Author’s note: I have expanded and edited my coverage of the Reker news item.
Prof. Darren Hutchinson points us to another chapter in the annals of anti-gay lawmaker hypocrisy (emphasis is in the original):
The Miami New Times, an affiliate of the Village Voice, reports that George Alan Rekers, an anti-gay Emeritus Professor at the University of South Carolina, recently traveled to Europe with a male prostitute as his companion. According to the Miami New Times, Rekers connected with his travel companion through the website “Rent Boy,” which prominently features explicit advertisements for gay male escorts.
Normally, I would not deem this story newsworthy. It does involve the “oldest profession.” But Rekers is one of the most prominent anti-gay advocates in the nation. Rekers is an officer of NARTH — the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. NARTH advocates “conversion therapy” for LGBT individuals, pitting the group against the vast majority of mental health professionals who conclude that being gay or lesbian is not a product of mental illness.
Rekers has also testified against gay and lesbian plaintiffs who filed lawsuits challenging state bans on gay adoptions. Rekers believes that gay and lesbian parents are unfit.
Rekers was also a founding member of FRC — the Family Research Council. FRC is a rightwing advocacy group that vehemently opposes gay rights. The group’s homepage contains articles blasting efforts to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and to pass ENDA — the Employee Non-Discrimination Act. ENDA would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Ho, ho, ho, here we go… another professional anti-homo homosexual surfs for man-on-man vacation buddy,” writes Pam Spaulding.
Obviously, it’s the rankest kind of hypocrisy for closeted gay lawmakers to be supporting homophobic laws and public policies that strip gay and lesbian Americans of their constitutional rights. Reker is just the latest example of an elected official who uses the power of his office to legislate his homophobic attitudes while having same-sex affairs on the side, and maybe even on the taxpayer’s dime.
Steve Benen reports that grassroots activist Republican operative Grover Norquist (the amply and highly connected founder of Americans for Tax Reform) and Adam Brandon (spokesperson for FreedomWorks, the well-known dissident group on whose Board of Directors sit, among others, Dick Armey and Steve Forbes) are displeased with Pres. Obama’s use of the term “teabaggers” in Jonathan Alter’s new book about the POTUS:
[…]
“When he was interviewed for the book, I assume he thought this was a moment and not a movement,” said Adam Brandon, a spokesman for FreedomWorks. “Now he realizes that we are here to stay. If he is sincere in what he said about civility in political discourse, he should apologize for his mean-spirited and derogatory comments directed a concerned group of citizens who simply believe the government has grown too large and spends too much.”Let’s put aside the question of whether the government’s scope and spending habits are really of great concern to the Tea Party crowd. The fact remains that the right really is throwing a fit over this today.
They do pick the strangest things to get excited about.
There are two angles to keep in mind here. First, though the far-right would prefer that we forget, the “movement” originally embraced the “Teabagger” label. Activists put it on their clothing, pins, and their placards all the time, completely unaware of the slang/sexual connotation. It was common for much of the year for observers — protestors, journalists, politicians, etc. — to use the word “Teabagger,” not in a malicious or mocking way, but because the groups themselves were using the same word. For reporters and right-wing groups to suggest that the president has done something outrageous by using, in passing, the same word the activists use to describe themselves, seems a little silly. If Obama were really trying to offend this crowd, he’d likely come up with a more direct way of insulting them.
Second, I find it fascinating to see a group of confused, right-wing activists suddenly discover that political correctness has real merit — just so long as they’re being called by their preferred labels.
Oh, and speaking of conservatives who believe that government has just gotten too darn big and needs to spend less, Dana Milbank finds those conservatives can turn on a dime, when the money they’re trying to save is that of an oil company that is responsible for the worst oil spill since the Exxon Valdez, and possibly in this country’s entire history.
The thing about people is that they can sometimes surprise you. Glenn Beck did that for me today.
Comments posted in the box below go to my e-mail address, and may or may not be published, at my discretion, unless requested to be kept private. Comments for publication should be directed here.
[contact-form]
PAST CONTRIBUTOR.