeal as “some liberal domestic social agenda.”

5. Complained about the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill

In Pence’s ideal world, there would be zero protections. So it’s no surprise that he groused when the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes bill was signed into law in 2009. Pence didn’t cite legal objections. Instead, he complained that it advanced a “radical social agenda” and would have “a chilling effect on religious expression, from the pulpits, in our temples, in our mosques and in our churches.”

6. Served on the board of an antigay group

Pence has had a close relationship with the antigay leadership in his state. He served on the board of the Indiana Family Institute, an affiliate of Focus on the Family, which has been in the forefront of attacks on LGBT rights in the state, including a state constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. Thanks to its connections to Pence and other Republicans, IFI has been the recipient of funding for the state’s “Health Marriage” program. The former head of IFI has served as an aide to Pence both in Congress and the state house and as a campaign consultant.

7. Argued that passing ENDA would ban Bibles from the workplace

Of course, in Congress Pence voted against federal workplace protections. What was unique was his reasoning, which was that ENDA would discriminate against Christians. To comply with the law, Pence claimed, “the employer has to ban employees from having a Bible at the workplace for their break time, or displaying Bible verses.” Foreshadowing the Indiana religious liberty law, he went on: “We must stand for the right of every American to practice their faith according to the dictates of their conscience, whether it be in the public square or in the workplace.”

People can grow? Can't wait to see Pence grow out of his sick obsession but if I had to guess... I'd venture that he will grow sick and sicker with old age.