"Okay, I'm not saying we should shoot them ..."
All things considered, it's not particularly shocking
to learn that a Republican lawmaker is actively opposing any support for his party's gay candidates:
[Virginia Rep. Randy] Forbes has waged a lengthy crusade to convince his colleagues and the National Republican Congressional Committee brass they shouldn’t back some gay candidates.
After all, this is the party that has anti-gay bigotry enshrined in its platform, that spent millions (in taxpayer money) to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, who opposed the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and who, to this day, are fighting tooth and nail against marriage equality. So not at all shocking.
But the timing of this news is interesting. Because Forbes has been "lobbying on this issue for some time," but it's only become public as he vies to become the next chairman of the Armed Services Committee (a plum assignment, money-wise, in the world of committee chairmanships). Before that, Forbes' little crusade was just par for the course, anti-gay Republicanism.
But with power at stake, the story is leaked, the head of the NRCC makes a vanilla comment, a couple of congressmen express support for their gay candidates and a nail is driven into the coffin of Forbes' chair aspirations. Which was the whole point of this not-at-all-shocking revelation.
Because it had nothing to do with inclusion or tolerance. After all, this is the Republican Party we're talking about.