Kirby Dick, director of the new film Outrage, was interviewed on Fresh Air this week by Terry Gross. She asked what level of hypocrisy merits ruining, somebody’s life and career?

Mr. DICK: I looked at their voting records… and if their voting records were substantially anti-gay, I think in the case of all the politicians I had focused on, they were anywhere between zero and 25 percent pro-gay, the rest was anti-gay. And that to me, over oftentimes a two-decade career, was certainly an indication that this was an example of hypocrisy. […]

GROSS: Do you know if any of the closeted gay politicians who were outed changed their voting patterns after being outed?

Mr. DICK: Actually, yes. Certainly Mark Foley did. Mark Foley, there was sort of a small outing of him in the late ’90s, and shortly after that he’s had – since then he’s had a very positive, pro-gay voting record. The same is true with Congressman, former Congressman Jim Colby of Arizona. Once he came out, his voting record, his pro-gay voting record, was very strong.

So it’s a very common thing, because again, they no longer need to protect the closet.

She also interviews Dan Gurley. Gurley was field director of the Republican National Committee when he was outed in 2004. Now on the board of Equality NC, he says he was open about his sexuality with his professional colleagues, both on Capitol Hill and at the Republican National Committee. You have to wonder, then, how could that not be relevant to all those voting for Republican candidates explicitly for their anti-gay positions?

So does Gurley believe that out proud gay people are better for society than closet cases?

Yeah, I – I certainly don’t disagree with that. I think that, you know, the more people who are out and open about who they are, the better off we ultimately all are going to be. And I think that applies not just in – in the realm of politics and public policy, but I think it appeals to or, you know, its – its same regardless of whether you’re talking about, you know, Hollywood in the entertainment industry or whether you’re talking about, you know, the factory or the office that you work in. I think the more people there are that are out the better off ultimately we – we’ll be.

How does Gurley rationalize overseeing an admittedly and explicitly anti-gay campaign? By minimizing it:

The particular piece of mail that seemed to – that really caused a lot of people in the gay community to get angry – was a piece of mail targeting voter registration, trying to get people to register a Republican. And it only went out in two states. It went out in Arkansas and West Virginia. I first became aware of this one particular piece of mail when it actually showed up on my desk as a proof for me to check to make sure that it had the proper legal disclaimer on it and that there were no typos in it.
I had absolutely nothing to do with targeting of that mail, with the design, the production, the content, anything to do with it until that point. And when I first saw the piece of mail I knew that it crossed a line…

And it went out anyway. Now, you know, at that point, you know, I’m not sure what I could have done. I mean I was in no position to stop the piece of mail, you know…  But at that point, you know, what do you do, you know? [Say, maybe, quit?!?!?] I raised the objections that I thought were appropriate at that time, and, you know, they weren’t heeded.

For more on the film: A blurb in NYMagazine; a lengthy piece in the Hartford Courant. Kevin Naff comments after the premier (and Michelangelo Signorile says McGreevey did not storm out). Ande Towle comments after seeing it in pre-release; more from Towleroad on the film here and here.

For my friends in comments, Gurley says the Republicans’ anti-gay stance will not work to Republican advantage:

I personally have qualms about the role of the religious right in Republican Party politics. I think that in many ways, the religious right has certainly captured elements of the Republican Party. They’ve driven away a lot of the moderates and the, you know, the libertarian-thinking Republicans that are out there, and I think that’s a huge problem that the Republican Party is going to have to deal with in the future.

What say we pick up that comment thread again here?