My diary yesterday
regarding the outing of Republican Senator Larry Craig by gay activist Mike Rogers simply exploded my mind. It swiftly shot onto the reccommended list and, at last count, some 966 comments had been posted.
First, the details. Craig is alleged to have had sex with men in Union Station in DC, and Rogers claims his sources are the men who had sex with Craig. How credible is Rogers? At the moment very. He was well ahead of the Foley scandal, and he has identified other Republican closet cases such as Ken Mehlman and Davied Drier along with other GOP apparatchiks at the staff level including, amazingly enough, a staffer of Rick, man-on-dog, Santorum. You can check this all out at Rogers' blog.
Also, here is a link to the
Ed Schultz interview with Mike Rogers
The story has also reached Idaho:
http://www.journalnet.com/...
Craig accused of hypocritical gay-bashing
By Dan Boyd - Journal Writer
CHICAGO - A gay rights blogger accused Idaho Sen. Larry Craig of hypocritical gay-bashing Tuesday, alleging the high-ranking Republican has had homosexual relations with at least three men.
But Craig, a married father of three, shrugged off the salacious allegation, issuing a statement through his Boise office that read, "This story is absolutely ridiculous, almost laughable. It has no basis in fact."
Blogger Mike Rogers appeared on the nationally syndicated Ed Schultz show, which airs on WCPT in Chicago, to report on his 2 1/2 years of research into Craig's background.
Rogers, as many of you know, is a gay activist who is on a campaign to 'out' closeted gay Republicans who actively work against gay rights. If the allegations are true, Craig would seem to be a poster boy for this campaign.
Now, consider Craig's record:
Craigs Voting Record:
http://www.govote.com/...
Rated 100% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-family voting record. (Dec 2003)
Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.
Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage.
Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation.
We all know what a 100% voting record with the Christian Coalition means, but, lest we forget:
Jerry Falwell (to Pat Robertson) on the 9/11 attacks:
"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen."
Another vile Falwell comments:
"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals."
And, the political use of gays:
Falwell's ghostwriter Mel White said Falwell remarked about gay protesters:
"Thank God for these gay demonstrators. If I didn't have them, I'd have to invent them. They give me all the publicity I need."
All these comments are well documented at Wikipedia
In my diary yesterday I posted a poll in which I asked whether it was 'right' to out Republicans like Craig. Over 4,000 people voted, with 70% indicating it was 'ok' to out Craig. Hypocrisy, in most of the comments, was the issue.
So, today, I will pose a question to the DailyKos community concerning the question of morality and 'dirty politics'.
Should we be prepared to use tactics like this to win politically? If not, why?