"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Patrick McHenry Senses A DWT Vendetta Against Him
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This week Joe Conason did a perceptive post for the National Memo on why the GOP breeds politicians like Todd Akin. "The embarrassing fall of Todd Akin," he writes, "should induce Republicans to confront their own responsibility for the low quality of politicians they are inflicting on us (and themselves). Having developed an extremist culture that encourages figures such as Akin to seek legislative office, GOP leaders should hardly be surprised when idiotic and reprehensible remarks spill from the mouths of their candidates. (Candidates who insist, by the way, that English should be our official language when their own diction is often incomprehensible.) He goes on to talk about other GOP cretins like Christine O’Donnell (DE), Sharron Angle (NV), Rand Paul (KY), Sarah Palin (AK), Carl Paladino (NY) Ken Buck (CO) and Ron Johnson (WI). But, aside from mentioning that Michele Bachmann tops any such list, left out the whole House Republican caucus (which, of course, is where Akin became Akin). No Paul Broun (GA), Steve King (IA), Lynn Westmoreland (GA), Jim Jordan (OH), Virginia Foxx (NC), Joe Wilson (SC), Allen West (FL), Louie Gohmert (TX)...? The list is virtually endless.
This morning I was reminded of one of the most cracked of the crackpots, little Patrick McHenry, when I got an e-mail from a local writer wondering why I had tweeted that I would pay $5,000 to anyone who could send me a video of McHenry, a notorious and hypocritical Republican closet case, having sex with a gay prostitute in Tampa next week. ($5,000 cash on the barrel... same for Miss McConnell but only $1,000 for Aaron Schock, since there will probably be so many videos that it could bankrupt me.) I called the earnest writer and we had a very pleasant conversation which began with him telling me that he had called McHenry's office and that a staffer told him that I had a vendetta against the congressman. Moi? Here's the e-mail that got this started:
Dear Mr. Klein,
My name is Jack. I am a staff writer for Oh My Gov, Inc. (www.ohmygov.com), a media analytics and intelligence company focused on the intersection of social media, government and media. Recently, it has come to our attention that you've made some comments on Twitter regarding a possible cash-for-sex tape offer regarding Representatives Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Aaron Schock (R-IL). We're wondering if we could ask a few questions about what prompted you to make those comments, and why you singled out those two Congressmen in particular. Please find them enclosed below...
1) On August 21, you tweeted a message that says in part, "I'm offering $5,000 cash for a video of a hooker doing it with [Representative] Patrick McHenry or Miss McConnell; $1,000 for Aaron Schock". What was the purpose of the comment? Were you venting or blowing off steam, being facetious, or are you really interested in obtaining video of these individuals?
2) Why are/were you interested in McHenry and Schock? Neither men have a history of any sexual improprieties. Did you single them out for shock value, or are do you genuinely suspect something?
3) Your message was retweeted several times on the same day, including by @crooksandliars and several admirers and fans. Do you consider yourself the 21st Century Larry Flynt?
4) Our inquiries aside, are you worried that your comments will be taken out of context? What do you say to others who may take them a little more seriously than you intended?
5) Final Q: Now that you've made a splash on social media, is there a possibility that your writings will extend to exposing sexual hypocrisy in Congress and state legislatures as well?
I called Jack on the phone and we had a lovely talk. He had already found my 2007 post about the triple gay homicide in Orlando that included one of McHenry's boyfriends. I told him how a McHenry congressional staffer had confirmed to me that one of the victims had a relationship with McHenry before he was told to shut up. I guess he had read some of the other McHenry posts-- there are scores of them-- because he asked me if McHenry had ever sent me a cease and desist letter. He hadn't/hasn't.
Gay Romney Supporter Patrick McHenry (R-NC) Finally Confronted Publicly About His Connection To Jason Robert Drake
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McHenry "associate" Jason Robert Drake (RIP)
I hope you're not surprised that all the GOP closet cases-- well, not whack job Trent Franks, but the rest of them-- have endorsed Mitt Romney. I mean, last time around his campaign co-chair, Larry Craig, was working the public toilets for his boy Willard. There's just something about Romney that the Republican closet queens, from Lindsey Graham to David Dreier, just love.
Take fire-breathing little Patrick McHenry, for example. McHenry, who obsessively fingers the wedding ring symbolizing the fake marriage to a woman he doesn't live with, styles himself the biggest, baddest right-wing fanatic in the whole wide world. "I'll be the example for everyone else in Congress to follow," he has bragged. He was the attack dog against Elizabeth Warrenthe Republicans unleashed lamely at the House Financial Services Committee-- you know, the committee where little McHenry is trying to prevent a bill to prohibit Members of Congress from engaging in insider trading. But how much of a conservative is McHenry really, to have been one of the first right-wing congressmen to kick Newt, Perry, Bachmann, Cain et al. to the curb and jump aboard the Romney Express? Must be the animal magnetism... or McHenry's uncanny ability to always go where the cash is.
Today was an interesting day for Lil' Patrick McHenry. At noon he had a faux-townhall meeting at the Stanley Town Hall in Gaston County-- having invited no one but town employees and his own staffers. His Republican primary opponent, the intrepid Ken Fortenberry, showed up as well. McHenry wasn't prepared for that, especially not when Fortenberry started peppering him with questions about his shady record on the House Financial Services Committee and when he challenged him to debate in every county in North Carolina's sprawling 10th District so that Republican voters there could get to know each of them. McHenry dodged and demurred. But then it got really interesting.
I hate to do this to you, but it would really help if you could surf over to this 2007 post about McHenry's involvement in a triple gay homocide-suicide. Short version: The murdered gay Republicans include Ralph Reed's purported ex-lover, Ralph Gonzalez (former head of the rabidly homophobic Georgia Republican Party), GOP lobbyist David Abrami and McHenry guy-pal Robert Drake, allegedly the shooter. All three were victims in a murder-suicide in an Orlando apartment. According to right-wing website the North Carolina Conservative, "All three men were active in Republican politics." They mention that Drake is "an associate" of McHenry's but don't define that. He is alleged to be an associate of quite a few younger men, some of whom are gay and some of whom are just gay-for-pay.
Drake was associated with the owner of a gay escort service in the Virginia Beach area. The owners of that escort service-- there have been unconfirmed rumors that McHenry was both a client and a silent partner-- are facing charges that they murdered Bryan Kocis, the owner of a rival gay escort service. When I called McHenry's congressional office, the guy who answered the phone confirmed that Drake "worked" there but said he didn't know what his duties were. When I asked to speak to the congressman or someone who would know, he put me on hold, then came back, audibly upset, and said he was mistaken and that he didn't know anything and no one else was in the office and then quickly hung up on me. The murder was completely covered up by the Orlando police department and everything about it pretty much disappeared.
Now, back to today's confrontation. After Fortenberry couldn't get any answers from the smug, self-entitled McHenry to any of his questions, he whipped out a large photo of Drake-- the one above-- and asked a startled McHenry if he could deny any knowledge of the murdered ex-Marine. McHenry, looking like a rainbow flag, stammered and stuttered, said nothing intelligible and the meeting came to a screeching halt. At some point, Republicans in North Carolina are going to want to know who closet case McHenry really is and what he knows about these murders and the gay escort services in northern Virginia.
As for his endorsement of Romney... psychotic right-wing fanatic Steve Baldwin went bonkers this week on Steve Deace's crazy hate-talk radio show. His gripe is that Romney was “obsessed” with gay rights as governor of Massachusetts, and he's blaming the right-wing media itself for giving Romney a free pass. In the past he's insisted that Jeff Carneal, president of Human Events' publisher, Eagle Publishing (a subsidiary of extremist publishing house Regnery), is an “avowed homosexual” who has supported pro-equality causes. Who knows? Maybe all this stuff is why all the gay Republicans in congressional closets are supporting Romney:
Baldwin: Our conservative media won’t write negative stories about Romney. They won’t even investigate him. I’ve submitted story after story to National Review, to Human Events, to American Spectator, and every once in a while they’ll do a story with a few negative things about Romney, but a full-scale investigative piece about Romney has not appeared in most of the conservative movement’s media. And you’ll find out there’s conflicts of interests, you’ll find out National Review endorsed Romney last year, they like him this year. You’ll find out that the chairman of Regnery Gateway, that publishes Human Events, is a homosexual who likes Romney. You find out these editors have various biases. And as a result, they have collectively, along with talk radio I have to add-- Sean Hannity likes Romney, a lot of our radio talk show hosts have been very hands off when it comes to Romney’s record, even though they have all been briefed and all been given information about Romney’s background. Coulter and other national columnists and Hannity and even Mark Levin say very little about Romney’s record and refuse to dig into it. So you hear nothing from our own media, so the mainstream media, they’re too lazy to dig up the stories. And so as a result, Romney’s getting a free pass here...
Deace: Does Mitt Romney have a history of supporting homosexual issues beyond the gay scoutmasters thing that we saw from 1994? What did he do in Massachusetts when he was governor?
Baldwin: Oh my goodness. Gay proclamations, gay dances, gay proms, gay assemblies, gay this, gay that. He had an entire commission called the Governor’s Commission, which served at his own discretion, and they funded gay events and programs in the schools. He promoted all kinds of laws, rules, internal, a lot of internal things, like his department of social services awarded Family of the Year, Parents of the Year, to a gay couple. He appointed homosexual leaders to key positions throughout his administration. I mean, his whole administration was characterized by an almost obsessive devotion to the homosexual agenda. I would venture to say that Mitt Romney was the most aggressive pro-gay governor in American history, either party. Period. I mean Amy Contrada wrote a thousand page book documenting hundreds of actions by this man to advance the homosexual agenda. Hundreds. He was obsessed with it. You gotta start wondering here.
Par for the course, the Gaston Gazette was too freaked out to mention anything about Drake in their coverage of the townhall today. What else is new? Mostly boring video... but watch at 13:05:
On May 8, North Carolina voters go to the polls both for their primaries and to decide the fate of the homophobic Amendment One, widely supported by bigots and most-- though not all-- Republicans. One Republican who does support it, oddly enough, is notorious gay closet case Patrick McHenry (NC-10). McHenry's campaign is working full time to bank as many early votes as he can because of the widespread fear that his constituents are on the verge of finding out that his hasty marriage is fake and that he's still having sexual liaisons with young men. (He was seen, drunk, kissing a man in a Hickory bar recently.) But the rumors about McHenry being gay-- and even being a part owner of a gay escort service in Virginia-- have been around for years. They just never penetrate into the mainstream media. It was the same for Mark Foley and Larry Craig before they were finally outed-- years after "everyone" knew they were constantly chasing young men and soliciting sexual favors from strangers. McHenry wants the early vote in before that news breaks in NC-10... if it does.
Well this week it sort of did. And speaking of Mark Foley and Larry Craig, a robo call that went out to Republicans and some independents (who can vote in the GOP primary) tie McHenry to both of them... or at least to their hypocrisy and promiscuous gay activities. The Lincoln Times-News is trying, so far unsuccessfully, to find out who paid for the robo calls. (It's illegal to authorize robo calls without clearly identifying who they're from. This one, which makes the point pretty clearly that McHenry has been deceiving NC-10 voters about his sexuality in the same way Mark Foley and Larry Craig did, doesn't give any indication of who sent it.
Phone calls to Lincoln County voters with a recorded message that appears intended to discredit a North Carolina congressman are drawing complaints and a possible state investigation this week, after the Lincoln Times-News brought the calls to the attention of the N.C. Department of Justice.
With six candidates competing for the state’s 10th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives this year, some aggressive campaigning is hardly a surprise. But DOJ spokesperson Noelle Talley said Monday the anonymous robo-calls appear to cross the line and be illegal.
Who’s behind the calls is unclear. The Times-News contacted all six campaigns on Tuesday, with each denying responsibility for the calls criticizing U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry’s fitness for office based on insinuations about his moral character.
Several citizens have talked with the Times-News about the calls, some expressing disgust. Most of the call recipients appear to be Republicans, but it’s unclear whether the smear effort was specifically targeting those expected to participate in the May 8 GOP primary.
Tom Hawk of Lincolnton, who describes himself as a McHenry supporter, contacted the newspaper about the situation by email over the weekend.
“I believe you will agree with me that this type of call has no place in our political campaigning efforts,” Hawk said. “The call never identified who was calling or who was funding the effort. This moves the call from annoying into the illegal category.”
According to Hawk and others, the recorded caller identified herself only by a woman’s first name and said she was a Republican married to an unaffiliated voter. She said she and her husband agreed that it would be a mistake to re-elect McHenry, then said wasn’t “one of us.” The caller then made references to politicians involved in past scandals to imply that McHenry was hiding aspects of his personal conduct from voters.
Among the campaigns denying any ties to the calls this week was McHenry’s own. It’s not unheard of for candidates to engage in over-the-top dirty tricks targeting themselves in order to make it appear that their opponents are using dirty tricks.
...While the source of the calls remains unclear, one candidate offered a theory that it could be part of an effort from a national organization that has previously attacked McHenry and other members of Congress with allegations similar to those in the robo-calls.
The organization, Republicans for Family Values, is based in Illinois and operates a website www.rffv.org, which includes a call for McHenry to deny charges about his personal behavior. The site’s owner did not immediately respond to a Times-News email asking whether he was behind the calls or knew who was.
The Democrats are too busy with their own campaigns to get involved with the GOP swamp. Blue America is supporting Rep. Patsy Keever, who has a long record of supporting equality under the law for all North Carolinians and has already declared she opposes Amendment One. If you'd like to see her replace McHenry in Congress, please consider a contribution to her campaign here.
WHO'LL BE THE NEXT REPUBLICAN HYPOCRITE TO BE DRAGGED OUT OF THE CLOSET SCREAMING ABOUT MEDIA WITCH HUNTS?
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A certain lil' congressman allegedly likes his trade rough
Lil' Patrick McHenry isn't a character in Comedy Central's brilliant Lil' Bush, which features Lil' Cheney, Lil' Rummy, Lil' Condi, Lil' Tony Blair, Lil' Jeb, Lil' Hillary, Lil' Mikey Moore, Lil' Obama... but not Lil' Lil' Patrick McHenry. He's too... lil'! But he may be about to get a lot bigger, at least in terms of the traditional media that has made Larry Craig a household name-- and soon. DWT readers already know that the North Carolina arch-conservative (other than 3 nut-case freshmen, McHenry's got the most reactionary voting record in Congress) is allegedly another hypocritical closet queen waiting nervously for his moment on the national stage.
And yesterday BlueNC gave Rep. McHenry's closet door a nice, loud jolt. In a scandal that will prove to be far bigger than South Park's outing of Tom Cruise (covered in great depth and detail by Wikipedia), it looks like there is a connection between McHenry and a murderous Republican homosexual love triangle/escort service.
The murdered gay Republicans include Ralph Reed's purported ex-lover, Ralph Gonzalez (former head of the rabidly homophobic Georgia Republican Party), David Abrami and McHenry guy-pal Robert Drake, the shooter. All three were found last week in a murder-suicide in an Orlando apartment. According to right-wing website, the North Carolina Conservative "All three men were active in Republican politics." They mention that Drake is "an associate" of McHenry's but don't define that. He is alleged to be an associate of quite a few younger men, some of whom are gay and some of whom are just gay-for-pay. (Note: The websites in this GOP report are graphic, pornographic gay prostitute sites and if you don't want to see that kind of stuff DO NOT copy and paste the links. They are purposely not in the form of links.)
Gonzalez was an influential political consultant, who owned Strategum Group, and managed Congressman Tom Feeny’s 2002 campaign. The house was owned by Gonzalez; Abrami lived with Gonzalez. Newspapers and political websites have been abuzz with posts from friends and associates of Gonzalez, who speculate the motive for the murder-suicide as being a gay love triangle gone wrong.
...Another, more sinister motive has been put forth by several sources, including CrimeBlog.us. Reporters there say that Drake was associated with the owner of a gay escort service in the Virginia Beach area. The owners of that escort service are facing charges that they murdered the owner of a rival company catering to the gay community. A source for the Crime Blog reporter states:
“My solid, but unconfirmed, sources say that Drake was trying to hit Gonzalez up for cash to raise money to defend a kid (Harlow Cuadra) who is on trial for murder up in Pennsylvania. The 26 year old “kid” ran a gay escort and porn business in Virginia Beach and may have had several Republican clients–Drake being one. (See www.norfolkmaleescorts.com and www.boybatter.com). . . My sources say Drake may have approached Gonzalez for funds for Cuadra’s defense, threatening to blow the lid off everything by MAKING THE REPUBLICAN CLIENT LIST OF THE GAY ESCORT BUSINESS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.”
More sordid GOP details are available. Meanwhile there are jailed Republicans, dead Republicans, outed Republicans... And McHenry's office... well, the press secretary is on vacation so they have no comment. I couldn't get them to put me on the phone with Lil' Congressman McHenry. Maybe he was making preparations for the Republican National Convention.
Steve Scalise Admires Patrick McHenry's "Judgment"
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The House Republicans' new odd couple-- with whips, no less
One of the all-time silliest congressional debuts was made by bombastic little North Carolina closet case Patrick McHenry in 2005. He went to school at a Benedictine monastery that doubles as a religionist "college," Belmont Abbey. He was president of the Young Republican Club there and made a name for himself by dressing up like Abe Lincoln and waving a sign that read "Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?" somewhere near a Bill Clinton appearance. A couple years later he started and ran a website called notHillary.com, for which Bush rewarded him with a sinecure at the Department of Labor. McHenry had previously worked for Karl Rove on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign and he was eager to get to Washington and make a name for himself. An unimpressive and diminutive figure he started bragging that he would be the model for how Republicans should vote and vowed to never vote with the Democrats. Although his 1.86 lifetime ProgressivePunch crucial vote score is pretty horrible, there are now several dozen Republicans with even more right wing voting records, including Eric Cantor (1.41), who was just disowned by the party for not being right-wing enough. McHenry took a more garden variety conservative approach after several career threatening scandals. He seems to have made a deal with the devil and was given a seat on the very lucrative HouseFinancial Services Committee, which he has used to further his ambitions by taking $2,068,336 in legalistic bribes from the finance sector he's supposed to be overseeing. Yesterday at this time, Steve Scalise, the new GOP Whip-designee, appointed the clownish, bowtie-wearing McHenry his chief deputy-dawg. Under Scalise and McHenry, the senior whip team is made up of Kristi Noem (SD), Dennis Ross (FL), Aaron Schock (IL), Steve Stivers (OH) and Ann Wagner (MO), a lackluster team of hawkish right-wingers. Like McHenry, Schock is also a closet case and Stivers' normally quiescent office was shaken up by a scandal involving photos of his chief of staff's penis. Schock was widely expected to get the Chief Deputy Whip job but he's a "confirmed bachelor" and McHenry found a beard and married her.
When Chad Pergram, a reliable reporter who covers Congress for Fox News, tweeted out the news before it hit the transom, I took the opportunity to share a couple of good-natured laughs at McHenry's expense, especially when he mentioned how Scalise, seeking to calm Schock down, mentioned that McHenry's role as Deputy Whip "gibes him the invaluable experience, insight and judgment to help me lead." Wow! Where does he think he's leading the crackpot House Republicans to? It wasn't long after McHenry was elected that he was implicated in a string of Republican gay murders. That's what happens when you get too involved with gay escort service, I guess. The murdered gay Republicans include Ralph Reed's purported ex-lover, Ralph Gonzalez (former head of the rabidly homophobic Georgia Republican Party), David Abrami and McHenry guy-pal Robert Drake, the shooter. All three were found last week in a murder-suicide in an Orlando apartment. According to right-wing website, the North Carolina Conservative "All three men were active in Republican politics." They mention that Drake is "an associate" of McHenry's but don't define that. McHenry is alleged to be an associate of quite a few younger men, some of whom are gay and some of whom are just gay-for-pay.
Gonzalez was an influential political consultant, who owned Strategum Group, and managed Congressman Tom Feeney’s 2002 campaign. The house was owned by Gonzalez; Abrami lived with Gonzalez. Newspapers and political websites have been abuzz with posts from friends and associates of Gonzalez, who speculate the motive for the murder-suicide as being a gay love triangle gone wrong.
...Another, more sinister motive has been put forth by several sources, including CrimeBlog.us. Reports there say that Drake was associated with the owner of a gay escort service in the Virginia Beach area. The owners of that escort service are facing charges that they murdered the owner of a rival company catering to the gay community. A source for the Crime Blog reporter states: “My solid, but unconfirmed, sources say that Drake was trying to hit Gonzalez up for cash to raise money to defend a kid (Harlow Cuadra) who is on trial for murder up in Pennsylvania. The 26 year old “kid” ran a gay escort and porn business in Virginia Beach and may have had several Republican clients–Drake being one. (See www.norfolkmaleescorts.com and www.boybatter.com). . . My sources say Drake may have approached Gonzalez for funds for Cuadra’s defense, threatening to blow the lid off everything by MAKING THE REPUBLICAN CLIENT LIST OF THE GAY ESCORT BUSINESS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.”
There are jailed Republicans, dead Republicans, outed Republicans... And McHenry's office... well, when I called McHenry's congressional office, the guy who answered the phone confirmed that Drake "worked" there but said he didn't know what his duties were. When I asked to speak to the congressman or someone who would know, he put me on hold, then came back, audibly upset, and said he was mistaken and that he didn't know anything and no one else was in the office and then quickly hung up on me. The murder was completely covered up by the Orlando police department and everything about it pretty much disappeared. In 2012, McHenry's primary opponent, newspaper publisher Ken Fortenberry, showed up at a McHenry town hall and started peppering him with questions about McHenry's overt corruption on the House Financial Services Committee. Nothing phased the smug little McHenry until the end of the meeting when Fortenberry pulled out the photo of McHenry's murdered love, Jason Robert Drake (below). He asked the startled McHenry if he could deny any knowledge of the murdered ex-Marine. McHenry, looking like a rainbow flag, stammered and stuttered, said nothing intelligible and the meeting came to a screeching halt. I guess Scalise didn't look into it-- or didn't care.
To North Carolina Republicans, "Traditional Family Values" Means Bigotry, Hatred And Hypocrisy-- Check Out Miss McHenry Here!
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Earlier today we looked at how Amendment One is roiling the Democratic congressional primary in North Carolina's 11th congressional district, which pits Cecil Bothwell, a pro-equality progressive, against a virulent right-wing homophobe, Hayden Rogers. Meanwhile, over in GOP-hell, in the western North Carolina district next door, the Republican primary is getting really ugly-- and uncomfortably honest. Respected GOP challenger, newspaper publisher Ken Fortenberry, is going after hypocritical little closet case Patrick McHenry hard... very hard.
The lifestyle of one of the most conservative members of Congress is being questioned by his Republican opponent in the May 8 North Carolina primary.
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, who has made traditional family values a cornerstone of his political career, is the subject of a YouTube video and email campaign that will be launched Monday by Ken H. Fortenberry, a North Carolina newspaper publisher who says that McHenry is “not who he appears to be.”
“From voter fraud and a sham real estate company, to a senior aide convicted of drunk driving and the congressman’s possible connection to a gay murder-suicide in Florida, it’s time for him to come out and tell us the truth,” said Fortenberry.
“As North Carolina voters go to the polls and vote on a Constitutional amendment that would legally define marriage as one man and one woman, I think it’s time for Congressman McHenry to honestly answer the questions about his lifestyle and relationships that have swirled around him since he first ran for public office,” said Fortenberry.
“He has built his entire career on claims of supporting traditional families and conservative moral issues, but many of the people he associates with personally and professionally raise serious questions about his commitment to those values,” said Fortenberry. “Congressman McHenry should quit dodging the issue of his personal lifestyle and finally tell the citizens who he really is,” said Fortenberry. “I don’t think he is who he appears to be.”
“In an era of ubiquitous pro-gay messages and pop culture celebration of homosexuality, it’s ridiculous that constituents should be left guessing as to whether a judicial nominee or politician has a special, personal interest in homosexuality,” founder Peter LaBarbera stated in an April 30, 2010 news release about McHenry’s lifestyle.
“McHenry is getting married in June, but that does not settle the question, as there is a history of “closeted” homosexuals entering into sham marriages to cover up their illicit lifestyle, according to LaBarbera.
Two years later, McHenry still dodges the question.
Among those featured in the slideshow [above]:
• Dan Gurley-- Former Field Director for the Republican National Committee, Gurley once said that liberals would ban the Bible and allow gay marriage. Gurley, who has since admitted that he is gay, now publicly advocates for gay and lesbian issues in North Carolina. The newspaper-- NC Conservative-- once reported that McHenry “owes his seat” to Gurley, a former political adviser and campaign contributor.
• Aaron Lay-- Former housemate and campaign field organizer who took a deferred prosecution plea deal when he was indicted for voter fraud-- fraud committed while Lay lived with McHenry in 2004. He was among a number of young men who lived with McHenry during his first run for Congress.
“For me, this is an issue about the congressman’s integrity. All he needs to do is call a press conference and openly and honestly answer questions about his lifestyle and his relationships,” said Fortenberry.
"Everyone" in Washington knows McHenry is gay-- the same way they all knew hypocritical conservatives Larry Craig (R-ID), Mark Foley (R-FL), and Ed Schrock (R-VA) before they were outed and disgraced and the same way "everyone" knows GOP hypocrites David Dreier (R-CA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Aaron Schock (R-IL) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are cowering, mentally-ill, closeted homosexuals. Everyone, that is, except for their own church-going Republican constituents. They're always the last to know.
Another Full Blown Scandal Enveloping Deranged North Carolina Closet Case Patrick McHenry
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These days, when someone is looking for congressional scandals, they usually go to GOP criminal types like Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm (R-NY), David "The Gangster" Rivera (R-FL) and Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), all of whom are barely avoiding indictments. But scandal has dodged diminutive little closet case Patrick McHenry for his entire career-- and not just the regular legalistic bribe taking that he and so many of his colleagues use to finance their careers-- and this year is no different.
McHenry started in politics working as a sleazy operative for Karl Rove in 2000 and it's been all downhill ever since. He only won the GOP congressional primary by using out of state college students, at least one of whom he was having a homosexual relationship with, some of whom voted in the primary illegally. After winning that first primary amid a voter fraud scandal there was the little matter of a gay triple homicide that involved one of his lovers and then matters like insulting American fighting men in Iraq and taking bribes from Countrywide in the midst of the mortgage scandal to help them cover-up their criminal activities. He's generally considered one of Congress' most corrupt and untrustworthy characters-- and that's saying a lot!
Like so many of the dubious characters that float in and out of McHenry's life, his close pal and confidant Wesley Clayton Golden is hardly a household name. He's a conservative activist and former Cherryville city councilman from McHenry's home town and he was arrested by the FBI yesterday as part of a massive bribery and extortion ring.
Police in Cherryville took bribes, helped transport stolen goods and extorted money in a multi-state operation that raked in at least $750,000, according to federal indictments unsealed Wednesday.
FBI agents flocked to the Cherryville Police Department and several homes in Cherryville Wednesday morning, loading up boxes of evidence and making arrests.
Six Cherryville men were arrested, four currently working in Gaston County law enforcement.
One of those charged, Wesley Clayton Golden, 39, is a former captain in the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office who left the force earlier this year but continued to serve as a reserve officer. Golden also once served on Cherryville City Council and served on U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry’s 2010 Gaston campaign steering committee, which reads like a who’s who of the county’s most powerful Republicans.
...Beginning in August, Dellinger, Golden and Hoyle conspired with undercover law enforcement agents to provide "protection" for tractor trailers transporting through Gaston County what all three believed to be stolen merchandise, according to the indictments filed Aug. 21 but only unsealed on Wednesday. ... On multiple occasions, "Dellinger, Golden, Crawford and Mauney used their credentials and legal authority to assist with the transfer of stolen goods and/or cash proceeds from the sale of stolen goods, in exchange for monetary bribes," according to the release. Hendricks's role in the scheme was to assist Crawford and Mauney by acting as a lookout. Hoyle represented himself as a law enforcement officer, according to the release.
In several instances Dellinger, Golden and Hoyle provided armed escorts for undercover agents when they took cash to a safety deposit box at a Charlotte bank, indictments say.
In February Golden started a local branch of Prodigy Payment Systems [aka- Encore Payment Systems, a shady operation], a credit card processing firm, with offices at 1422 Burtonwood Drive in Gastonia. He was active in local politics and also was a licensed firearms trainer, according to his Facebook page.
Blue America is backing progressive Democrat and state Rep. Patsy Keever in the congressional contest. Her campaign put out this statement yesterday:
You may not remember, but Congressman Patrick McHenry was one of only twenty House Republicans to vote against reinstating House ethics rules after they suspended them to protect Majority Leader Tom DeLay. He not only knowingly protected a felon in Congress, but he voted against reinstating rules that punished those who broke the law in Washington.
He voted against key legislation on ethics issues too like the DISCLOSE Act, which helps eliminate corporate and anonymous money in our politics, and he opposed a stronger STOCK Act, which makes it illegal for member of Congress to commit insider trading. He opposed them both!
That is a pattern, folks. Plain and simple-- and we have a chance to do something about it.
If you'd like to contribute to Patsy's campaign, you can do it here.
Asheville-- Great Town In A miserable Political Situation
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By December 31, the end of the last FEC reporting period, Patrick McHenry already had just over $2 million in his Wall Street-funded campaign war chest. He had spent over a million dollars already and raised another $1.7 million. He had 2 Democratic rivals, Kenneth Queen, who raised $8,130 and David Brown, who raised $6,229. And his two primary rivals, Seth Blankenship and Ira Roberts raised $4,961 and $1,325 respectively. Last cycle Democrat Andy Millard raised $295,850 to McHenry's $3,192,579. McHenry beat Millard 220,825 (63.1%) to 128,919 (36.9%), slightly better for McHenry than Trump did against Clinton. Although it includes the progressive stronghold of Asheville, in all this is a safe Republican district with a PVI of R+12. Of the 7 counties in the district, Democrats only win one: Buncombe (Asheville). McHenry easily balances that out with predictable lopsided wins in red hellholes like Catawba, Gaston, Cleveland and Lincoln counties. In actuality McHenry is an extremely unattractive candidate-- an icon of Wall Street corruption serving on the House Financial Services Committee (he took $4,660,742 since being elected in 2004 and serves the interests of the banksters without hesitation) and Congress' most scandal-wracked closet case-- but hasn't had a problem with reelection once. This year though there are some in the district eager to see the end of McHenry looking past the weak, disorganized Democrats towards a moderate Republican who is challenging him in a primary. #NeverTrump activist Gina Collias spoke at the Asheville woman's march last month and is loudly refusing to take corporate money for her campaign. In some ways she sounds like many DCCC-type Democratic candidates, eager to reform Obamacare, protect the environment, protect the country from Climate Change, simplify the path to citizenship and oppose nationalistic isolationism. Her website states she "sees potential Russian interference with the 2016 election as a national security issue" and makes the point that "No hardworking American should go broke trying to keep their families healthy. Gina supports reform of the ACA that is bipartisan, reduces the costs to American families, preserves protection for pre-existing conditions, protects essential benefits, and preserves the elimination of life-time caps." When you look closely, she sounds like a typical Blue Dog Democrat and has more in common with the last Democrat who represented Asheville-- Blue Dog Heath Shuler-- than with fellow-Republican Patrick McHenry. She's begging Democrats to switch to unaffiliated so they can vote for her against McHenry in the primary. David Wilson Brown has a much better platform than Collias-- going beyond just fixing Obamacare, for example, and working towards Medicare for All. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be strong or aggressive and likely won't be going anywhere. Sad. The other Democrat, Kenneth Queen has dropped out-- I guess one queen in enough in that district. Meanwhile, Seth Blankenship is trying to campaign to the right of McHenry! He calls himself "a strong, conservative Christian" and he seems to define "GOP crackpot" perfectly. On healthcare for example: "While many believe that the federal government should control your healthcare coverage, the choice should be up to the American people. We know what is best for us and our families, not bureaucrats in D.C. Obamacare has taken the choice away from us-American families." He's also virulently anti-Choice: "We have seen the tragedy of millions of babies being aborted across the United States. Together we must stand for LIFE and say no to abortions. With your help we can pass legislation to stop abortions." Basically, he's McHenry without the corruption and the closet case thing. His approach to most issues seems doctrinaire and extremely simpleminded and uninformed. Asheville is one of the most progressive cities in the South; its hard to believe this is what they're stuck with. Maybe no one heard there's a wave coming?
Who in western North Carolina can possibly resist McHenry?
Patrick McHenry's Hypocrisy Makes The News Again... But Not The Gay Thing This Time
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Long gone are the days when pompous little North Carolina closet case {{Patrick McHenry}} would brag how he was determined to show the GOP caucus what intransigence, obstructionism and right-wing extremism is all about. Once McHenry bragged that no member of the House GOP caucus would get to the right of his voting record. Now-- especially since his new district just picked up a lot of Asheville Democrats-- he's just another middle-of-the-pack right-wing ideologue doing whatever Cantor tells him to do. This year a whole toxic stew of crazed extremists have even more insane ProgressivePunch scores than McHenry's 2.16. Mike Pence boasts a 1.66 and Darrell Issa a 1.64. And then when you reach down into the bowels of teabagger insanity you find the otherwise faceless, drooling zombies like Sandy Adams (R-FL- 1.62), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO- 1.62) and Richard Nugent (R-FL- 1.09). McHenry is barely above teabaggy newcomer Renee Ellmers' 2.70! In fact, Wednesday when the GOP played chicken to see which members had the cajones to actually go on the record and vote against Social Security. McHenry sheepishly stuck with Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy while flaming red fascists like Paul Broun (GA), Jason Chaffetz (UT), Jeff Flake (AZ), Scott Garrett (NJ), Jim Jordan (OH), Tom McClintock (CA), Joe the deadbeat dad Walsh (IL) and... Virginia Foxx (NC) struck the blow for Republican freedom.
Fact of the matter, McHenry hasn't backed away much from his extremist ideology, just his boasting that he'd be a model for a new breed of domestic fascism. And when it comes to hypocrisy... well, McHenry has a real headstart on most members because of having lived his life as an anti-gay closet queen. Lately his hypocrisy has been on display in other areas beyond his sexual dysfunction.
A member of Issa's clownish sideshow, the once crucial House Oversight Committee, McHenry has served as one of Issa's premier distractions. I'm sure everyone recalls his disgraceful attempts to bully Elizabeth Warren. Less apparent is the fact that McHenry, a loud climate change denier and anti-government zealot has been quietly lobbying for green jobs for his district at the same time he is loudly opposing the funding for the exact same jobs he's trying to bring to North Carolina-- same strategy being employed by committee chair and career criminal Darrell Issa. According to the Huff Po, Isaa has led the dishonest bunch of extremists on his committee to "argue convincingly about Department of Energy funding going to their favored projects, often touting the job-creating potential of numerous endeavors."
Democrats on the committee were unable to comment immediately Wednesday night, but a committee staffer found the revelations stunning.
“The Republicans actually don’t seem to understand their hypocrisy," the committee aide said. "They trash the entire clean energy program after writing glowing letters to commend it. The truth is the program works, which is why they want the money for their districts.”
Yes, There Was Some Very Good News Out Of North Carolina Tuesday-- Patsy Keever
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We had some sad news out of North Carolina on Tuesday, the approval of the homophobic Amendment One. We did, however, have one powerful victory that night too. In the Democratic primary, one district, NC-10, voted overwhelmingly for a progressive state Representative, Patsy Keever, to go up against Republican incumbent Patrick McHenry. Blue America endorsed Patsy early because of her progressive record in the state legislature, because of her effectiveness as a leader, and because Steve Israel of the DCCC had recruited and helped finance a conservative opponent, someone who opposes a woman's right to Choice and someone who claims God opposes the LGBT community. Had she won, she and Patrick McHenry could have had a real love-fest. But she lost and Patsy won. In fact, Patsy won by a landslide. Steve Israel's recruit wound up with 25% of the vote-- and lost every single county to Patsy.
But now the real work begins. Patsy won't have as easy a time in the general as she did in the primary. Democrats admire her work in the state legislature and admire her for sticking up for working families and for equality. Although the new 10th Congressional District is far bluer than the old district that used to elect and reelect McHenry, Patsy is still going to have to get her message out to independents and mainstream Republicans. (Note: Buncombe County, the heart of the district, was one of the counties that voted against Amendment One.) If you'd like to help Patsy move on and win the general election, please consider making a contribution here at our ActBlue page.
In Patsy's own words:
• I will be a voice for all children looking for a world-class education.
• I will be a voice for every man or woman looking for quality work at a fair wage.
• I will be voice for our grandchildren who deserve clean air and clean water.
• I will be a voice for our seniors who have earned a fully funded Medicare and Social Security program.
• Finally, I will be a voice for equality for all people.
Patsy is dedicated to helping her constituents no matter their political persuasion. As she said before, "As a schoolteacher you are there to teach and mentor every student, no matter what." She has always put people before politics and has a history of bringing people together to find solutions to real life problems.
On the other hand, we have Congressman Patrick McHenry, who has consistently put his political career ahead of his constituents. More than simply putting his career first, he doesn’t understand the difficulties facing North Carolina’s or America's working families. The difference is clear: Patsy Keever has been fighting for her community and state for a long time and always puts its people first. McHenry's career is an egregious example of always putting powerful interests ahead of his own constituents. He's the most unethical and dishonest member of North Carolina's congressional delegation and Patsy has an opportunity to work with voters from across the district who are sick of him and his own personal war against women.
I'm not going to talk about McHenry being a hypocritical closet case today or even about his involvement in a gay triple homicide in Orlando. Today let's just take a look at McHenry's "greatest hits" (against the American people)-- themes we'll be coming back to a lot between now and November. And this rollcalls are all just from the current session of the House!
WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Voted to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood
Description: An amendment offered by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) would have prohibited any funds in the bill from being made available to the Planned Parenthood or its affiliates.
Date: February 18, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #93 Bill: H.Amdt. 95 to H.R. 1
Voted against life-saving health care for women
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have ensured that no hospital or health care provider can be exempted from any Federal or State law that requires them to provide any medical examination, treatment, referral, or transfer to prevent the death of a pregnant woman with an emergency medical condition.
Date: October 13, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #788 Bill: H.R. 358 Note: This vote was not on the underlying bill, but rather on the Democratic Motion to Recommit.
Voted against protecting the medical records of victims of rape and incest from government invasion
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have clarified that the federal government is expressly not permitted to gain access to the private medical records of victims of rape and incest.
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have increased funding for Pell Grants. Date: February 19, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #146 Bill: H.R. 1 Note: This vote was not on the underlying bill, but rather on the Democratic Motion to Recommit.
Voted against protecting students from violent and sexual predators through background checks of prospective employees (by voting “no”)
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have required charter schools receiving federal funding to conduct background checks to determine whether prospective employees have been convicted of sexual or violent crimes.
Date: September 13, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #704 Bill: H.R. 2218 Note: This vote was not on the underlying bill, but rather on the Democratic Motion to Recommit.
ENVIRONMENT
Voted to block oversight of mountaintop removal coal mining
Description: House Republicans overwhelmingly against an amendment that would have prevented the EPA from vetoing permit applications for mountaintop removal. Date: February 19, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #135 Bill: H.Amdt. 157 to H.R. 1
Voted against protecting seniors and children from asthma and lung disease
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have prohibited the underlying bill from limiting EPA’s Clean Air Act authority to protect the health of children, seniors, and those with asthma and lung diseases from the effects of air pollution emitted by large sources (those that emit 75,000 tons or more of carbon pollution annually).
Date: April 7, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #248 Bill: H.R. 910 Note: This vote was not on the underlying bill, but rather on the Democratic Motion to Recommit.
Voted to repeal safeguards that protect our drinking water from arsenic and perchlorate (by voting “no”)
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have retained the EPA’s authority to set water pollution standards and review permits when certain pollutants, including arsenic and perchlorate, are being discharged into waters that are a source of public drinking water.
Date: July 13, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #572 Bill: H.R. 572 Note: This vote was not on the underlying bill, but rather on the Democratic Motion to Recommit
Voted to protect polluters over children and pregnant women
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have required safer air standards for giant cement plants near schools, day care centers, and hospitals with maternity wards or neo-natal units. The measure also would have kept communities informed when nearby cement plants are exempt from cleaner air standards.
Date: October 6, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #763 Bill: H.R. 2681 Note: This vote was not on the underlying bill, but rather on the Democratic Motion to Recommit.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Voted to undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Description: The bill would replace the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s director with a five-member commission. It also would lower the vote threshold required for the Financial Stability Oversight Council to override Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules from two-thirds to a simple majority and allow the council to override regulations that threaten the stability of individual institutions.
Date: July 21, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #621 Bill: H.R. 1315
Voted with congressional crooks to exempt themselves from insider trading laws
Description: The measure, which did not pass, would have provided a 3.1% payroll tax cut, an expansion beyond the Republican bill’s 2% cut, paid for by a surtax on millionaires. This would not have affect the Social Security Trust Fund, which would have been held harmless for the lost revenue. The MTR would also have prevented insider trading by Members of Congress by enacting the STOCK Act into law and freezes Member pay.
Date: December 13, 2011 Link to vote: Vote #922 Bill: H.R. 3630 Note: This vote was not on the underlying bill, but rather on the Democratic Motion to Recommit.
Last thought: please consider helping Patsy's campaign here.
Conservative Gay Lawmakers Reject A Degrading Life In The Closet
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I got to watch the Parliamentary debate over the first Iraq War when a friend of mine, a member of the House of Commons, invited me to sit in for the day and then have lunch in the members dining room. It was an enjoyable and stimulating experience, primarily dominated by Margaret Thatcher. My friend, though, was a gay Conservative. Honestly, I can't remember if he was in the closet or out of the closet-- at least politically. Everyone who knew him certainly knew he was as gay as wrapping paper. Of course the same could have been said of Mark Foley (R-FL), David Dreier (R-CA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) before they were outed. "Everyone" knows they're gay-- except the dullards in the Republican base who haven't a clue.
Today GOProud, the Republican Party's far right-wing version of the mainstream conservative gay Republicans (the Log Cabin Republicans), pointed proudly that the number of openly gay Conservatives in the House of Commons could treble. Nice that they're celebrating, but I wonder if they've ever thought about asking our own conservatives why it's such a taboo to embrace their sexuality on this side of the pond.
Lindsey Graham and David Dreier still think they're fooling someone about being straight. I don't see GOProud mentioning that South Carolina is on the verge of being the first state in the country with a gay Republican Governor and a gay Republican Lt. Governor, albeit two closeted ones. Of course not every gay conservative politician is from South Carolina-- even if they do have the most per square mile. Is GOProud proud of Adam Schock (R-IL)? Patrick McHenry (R-NC)? Adrian Smith (R-NE)? Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)? Mitch McConnell (R-KY)? Or are they spending all their time cheering the Brits-- and violent and vicious Utah homophobe and anti-gay crusader rabbit, Jason Chaffetz?
GOProud members, if there are any, could do worse than reading Sarah Hepola's Gay Men Go To Hell, an interview with God Says No author James Hannaham about "religious repression, life in the closet and sex in the bathroom," at today's Salon. And while they're over at Salon, an even more direct must-read, Behind Washington's Closet Door which traces political closet queenery from American Conservative Union chairman Bob Baumann (R-MD)-- who was arrested for soliciting sex from a 16 year old boy while serving in Congress-- to more recently outed gay Republicans like Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), Larry Craig (R-ID), Jim McCrery (R-LA) and Charlie Crist (R-FL) is also available. Let's celebrate all the out conservatives in the British Parliament after David Dreier, Charlie Crist, Lindsey Graham and Patrick McHenry say "So what; there's nothing wrong with it-- and I'm terribly sorry for all the pain I caused gay families with my viciously homophobic votes in the past. I'll make up for it in the future."
Gay Conservatives Coming Out? Well... Maybe Joe Blow But Not Aaron Schock Or Patrick McHenry... Or Even David Dreier
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Guess who didn't get mentioned in The Advocate's story on conservative closet cases coming out?
Normally, when we think of "gay Republicans" we think of pathological closet cases whose very lives are psychologically debilitating hellish lies. From former Maryland Congressman (and American Conservative Union founder and president) Bob Bauman in his 1986 book about being outed and abandoned by his rightist allies to the more incident in California with state Senator Roy Ashburn the lesson Republicans should be learning is "closets are for clothes," not for dignified human beings. It's virtually impossible to live a worthwhile life as a closet case. Examples include not only recently out wrecks and wretches like Mark Foley (R-FL), Larry Craig (R-ID), Jim West (R-WA) and Ed Schrock (R-VA) and half-in-half-out closet queens like Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Miss McConnell (R-KY) and David Dreier (R-CA) but also hysterically furtive night-prowlers Mark Kirk (R-IL), Aaron Schock (R-IL), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Adrian Smith (R-NE), and Trent Franks (R-AZ). But, the new issue of the Advocate wants us to know that there's a new breed of conservative Republican gays who are stepping out of the closet.
You've probably never heard of any of them... other than maybe Ken Mehlman, who was outed while plotting the Bush campaign's divisive, hate-filled and ruthless anti-gay strategies. It's mostly about recently uncloseted minor gay staffers in DC, approximately 2/3 of the city's temporary residents. It's a story "of a growing number of Republicans who hope young conservatives no longer feel the need to hide their sexual identity in order to pursue their passion for politics. Their stories vary wildly: Some came out in protest of what they see as a political ethos that fundamentally rejects their humanity, while others say they aren’t so troubled when their professional obligations seem, to others at least, at odds with their sexual orientation. But most believe the unprecedented support of conservative icons such as George W. Bush’s former solicitor general Ted Olson, currently litigating the federal case against California’s antigay Proposition 8, and the recent openness of high-profile operatives like onetime Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman can help motivate aspiring young gays-- and perhaps reshape the national conversation in the process."
If you're hoping Kerry Eleveld actually unlocks the conservative closet... well, you might as well skip the Advocate altogether and stick with the magazine's bulkier fashion/booze-recipes-and-gossip-oriented sister publication, Out. One gay GOP operative, Dan Gurley, was so outraged ("gut-punched," he recalls) when Bush decided to try to pass a Constitutional Amendment to outlaw gay marriage that he adamantly refused to hang a life-size photo of Bush in his office "for months." Now, "in retrospect, Gurley acknowledges that he could have made more of a difference if he’d been out to his RNC colleagues. 'It might have given a heightened sense of awareness to others if everyone had known, rather than some knowing and others not knowing,” he says." You think?
Markos Moulitsas' brilliant new book, American Taliban has a chapter he probably designed to make right-wingers, gay and straight, squirm. It's called "Sex," and I suspect many of the reviewers only read this chapter. "While the lust for power and the flirtation with violence are definitely traits of the American Taliban," he begins, "what really gets their panties in a twist is sex." He could just as well be writing a biographical sketch of Daniel Webster (AKA- "Taliban Dan"), the fanatic, sex-obsessed career politician running against Alan Grayson in the Orlando area of central Florida.
Unlike power and violence, sex is something they are obsessed with avoiding. This creates a paradox: they are so fearful of the pleasures of the flesh that they can't stop talking about them. Or, as we'll see, often indulging in them. Hence they've created an entire regressive moral code, dressed it up as "family values," and set out to violate almost every one of its tenets. All this repression ultimately screws them up in the head.
...Both Christianity and Islam consider homosexuality immoral. Indeed, same-sex relations are illegal in most Muslim countries [though widely practiced], generally punishable by jail time or corporal punishment, and the more extreme the regime, the more brutal the punishment.
In the extremist cult Taliban Dan ascribes to, led by multimillionaire charlatan Bill Gothard (Webster's top advisor) you couldn't get more extreme. Closeted or not, he decrees that all gay men and women should be stoned... to death. But you can kind of see why people growing up in this kind of depraved milieu might chose to bolt that closet door from the inside-- and barricade it shut.
Meet Jamie; she survived Bill Gothard and, unlike Taliban Dan, she broke free:
The Dirty Half Dozen-- The 6 Worst Homophobes In The House
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The first time I ever heard of former wingnut Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK) was when I read a blurb in the Advocate listing the most dangerous members of Congress to the gay community. As time went on I noticed he was very aggressive in pushing a hate-filled anti-gay agenda (which increased when he left the Baptist Church and became a Mormon). Years later he wound up on another list-- as one of the most corrupt of the Abramoff co-conspirators in ripping off American Indian tribes.
Istook left Congress to run for governor and was the victim of the biggest gubernatorial history in many decades as he was swamped-- in the reddest state in the Union-- by Democrat Brad Henry. Henry took 66.5% of the vote and 74 of Oklahoma's 77 counties. Istook won in the state's 3 most backward counties, the three that make up the Panhandle, Beaver, Cimarron and Texas. It turned out one of his campaign staffers, Jordan Edmund, was one of the underaged male pages Republican Mark Foley had molested.
Still very much an obsessed homophobic sociopath, who bragged he would never hire a gay person to work for him, he never lets up demonizing gay people. People wonder who the next Ernest Istooks are likely to be.
Unfortunately, just looking at the voting records of House Members does not tell the story. ProgressivePunch scores all House members on a dozen roll call votes since 2004 that directly impacted gay people. 146 currently serving Republicans (plus one Blue Dog, Travis Childers of Mississippi) can boast ZERO scores! Only 32 Republicans don't have zeroes, including Ahn Cao (who has a disgraceful 50%, Mary Bono Mack (with an event more horrible 33.33% and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (also at 33.33%), all of whom represent large gay populations, respectively, New Orleans, Palm Springs and Miami Beach/Key West. The only gay closet case who doesn't score a zero is Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk (who scored a 25%). Closeted gays who voted against people every single time they had an opportunity to include David Dreier (CA), Trent Franks (AZ), Patrick McHenry (NC), Dana Rohrabacher (CA), Aaron Schock (IL), and Adrian Smith (NE).
So how do we define the worst of the worst? I may bear a particular animus toward lock-step anti-gay fanatics who represent large gay constituencies, like homophobic fanatic-- and zero-- John Culberson (R-TX) whose constituents include an awful lot of gay men and women in Houston's Montrose area. And I also harbor some animus towards closet cases-- even "everyone knows" types like David Dreier-- who vote against equality for gays in less favorable positions than they are. Ironically, Dreier, a zero himself, was vetoed for the Republican House Leader position by Roy Blunt based soley on the fact that he's gay. You'd think they guy would grok the concept of being discriminated against! But I decided when researching this piece to leave all that stuff aside and just concentrate on members of Congress who are proactively anti-gay, over and above their dismal voting records.
Let's take, for example, Dan Lungren (R-CA). Forget that he's a zero; they almost all are. Instead, notice that on March 4 last year he authored and proposed a constitutional amendment targeting gays and lesbians. As it turns out, his pernicious amendment, H.J.Res. 37 was referred to Jerrold Nadler's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, where it died the death it deserved. Forty Republicans rushed to co-sponsor it, including loudly bigoted gay-haters like Paul Broun (R-GA), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA, traumatized at an early age for his transgender first name), Mike Pence (R-IN), Steve King (R-IA), closet queen Trent Franks (R-AZ), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Eric Cantor (R-VA), Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), John Mica (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Ken Calvert (R-CA), a shameless congressman arrested fleeing in a parked car with his pants down around his ankles when caught with a junkie-hooker by the police, and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). And speaking of Chaffetz...
Chaffetz has appointed himself spokesperson for the GOP's anti-gay squad. When the Washington DC City Council voted 12-1 to recognize same sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions, Chaffetz went to war. "Some things are worth fighting for, and this is one of them," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), the ranking Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee that oversees the District. "It's not something I can let go softly into the night... I recognize the Democrats are in the majority, but I represent the majority of Americans on this issue." Or at least the majority of Utah voters who don't live inside the city limits of Salt Lake City.
Soon after, virulent gay-haters Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Dan Boren (D-OK) introduced a bill to force DC to not recognize same-sex marriage. A Pat Robertson front group filed an anti-marriage equality brief on behalf of 37 House members suing to stop the city from recognizing same sex marriages. Some very familiar names on that list: Robert Aderholt, Todd Akin, Michele Bachmann, Gresham Barrett, Roscoe Bartlett, Marsha Blackburn, John Boehner, John Boozman, Eric Cantor, Jason Chaffetz, John Fleming, Randy Forbes, Virginia Foxx, Scott Garrett, Phil Gingrey, Louie Gohmert, Jeb Hensarling, Wally Herger, Walter Jones, Jim Jordan, Steve King, Jack Kingston, John Kline, Doug Lamborn, Robert Latta, Don Manzullo, Michael McCaul, Thaddeus McCotter, North Carolina closet case Patrick McHenry, Cathy McMorris Rogers, Jeff Miller, Jerry Moran, Randy Neugebauer, Mike Pence, Joe Pitts, Mark Souder, and Todd Tiahrt.
On October 21 the House voted-- overwhelmingly-- to pass Tom Harkin's bill to amend title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the program for providing life-saving care for those with HIV/AIDS (the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009). For normal Americans, regardless of party, it was a non-controversial, bipartisan endeavor and it passed 408-9. All the Democrats (including homophobic Blue Dogs who routinely vote against gay equality) and 162 Republicans including every single GOP closet case in the House and most of the garden variety hatemongers, voted for it. So who voted "no?" A motley array of the most vitriolic, hate-filled Republican bigots who come crawling out from under their rocks to revel in this kind of thing, including two on our list of the worst of the worst, Virginia Foxx and Louie Gohmert. Time for the list of the six worst, the ones who are always at the front of the line when it comes to kicking around gay people, the ones who scream the loudest and make the ugliest faces:
The Haters Who Act On Their Hate
Steve King (R-IA)- Where do we start with this raving package of pure Satanic hatred? How about the sick, McCarthyite letter King wrote to President Obama demanding he fire Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. (Co-signers, obviously, included the rest of the Dirty Half Dozen.) Or maybe we should stick to Iowa and his classy reaction to the ruling by his state's Supreme Court recognizing that all Iowans were entitled to marriage equality.
Virginia Foxx (R-NC)- Poor Foxx built her entire demented career around spewing hatred towards gay people, first in the North Carolina legislature and more recently on the floor of the U.S. Congress, where she is considered one of the two dozen least effective, least influential members. Ironically she's become a kind of "fag hag" for Republican closet queen Patrick McHenry and he's one of the only members of Congress willing to be seen in public with her, especially after her demented tirade directed at Matthew Shepard's grieving mother. (See video below.) I don't know if any gay people read DWT or not but if you know any, please let them know that Blue America has endorsed Billy Kennedy, the progressive Democrat running against Foxx, and that he could use some help in the fundraising department, even if just a $10 or $20 contribution.
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)- Half of the Republican Party tag team of bigotry with Utah wingnut Jason Chaffetz, Gohmert was famously dubbed, by Rachel Maddow, Oscar the Grouch, popping out of his trash can to take aim at active duty military personnel who happen to be gay. Watch the video of him annoying members of the House by talking about his perverted sexual fantasies.
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)- This one has decided his path to political ascendancy among the Mormons is through anti-gay demagoguery. Mormons, whose victimization at the hands of the narrow-minded isn't so far in the past, should know better.
Trent Franks (R-AZ)- The only closet case in the Bottom Six, Franks was driven out of the Arizona state legislature for his aggressive sexual behavior towards younger males. Safely ensconced in the Republican congressional caucus he figures that as long as he can bray homophobic epithets loudly enough, no one will figure out what he does when the lights go out. Best known for calling President Obama an enemy of humanity and claiming that African-Americans may have been better off when they were slaves, Franks is the definition of a kind of self-loathing homosexual that mostly went extinct in the early 1960s.
Duncan Hunter, Jr (R-CA)- Hoping to live up to his father's reputation as the most hysterical homophobe in Congress, Junior is as dumb as a brick and Aaron Schock's secret heartthrob. Because he served in the Marine Corps the GOP has tasked him with speaking out against equality for gays serving in the military. He does it badly and it is widely rumored that his confused statements about hermaphrodites stems from having been molested as a child. He, like the other 5, should see a psychiatrist and stop trying to victimize other taxpaying, law-abiding American citizens.
UPDATE
I just opened an ActBlue page to address homophobia. Can you help?
