Self-loathing hypocrite Republican in Minnesota

[Ogre Mage]

It seems many gay Republican politicos don't care about gay rights so long as their personal position is protected, so this really isn't surprising.

Of course, once others have fought the battles for him, I'm sure that Koering will happily accept whatever advancements have been made.

[Ogre Mage]

Off topic, about a year ago, one of the Republican closet cases in the Washington state legislature got outed -- Rep.  Richard Curtis.  He was fond of male prostitutes and was apparently quite kinky.  The details in the police report are quite spicy.  lol.  Given his absolutely horrible record on gay rights, I had no sympathy for him. 

http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/richard_curtis_more_shocking_details


We also have 6 openly gay members in the state legislature -- all Democrats.

[Ogre Mage]

We also have 6 openly gay members in the state legislature -- all Democrats.

Having gay representatives is becoming a non-event in Massachusetts, too. The Senate Minority Leader is gay, but not openly so. It's a Mark Foley situation where he isn't leading a double life BUT nobody talks about or acknowledges it. He votes for gay rights when it comes up. Easy to do when you're 1/5 of the entire caucus.

It's nice to know that the closet cases in MA are relatively gay-friendly.  In WA they are raging homophobes and their extreme hypocrisy drives me up a wall, not to mention how bad they make gay men look.  Spokane's former mayor, Jim West, was another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._West_(politician)

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/jimwest/story.asp?ID=050505_west_politics


I wouldn't characterize Koering as a West or Curtis type.  However, he is a sellout as far as gays & lesbians are concerned and should be regarded as such.  If he ever finds a long-term partner I hope someone in MN points out his hypocrisy.

[Ogre Mage]

Larry Craig is akin to West and Curtis.  That's a whole different level of derangement.

The Koering situation does raise an interesting question.  Do gay & lesbian politicians have an obligation to support gay rights?  To the large majority of gay Republicans, the answer is clearly no.  Gay rights are unimportant and should just be thrown under the bus for the sake of personal political advancement.  No one forced Koering to join the Republican Party or run in a conservative-leaning district.  His vote was not about tactical positioning for gay rights.  It was about the tactical advancement of his own career.  Why care about anyone else so long as your own position is secure?

This is why I said he was a sellout.

Also, many African Americans do consider Artur Davis a sellout, although not because of Burris.

[Ogre Mage]

Sen. Koering's office has issued a response to the controversy:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/02/whats_a_gay_republicans_duty.php


I am surprised the senator's office would put out this arrogant, condescending piece of bull$hit.  He may have more in common with Jim West than I thought.  He needs a laxative.  Or an enema.  Or perhaps a butt plug.  Something to relieve his acute case of anal tension.

Furthermore, if you look at the language of the letter and its dismissive tone, it strongly suggests that he is doing the very thing I accused him of.  One example:

"He is here to represent the interests of his rural Minnesota constituents who voted him into office ... I would not want another politician taking another vote that would serve his or her personal interests more so than the People's, would you?"

Koering is deliberately attempting to curry political favor with the prejudiced base in his district by trampling on gay rights.  This is disgusting.

Still think he's not a sellout?

I probably won't discuss this further, because Koering is a waste of time.  He certainly has done nothing to change my negative view of gay Republicans.  And this is what comes from trusting them.