Posted on 09/05/2007 11:49:47 AM PDT by Jose Pen
According to The Washington Post, there are 33 names on Rogers' list of Congressional charlatans - 30 of them Republicans. If only one-third of these scoundrels get outed in the next two years, the earthquake on Capitol Hill will be so large that it may cause a war between GOP moderates and social conservatives.
About three years ago, I was lounging in a Montreal hotel room when I got a call from activist Mike Rogers. I was unaware of who he was, but this intense stranger began interrogating me for information about - well, I don't even remember what the topic was anymore. But, I do recall that he was about the toughest advocate I had encountered in quite some time. As I hung up the phone I thought, "thank God this guy is on our side."
In an era of softer advocacy, Rogers is decidedly in your face. Yet, he has integrated new media with old school activism to create a stunningly effective hybrid that has brought Capitol Hill to its knees. Well, the hypocritical, anti-gay Congressmen were already on their knees - but until Rogers came along with his "outing" website BlogActive, they were getting away with it. Rogers does not tiptoe (or is it tap foot) around the contentions issue of outing and has a string of successes, including the downfall of closeted former Virginia GOP Congressman Ed Schrock.
Since our initial conversation we have become friends. At his Washington apartment, he is a whirlwind of activity, fighting for a just cause with little reward. While our "mainstream" organizations have reaped a windfall of resources, Rogers, arguably our most effective voice, has had to scrape tooth and nail.
Unfortunately, the veneer of "respectability" often trumps results when it comes to supporting GLBT causes. With little more than willpower, Rogers has become a major powerbroker in our nation's capitol. This week, he was featured in a Washington Post article under the headline, "The Most Feared Man On The Hill?"
The downfall of Sen. Larry "Wide Stance" Craig has put Rogers in the spotlight, where he is finally getting his due. Months before "potty-gate," Rogers outed Craig for allegedly having sex at Washington's Union Station. Now that he has been vindicated (not the first time), he has gone from a pariah, in some circles, to downright prophetic.
In addition to the Washington Post feature, Rogers has made the rounds on CNN, NBC's Today Show and National Public Radio. He has earned his celebrity and his efforts deserve our full-fledged praise and support.
Still, some opponents - often in the GLBT community - have tried to smear Rogers as radical or loony. Sometimes, these slights are in the media, but more often than not, they are defamatory whispers at cocktail parties by those who feel threatened by his work. Far from radical, however, Rogers is refreshingly contemplative and levelheaded when it comes to the ethics of outing. He has a clear idea of where he stands and has been consistent in his rules of engagement.
"When those private lives are in direct conflict with the public policy that these officials espouse, I think it's fair game that their private lives be brought into this," Rogers told The Washington Post. "And I have a blog to do that with. Here's the question: What community is expected to protect its own enemies? Don't beat up the gay community, and then expect us to protect your secrets and your double life. It's just not right."
When one sits down with Rogers, it is immediately clear that he is unorthodox in his approach, but he is not a wild gunslinger shooting from the hip. He is smart, deliberative and obsessed with getting his facts right. Indeed, he has yet to be wrong in his outing campaigns and has corroborated evidence before he has gone forward. This mix of careful journalism and energetic activism is an exemplary illustration of how one enterprising activist can make a difference and change the world
Indeed, it is not Rogers who is radical, but those who perpetuate or enable the GLBT population's second-class citizenship who are the extremists. He is simply holding elected officials to the standard of truthfulness and trustworthiness they campaigned on to get elected.
According to The Washington Post, there are 33 names on Rogers' list of Congressional charlatans - 30 of them Republicans. If only one-third of these scoundrels get outed in the next two years, the earthquake on Capitol Hill will be so large that it may cause a war between GOP moderates and social conservatives. There is no way the Party can absorb, justify or explain an additional 10-30 closeted gay politicians and still claim to be the party of conservative "family values."
Our community should find a way to come up with at least $333,000 ($10,000 per potential hypocrite) to support Rogers' ongoing investigations. He is one of the few advocates who has consistently backed up his rhetoric and delivered tangible victories. If we do not give this hero what he deserves, then we deserve to be lorded over by Republican hypocrites who have built their careers by bashing queers.
Can you not be sinful and still support family values with how you vote?
Homosexuality is a sin and as such, shouldn’t be put on a pedestal as a positive trait which is why these closeted guys are closeted. Shame is why they are closeted if these 30 are indeed gay.
And the number of dimocrats?
Pages?
Win at all costs no matter who you lie about. That plan might work. But then there is a coming judgment day. It won’t work forever.
Arguably, Mike Rogers extorted Larry Craig by threatening to "out" him if he did not vote against the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. For this, he deserves the condemnation of all morally responsible citizens of this country and, at least, an investigation by the federal government to look for possible criminal wrongdoing.
--RedState
Extortion?
And yet, Rogers cannot point to a single piece of legislation Craig supported that would have made what Craig is accused of doing illegal.
So in other words, Craig was not pushing for legislation that he hypocritically violated.
This would be like calling a smoking lawmaker a hypocrite for pushing for public smoking bans.
Which is something many lawmakers, democrat and republican, do. Also drinkers who push for restrictions on drinking. Or christian and yet mistakenly supporting keeping religion out of schools.
You can be gay, and still not believe that the state should allow same-sex marriage, or grant special protection to gay people in hiring and firing decisions. You could be gay and not think that others should be forced to rent rooms to gay couples.
This is NOT hypocrisy. If a gay lawmaker is saying that homosexuality is a sin and should be banned, then YES, that is hypocrisy, and they should be outed. But if all they are doing is imposing reasonable restrictions on what the government does, their sexual preferences shouldn’t matter.
On the other hand, NO lawmaker should hide from the public something that, if revealed, would be considered harmful to them. That just opens them up to bribery.
Like Rogers, who has promised to keep this stuff secret IF the lawmakers vote the RIGHT way on gay matters.
It seems that such threats should be prosecuted as blackmail, and I don’t know what someone doesn’t take that tact.
If you specifically state that you are going to release harmful information about a politician unless they vote a certain way, that is blackmail.
And when we're done with Graham Cracker, we can set our sights on Arlen Sphincter.
according to this faggot it is OK to be an elected official in the closet if only you are willing to NOT vote in the affirmative on special rights for fags, AGAINST the wishes of your constituents!
So another way of looking at this is as blackmail.....in which the payoff is to obstruct “democracy” or “representative” government. Come to think of it, it SHOULD be worthy of an obstruction of justice charge.......
I thought this too. Are they saying gays are unfit for office? Or that they aren't allowed to be republicans? What they are of course really doing is exposing them, hoping that the neanderthals in the GOP will get rid of them simply for being gay.
List starts with Hillary — that would be good.
Has anybody collected Larry Flynt’s $1 million for sleaze on Republicans?
Joe McCarthy had a list.
Is this cuckoo puffs writer bragging, crying, or covering HRC’s derrier?
If we’re going to be the party of values, then our elected leaders must live them. Exposure is painful and can lead to short-term political loss. But I believe that it will lead to long-term gain for the country. I’m not sure what it would do to the party, but I don’t believe that the party can be successful saying one thing and tolerating another.
That would be bad for Mike...
Rogers is a slime.
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