WHY DO RIGHT WING CLOSET CASES SUCK?

I got this from Jesus' General

You may have noticed that there haven't been any moderate Republicans dragged kicking and screaming out of the closet lately and that all the Republican closet queens who have been outed are far right extremists. Everyone has a clear homophobic, bigoted voting record. Not one was sympathetic or even politically empathetic towards other gay people. Today's Seattle Times looks into what makes these men tick. The topic is a hot one in Washington because of the statewide, and even national, lurid headlines involving a local right-wing representative, Richard Curtis (R), a cross-dresser who reneged on a deal to pay a male prostitute $1,000 for unprotected anal sex. Curtis was high on drugs all night, having sex with multiple partners in a sleazy porno establishment, and then capping it off with a liaison in his hotel with young Cody Castagna. He didn't have the full thousand to pay Castagna and was too out of it from all the drugs he had consumed to go to an ATM so he gave him a few hundred and said he could hold his wallet as collateral 'til the following day. Then, still too doped up to understand the consequences of his actions, he called a GOP political crony involved with law enforcement and told him he didn't want to press charges but wanted him to get the wallet back without involving the Spokane cops. The GOP crony wasn't on drugs and within hours Curtis' life was forever changed. The Times wants to understand how this could happen, how could politicians take such risks?

When Larry Craig (R) was arrested in a public toilet in Minneapolis-- and then pled guilty-- for soliciting sex from another male he was painfully aware he was under investigation for... having sex with a male in a public toilet in Washington's Union Station. Did he think that changing his hunting ground from railroad station restrooms to airport restrooms he was being cautious?

When Republican Congressman Mark Foley's life came tumbling down around his ears last year, he had led a half in/half out of the closet existence that was fraught with more and more risk every year as he felt surer and surer of his ability to transcend social (and right wing) mores. He was often seen being escorted around South Florida and DC in the company of handsome young men. He had been warned several times to stop paying so much attention to the underage male congressional pages. And then, drunk, he was caught trying to break into their dorm after midnight. But nothing happened. The risky behavior apparently had no risk. He was protected by other powerful closeted Republicans (Speaker Denny Hastert) and by powermad GOP leaders who didn't care if he raped a page a day as long as they could keep the seat red. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), John Shimkus (R-IL) and John Boehner (R-OH) were the culprits in that category.

Other Republicans are flirting with the same kinds of risks, especially David Dreier (CA), Patrick McHenry (NC) and Lindsey Graham (SC). "Why would any politician take such risks?" ask the Times

For the answer to that, start with the notion that people who go into politics are more likely than others to be risk-takers, say experts in the field. To a large extent, they're people who are comfortable inviting scrutiny because that's what politicians do to get elected.

"Politics tends to attract risk-takers," says Frank Farley, a Temple University psychologist who has studied risk-taking, politics and human motivation. "It's an uncertain job, you live at the whim of the electorate, there's no tenure. It's often short-term-- you're in for two or four years, and you're out. Then you have to start all over again in some field."

Often, successful politicians got there largely because of that personal chutzpah, a risk-taking predilection honed and encouraged by success. For those who come from modest circumstances or small towns, risk-taking is often the only ticket out, as it was for Bill Clinton, who fueled his brainpower with nerve to overcome a childhood broken home and financial hardship.

"Often one of the ways to get ahead is to take risks, be bold; if you don't, the world is going to pass you by, because you don't have anything besides your psychology-- no wealth, you're not a Bush, not born into money," Farley says.

Such risk-takers are likely more prone to do things others consider unsafe, says Gladue. "It's not that they're brain-damaged and they can't evaluate the dangers; they just have a higher threshold for risk than most people. ... [To them] it's not risky."

Everyone finds a level of risk they're comfortable with, Gladue says. They'll hike but not climb. Or they'll climb Mount Rainier, but only in the summer. Or they'll climb Mount Rainier in all seasons, but not Mount Everest.

Some people just keep "pushing the limits," Gladue says. "Everybody knows somebody like that. You just don't want to be in a car with them, because they're not managing risk as well as you'd like them to be."

There's plenty of research indicating that such sensation-seeking personalities are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior as well, Gladue says. "This is part of who they are. Their temperament gets a little watered down as they get older, but it doesn't go away."

Some evolutionary biologists have argued that politicians, as the modern-day equivalent of the "alpha male" gorilla, are even more tempted than others by the lure of sexual conquests, almost as a right of office. After all, they say, in nature it's the alpha male who gets the sexual access.

Of course, these days such "evolutionary" urges are generally tempered by pragmatism, they add.
For some people, hiding an inner life that's in direct conflict with an outer life becomes intolerable, says Farley. "You want to bring some alignment, some freedom, from that continual, conflictual stress."

At some point, the pain of the conflict itself may become a powerful motivator to resolve the differences, Farley says.

McGreevey, in his tell-all book, "The Confession," wrote that "the closet starves a man and when he gets a chance, he gorges 'til it sickens him."

Curtis, like many who have found themselves in this situation, has a wife and children. He ran for office as a conservative Republican.

Farley says that, too, is understandable.

"You're creating a cover for your behavior so you're beyond reproach. You figure you will get away with what you're doing; you've covered it with those strong positions, so nobody thinks of you as gay."

There you find the genesis of the rabid gay hysteria, coupled with utter denial and self-loathing, from Republican closet cases like Larry Craig (ID), Bob Allen (FL), Mitch McConnell (KY), Mark Foley (FL), Patrick McHenry (NC), Richard Curtis (WA), Joey DiFatta (LA), Lindsey Graham (SC), Adrian Smith (NE), David Dreier (CA), Ed Schrock (VA), Jim McCrery (LA) and countless others.


UPDATE: OH... AND ABOUT RIGHT-WING PREACHERS... SAME TRIP

And another one was just exposed, Marshall Seymour of Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, Florida who likes the underage Christian boys a little too much. He was paying church boys as young as 15 for sex-- just like he used to do in Alabama.

I can't even keep up with the news of Republican politicians engaging in this risky behavior. Another one was arrested, Michael Shallow, a former Daytona Beach city commissioner and current Republican candidate for mayor. He posted $1,000 bail and was released. He was one of nine men charged with lewd and lascivious conduct and exposure of a sexual organ, both misdemeanors, in a Sears restroom. Police report that they heard coughing, sneezing, foot tapping, loud and persistent zipper noises to attract attention from others interested in engaging in sexual acts.

REPUBLICAN REP. RICHARD CURTIS WASN'T WEARING RED LINGERIE FOR A HALLOWEEN PARTY-- AND NEITHER WAS PAT BUCHANAN

Don't do a Google picture search for Cody Castagna

Pat Buchanan doesn't think there's any hypocrisy involved in closeted Republicans voting against gays while paying $1000 for unprotected anal sex with anonymous young men. Watch:



Curtis, on the other hand, while still claiming he did nothing wrong, said "he realizes he needs to explain how he could vote against gay marriage and domestic partnerships and have a secret second life, but he cannot discuss such matters until all legal issues have been resolved." We'll try to wait.

REPUBLICAN SEX MANIAC RICHARD CURTIS CAN'T QUITE GET THE TOOTHPASTE BACK INTO THE TUBE

I've seen one viciously homophobic Republican elected official after another get caught red handed (or something) with boys and men and one thing all the perps have in common is that they all claim they're "not gay." After reading Bob Bauman's honest and insightful book into his own forced outing, The Gentleman From Maryland-- Conscience Of A Gay Conservative, which tells the tale of how a powerful right-wing congressman was arrested and went through the whole rigmarole until finally admitting his sexuality to himself, I realized that it is going to take a very long time for the Larry Craigs (R-ID), Bob Allens (R-FL), Mitch McConnells (R-KY), Richard Curtises (R-WA), Patrick McHenrys (R-NC), David Dreiers (R-CA), Lindsey Grahams (R-SC), etc to ever come to grips with their own natures. All of these men have been vociferous in denying their own sexual natures and each has voted against the interests of other gay men and women in a way that endangers regular American citizens trying to get on raising families and living their lives. Homosexuality has not made any of them more empathetic; quite the contrary. Non-closeted gay legislators, like Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) do stand up for equal protection under the law for all citizens. The Republicans seem to use virulent anti-gay stands as a way of proving "I'm not gay."

It hasn't been working out very well for Washington's Richard Curtis, a very conservative Republican state Rep from La Center. Although he was obviously messed up on drugs-- unmentioned in any news report I've seen until today-- all we heard from him yesterday was "I'm not gay. I've never had sex with any guys." He sure sounded like Bob Bauman (R-MD), Ed Schrock (R-VA), and Jon Hinson (R-MS) once did, like Larry Craig does now... and like Mitch McConnell probably will very soon. But, behind closed doors, he told the police quite a different story.

According to today's Columbian the police report states clearly that Curtis "admitted to having sex with a man he met at an adult video store in Spokane last week."

The police report offers a far different version of events from the brief account Curtis gave Monday to The Columbian, one that seems likely to threaten Curtis' political future.

The report is filled with graphic details of an encounter that began at a porn store on a Spokane Valley strip and concluded miles away in Curtis' room at the city's poshest hotel.

The police report contains an account of how Curtis allegedly donned women's clothing, red stockings and a black sequined lingerie top before engaging in a sex act at the store. He then continued to wear them throughout the night under his clothing, the report says.

Curtis, who has consistently voted in the most homophobic and bigoted manner, is 48 years old, married and has two daughters. He told the male prostitute he picked up that his wife knew when he married her that he liked men. I've read about people who crave-- and are willing to pay for-- unprotected anonymous sex but I've never talked to one. It seems like a pretty suicidal approach and from what I've heard it's almost always something people do in the context of severe drug problems. Curtis offered to pay a male prostitute $1,000 for unprotected anal sex but afterwards tried to weasel out with a $100 or $200 or $300 payment. (Unlike Larry Craig and Bob Allen, at least he wasn't a $20 gay Republican.)

Curtis did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday. He initially told police that he did not have sex with the man but later recanted, according to the police report. He also told police that he thought he might have been given some type of drug because his memory of the evening was hazy, the report says.

The report says that after the two men had sex, Castagna left the hotel room with Curtis' wallet. Curtis agreed to give the man $200, which he left at his hotel's desk, only to be confronted with a demand for an additional $800, the report says.

Spokane Police Detective Tim Madsen wrote in his report that Curtis wanted to keep the whole incident quiet. At one point, Madsen told Curtis that "the toothpaste was already out of the tube."

"Curtis told me he was just trying to put the cap back on the tube," Madsen wrote. "I told Curtis that the suspect may victimize other people in the future, and Curtis acknowledged that part of his job was to protect people in the state of Washington. ? Curtis said he wished he would have just paid the additional money to the suspect because he didn't wish the case to be prosecuted. If the incident became public, it could cost him his marriage and career."

You think?

Interestingly, Curtis figured he could threaten and bamboozle the prostitute and cover the whole thing up with a fellow Republican law enforcement pal. "The entire incident might have never come to light if Curtis hadn't contacted Sgt. Roy Rhine of the Washington State Patrol. Rhine, who works out of the patrol's Southwest Washington office, is a fellow Republican who has run for the state Legislature. According to Madsen's report, Curtis contacted a friend in the Washington State Patrol and wanted the agency to investigate 'because the local police would talk and it would get out to the press.' The WSP referred the case back to Spokane officials." And that was the end of another GOP hypocrite.

Meanwhile, far right propaganda sites are all up in arms because people are mentioning that Curtis is a Republican. They like it much more when Republican perps are apprehended by the law and called Democrats, as Fox TV did repeatedly and maliciously when Republican child predator Mark Foley (R-FL) was caught.

This video should not be viewed by anyone under the age of 18 without a parent in the room. If there's a priest or a Republican in the room, make him leave before you play it... for your own safety.


CURTIS MUST HAVE COME DOWN FROM DRUGS

He resigned. From "I'm not gay" to "I resign" in 24 hours is pretty good... for a Republican.

“Today I submitted my letter of resignation to Governor Gregoire effective immediately. While I believe we've done some good and helped a lot of people during the time I served in the Legislature, events that have recently come to light have hurt a lot of people. I sincerely apologize for any pain my actions may have caused.

“This has been damaging to my family, and I don't want to subject them to any additional pain that might result from carrying out this matter under the scrutiny that comes with holding public office.”

UPDATE: THURSDAY MORNING RICHARD CURTIS WATCH

New developments... well, the Seattle Times has a couple of factoids I neglected to mention before. Curtis' love interest, Cody Castagna, is nicknamed "Stallion" and although Curtis was very cooperative with the police, showing them semen stains and even santorum on the sheets, he balked when they tried to examine "the bag with the nylon rope and toy stethoscope in it, saying it had nothing to do with the matter at hand." Oh dear; this is a new one on me.

VITTER GOT IN NO TROUBLE FOR WHOREMONGERING, BUT HE JUST GOT SLAPPED WITH A BIG FINE FOR ELECTION FRAUD & MEET DICK CURTIS, A JUST OUTED GOP HYPOCRITE

the naughty love interest

According to today's Times-Picayune David Diapers Vitter (R-LA) "has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine for violating federal election laws during his campaign for the Senate in 2004." Kind of completes the image of what he is and always has been. He cheats on his wife and cheats the voters as well.

Meanwhile, way on the otherside of the country, up in Washington another I'm-Not-Gay-Republican-- yawn-- Washington Rep. Richard Curtis is all caught up in some extortion business with a gay prostitute. KREM, a Spokane TV station, reported that Curtis and the male hooker had "a sexual encounter and were seen together at various spots around the city." Spokane is just up the road apiece from Idaho and Curtis said, "I am not gay. I have not had sex with a guy." A.P. is reporting that Curtis and the hooker met at one of those porno video shops (the Hollywood Erotic Boutique) at 12:45am and then went back to Curtis' hotel room at 3:30am for sex. They don't say who did what to whom but the trick, Cody Castagna, demanded a grand to not blab that Curtis, who is married, is also enjoying the company of young men, and Curtis called the cops.

Before you start feeling too sorry for this chump, keep this in mind: he's a self-righteous right-wing turd who he voted against domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples. Last year, he opposed a gay rights bill that banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Flush another Republican hypocrite down the toilet. I've lost count.


UPDATE: THE REPUBLICAN IS A DRAG QUEEN!

KXLY reports that GOP Rep. Curtis was not just into picking up young men for sex, he was also into wearing lady's clothing. My God! What is wrong with these Republicans? This guy voted no on employment equality for gay men and women while he was wearing frilly undies! (He insists he's not gay. Maybe the Republicans have their own words for things that are different from normal people's vocabularies. The KXLY Report is completely graphic (anal sex, etc).

State Representative Richard Curtis says he's not gay, but police reports and court records indicate the Republican lawmaker from southwestern Washington dressed up in women's lingerie and met a Medical Lake man in a local erotic video store which led to consensual sex at a downtown hotel and a threat to expose Curtis' activities publicly.

A search warrant unsealed Tuesday morning disclosed that State Representative Richard Curtis (R - La Center) had sex in his room at the Davenport Tower with a man identified as Cody Castagna, 26, of Medical Lake, who he met at the Hollywood Erotic Boutique on October 26th.

Curtis, according to a search warrant unsealed Tuesday, went to the Hollywood Erotic Boutique on East Sprague on October 26th at approximately 12:45 a.m. The store clerk, who had talked with Curtis, referred to him as "The Cross-Dresser" and said that during their conversations he confirmed he was gay and was married with children at home.

During his visit to the video store Curtis was observed wearing women's lingerie while receiving oral sex from an unidentified man in one of the movie viewing booths inside the store.

The rest of the details are incredible. Just makes you wonder if these kinds of people become Republicans or if being a Republican makes you like this. You might be interested in knowing that this fine GOP specimen, aside from a 100% homophobic voting record, also opposed using state dollars to provide health care for the children of undocumented workers and has uniformly low marks from Washington Conservation Voters, the abortion rights group NARAL and the AFL-CIO. All fits together-- especially the lingerie.


UPDATE: CROSS DRESSING REPUBLICAN REP STORY ON TV-- PLUS POSSIBLE SUICIDE ATTEMPT

I'm wondering if they'll play this tape at the Republican Convention. On his way home Rep. Curtis totaled his car. Did he try committing suicide? Curtis has given up on the standard GOP "I'm not gay routine."