The List

"The List" (of Gay GOP Aides on the Hill); Hubris on
Bloggingheads.tv



There's a list going around. Those disseminating it call it "The
List." It's a roster of top-level Republican congressional aides who are
gay.



On CBS News on Tuesday, correspondent Gloria Borger reported that there's anger
among House Republicans at what an unidentified House GOPer called a
"network of gay staffers and gay members who protect each other and did the
Speaker a disservice." The implication is that these gay Republicans
somehow helped page-pursuing Mark Foley before his ugly (and possibly illegal)
conduct was exposed. The List--drawn up by gay politicos--is a partial
accounting of who on Capitol Hill might be in that network.



I have a copy. I'm not going to publish it. For one, I don't know for a fact
that the men on the list are gay. And generally I don't fancy outing
people--though I have not objected when others have outed gay Republicans, who,
after all, work for a party that tries to limit the rights of gays and lesbians
and that welcomes the support of those who demonize same-sexers.



What's interesting about The List--which includes nine chiefs of staffs, two
press secretaries, and two directors of communications--is that (if it's
acucurate) it shows that some of the religious right's favorite representatives
and senators have gay staffers helping them advance their political careers and
agendas. These include Representative Katherine Harris and Henry Hyde and
Senators Bill Frist, George Allen, Mitch McConnell and Rick Santorum. Should we
salute these legislators for being open-minded enough to have such tolerant
hiring practices? After all, Santorum in a 2003 AP interview compared
homosexuality to bestiality, incest and polygamy. It would be rather big of
Santorum to employ a fellow who engages in activity akin to such horrors. That
is, if Santorum knows about his orientation.



Let's be clear about one thing: the Mark Foley scandal is not about
homosexuality. Some family value conservatives are suggesting it is. But anytime
a gay Republican is outed by events, a dicey issue is raised: what about those
GOPers who are gay and who serve a party that is anti-gay? Are they hypocrites,
opportunists, or just confused individuals? Is it possible to support a party
because you adhere to most of its tenets--even if that party refuses to
recognize you as a full citizen? The men on The List might want to think hard
about these questions--as they probably already have--for if I have a copy of
The List, there's a good chance it will be appearing soon on a website near
everyone.



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