Posted on 12/28/2010 8:00:22 PM PST by rabscuttle385
The recent repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell will likely leave Sen. John McCain's congressional legacy as one of a crotchety old miser. As his wingman, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) could also see his maverick rep reshaped in the aftermath of the gay rights victory. Graham's angry defense of the 17-year Congressional ban on out gay service members has renewed attention on what's in his closet.
The question has come up in interviews and Graham has politely maintained that he's a straight, content bachelor. But he can't shake the questions about why he's never put a ring on it. For a short time last week, it appeared there was some traction in the is he or isn't he speculation. After a few days, it appears the trail has cooled, but prolific blogger Michael Rogers is still on the case. Well known for busting open closet doors in Washington, as well as 2009 claims that South Carolina's own Lt. Gov. André Bauer was gay, Rogers suggests he's still got a target on Graham.
More than 13,000 service members have been discharged under the DADT policy. Those who continue to serve do so through espionage. They use code words in messages home to loved ones to mask affection or they abandon relationships all-together to avoid discharge. Graham's been largely dismissive of these issues and it has pissed off gay people and their straight allies.
In the hours before the vote Dec. 18, Graham stood on the Senate floor to suggest a repeal would harm battlefield effectiveness, citing concerns from the Marine Corps.
"Some will say this is a civil rights issue of our time, the day has come, we need to move forward as a nation, the Marine Corps does not have that view," Graham said. "It is up to the members of the body to determine who is right and who is wrong. To be cautious or to boldly go forward."
The Senate boldly went forward, but Graham's fierce opposition prompted Rogers to update Twitter followers on his investigation into Graham's personal life. "I wonder if Lindsey Graham knows I have pictures of a man who spent the night at his house," Rogers stated, followed by a note that he'd be talking to his lawyer about releasing the pictures.
Speculation swept through the more salacious political blogs, but Rogers tried to walk back expectations on Dec. 21, after speaking with his lawyer. "I never said I was outing Lindsey Graham today," he wrote, telling readers that he had contacted Graham's office to seek a comment on what he had. We also contacted Graham's office about Rogers' claims, but have not received a response. Come Christmas, Rogers again tweeted that he wasn't outing Graham "for the moment at least. I know better than to waste news on holidays."
Graham isn't new to the gay whispers. In 2002, former state Democratic Party Chair Dick Harpootlian said then-candidate Graham was "a little too light in the loafers to fill Strom Thurmond's shoes." After Larry Craig's toe-tapping airport incident in 2007, radio host and blogger Michael Signorile called for an investigation into Graham and "what some say is an open secret for a long, long time."
Rogers' claims aren't just about revealing a hypocrite — those votes are in the past. The more important result is a senator who doesn't have to protect his secrets or weigh pro-LGBT votes against political consequences. Someone who could go boldly forward without reservation on yet-unresolved issues like equal federal benefits for gay families and the right to marry.
We got a dose of the right-wing response to such a senator earlier this year, courtesy of William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration, who told an Upstate crowd that Graham needed to come out of the closet. "I don't care about your private life, Lindsey," Gheen said. "But as our U.S. senator I need to figure out why you're trying to sell out your own countrymen, and I need to make sure your being gay isn't it."
Lindsey Graham's sexuality is not going to be answered through Gheen's schoolyard goading or Rogers' houseguest pictorial. It will either take an embarrassing revelation from an airport bathroom or a memoir-worthy confessional. Either would seal the political fate of a gay conservative in South Carolina. And, if there's one thing we know about Lindsey Graham, it's that he's savvy enough to know better.
I don’t believe that looking at someone can indicate being gay or not. If that is the case, then basically you are saying that God made people to look gay somehow. Why give the gay community an opportunity to say that God made me look this way.
If he is Gay, and I never know it, that is how a private life is supposed to work.
No, that was Rep. Gary Studds (D-MA). Barney was caught running a call-boy service out of his DC condo.
He's a QUEER Republican. He'd be normal if he were a Democrat.
Judge someone on observed behavior, not their marital status. I’m 32 years old and waiting for the right woman to come along. I wouldn’t want someone to judge me like that, so I extend the same courtesy to others.
Maybe the guy’s a eunuch. He votes that way much of the time.
Have you really NO gaydar???
Seriously, gaydar works at least 80% of the time. There are some effeminate men who are straight, just as there are some gay men who do not set off anyone's gaydar. Lindsey and Obama definitely set mine off.
Maybe Lindsey is a “bear”.
New wife? You mean the wife that he married more than 13 years ago and has two children with?
Patrick Murphy D PA, and Joe Sestak D PA
Yet to be outed gays who were in the military.
I don't think that journalism is taught in journalism schools.
Ever noticed that the silly and childish word "mom" has almost completely replaced the more appropriate word "mother" in news articles? Even if the fact that the woman has had a child at some point in her life has absolutely nothing to do with the story.
Ever noticed that if a news article is about a guy that was in the Marines for so much as a month, even if it was 60 years ago, that the title of the article will state that he was in the Marines?
Examples:
"Former Marine, 79, Bitten by Dog."
"Local Mom Bitten by Dog."
It does not matter what his sexual orientation is.What matters is what he “represents” What matters is what he supports.What matters is what legislation he either helps or hinders.So long as he is not active duty military or subject to recall -unless he is a Gay activist he can be whatever he wants.I get bone weary of all this Outing CRAP.What good does it do? It is speculation and a waste. For it is written “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Notice it does not say ye shall know them by the speculation.
I remember an item back from the Republican Revolution where he was seen “canoodling” with Laura Ingraham in a DC bistro.
What does this mean... I am not in Ohio.
Oh No! are you suggesting Laura Ingram might be gay?Not Laura? NOOOOOOOO!
I think he is intimating that Ohio's new governor is a closeted homosexual. To which I respond "sure, and so is Hugh Hefner" lol.
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