Closet Cases In High Places Are Terrible Role Models For Children-- They Teach Deception And Cowardice

Do you read the Style Section of the NY Times? Me neither, but there was a piece yesterday about gossip columnist Liz Smith, who died Sunday. I didn't know she had died and didn't know she had lived her life in the closet. In fact, I probably wouldn't have even known she existed at all except that when I worked at Warner Bros, she would, every so often, be part of a marketing plan for an artist's record release-- mostly Madonna, but she was friends with our East Coast head of publicity and she always felt getting an artist or record mentioned by Liz Smith was a big coup. Yesterday the Times asserted that "the grande dame of New York's gossip pages" had come "under fire for keeping her attraction to women quiet. But for her generation, coming out can be especially fraught."

Oh, please... it's fraught if you make it fraught. When I figured out I was gay in 1973 I was living in Amsterdam. I flew home for a meeting with my family to tell them, not to ask their permission, just to let them know. They never thought of inviting me to anything again without including my boyfriend and never talked to me on the phone without asking how he was. In the corporate business world there was some residual homophobia-- but it didn't prevent me-- not for one second-- to rise to become president of a division of TimeWarner. Fraught, schmaught. It's fraught if you play the bullshit patriarchal game of showing fear or shame.

Today, as I was getting dressed I had an eye on the TV. Congresswomen Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Barbara Comstock (R-VA) were droning on-- filled with self-serving rage-- that there are serving members of Congress they know who approach women in the workplace in a way that is both sexual and comes from a place of power and entitlement. So... who the hell are they? Why keep it in the closet? what are you afraid of?

When Mark Foley (R-FL) was finally outed publicly for molesting underage male congressional pages, Pelosi immediately backed up Speaker Denny Hastert (a life long boy rapist who eventually went to prison) in insisting Foley had just sent naughty e-mails to the boys. Everyone knew that was as truthful as every statement Trump has ever made. But Hastert and Pelosi (and the whole congressional leadership) decided keeping Congress' dirty little secret in the closet was the way to go. (If you're wondering how I know Foley was fucking the boys, that's easy. I talked to the boys and I talked to Foley and they all admitted it. Imagine what a congressional investigation like the one Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Mark Hatfield was subjected to before he retired (on the day the investigation's report was released). Foley eventually asked me if I thought he could move to West Hollywood (a gay-dominated city), switch parties and get elected to Congress. He gave up on the plan when I explained that "gay" and "pedophile" are separate entities and that gay voters would never vote for a pedophile, not even one who shuttled his boys from state to state to take advantage of age of consent laws.

Speaking of which-- closets, not child molesting-- it's 2017 and we still have a Congress that tolerates closet cases, even notorious ones like Lindsey Graham (R-SC), David Young (R-IA), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who John Boehner predicts will be Speaker one day, and DCCC chairman Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM). Yes, closetry isn't just "too fraught" for Republicans but even some Democrats are too cowardly to accept themselves. When Blue Dog Mike Michaud was finally outed, it melted down his whole career. Blue Dog and "ex"-Republican Charlie Crist, who jettisoned his beard as soon as he was safely elected to Congress, still pretends to be "straight," even if there isn't a sentient Floridian who doesn't know he's as queer as... I am.

Tuesday, Allison Ikley-Freeman, an upfront lesbian-- and an upfront progressive-- won a blood-red Republican state senate district southwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma. That's a district Trump had won by nearly 40 points. It's the kind of district where closet case Ben Ray Lujan and his DCCC routinely recruits conservative, Republican-lite candidates because, they say, real Democrats can't win in districts like that. Lujan even went so far this year-- with Nancy Pelosi's approval-- to say they are recruiting anti-Choice candidates for these kinds of districts. And Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. As we pointed out earlier, of the 11 candidates that DCCC just put on their Red to Blue list of favored candidates-- the ones they'll spend millions dollars on-- 8 are Blue Dogs or New Dems from the Republican wing of the party.

One more thing. There are 6 proud LGBT members of Congress today not hiding in closets and turning their lives into hells of deceptions and practiced lies: Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jared Polis (D-CO), David Cicilline (D-RI), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Mark Takano (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI). Every gay Republican and every gay "ex"-Republican is a very tragic and very pathetic closet case. Sad.

UPDATE: Another GOP Closet Case Bites The... Pillow?

Today the Columbus Dispatch reported that a right-wing "familiy values" phony, state Rep. Wes Goodman , a married man, resigned after being confronted with evidence of "inappropriate conduct with another man" in his office. He represents all of Crawford, Morrow and Wyandot counties, Trump country. Trump beat Hillary in Crawford Co. 71-24%, took Morrow Co. 74-23%, and won in Wyandot Co. 71-24%. Now that's one red hellhole! And poor Goodman doesn't seem to have done anything career-ending-- except among Republican hypocrites.

House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, met Tuesday afternoon with the Cardington Republican soon after the speaker became aware of an incident from weeks ago in the lawmaker’s office that, sources said, involved a male in a consensual situation.

No harassment complaint, sexual or otherwise, was filed against Goodman. But someone, reportedly not a staffer, who knew of or witnessed the incident informed House Chief of Staff Mike Dittoe of the situation early Tuesday afternoon.

“I was alerted to details yesterday afternoon regarding his involvement in inappropriate behavior related to his state office,” Rosenberger said in a statement on Wednesday. “I met with him later in the day where he acknowledged and confirmed the allegations. It became clear that his resignation was the most appropriate course of action for him, his family, the constituents of the 87th House District and this institution.”

The speaker’s office is not releasing additional details of the conduct, though Brad Miller, spokesman for Rosenberger, said it did not involve Statehouse staffers or other legislative members. Rumors about Goodman’s questionable conduct, including his use of social media, have been swirling at the Statehouse in the past few weeks and include stories dating back years to when he worked in Washington. His Facebook account was taken offline.

Rosenberger and Goodman agreed, Miller said, “that it was activity unbecoming of a state representative.”

...On his Twitter page, Goodman described himself as “Christian. American. Conservative. Republican.”

Previously, Goodman was an aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, developing “pro-family and pro-liberty” policies. Later he served as managing director for the Conservative Action Project, where he says he “led the fight for conservative principles like a balanced budget, lower taxes, repealing Obamacare, life, and religious liberty...”

Jordan endorsed Goodman in 2016, saying he had “the character, experience and passion to serve the families and taxpayers of our part of Ohio in the Statehouse.”

A Jordan spokeswoman said he heard “no allegations of wrongdoing and received no accusations of misconduct” during Goodman’s nearly six years working for him.

“Congressman Jordan is deeply disappointed by this troubling news, and believes Mr. Goodman’s resignation was the best course of action,” said spokeswoman Melika Willoughby.

A Republican with close ties to the conservative movement, speaking about politically sensitive matters only on the condition of not being named, said reports about inappropriate behavior surfaced after Goodman returned to Ohio in 2015.

Goodman declared himself “proud” to carry on the tradition of the Caveman Caucus, the colorful moniker attached to a group of highly conservative lawmakers several years ago. He was co-sponsor of the Ohio Campus Free Speech Act, and worked on issues including the Medicaid expansion freeze.