Florida Senate candidate denounces reports that he is gay (RATS OUT PUBBIE)

AP via NOLA.COM ^ | 5/22/03 8:55 PM | By BRENT KALLESTAD

[11th_VA]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Senate, on Thursday denounced what he says are rumors spread by his political opponents that he is gay.

Foley, a five-term congressman, refused to answer questions about whether he is gay, saying his sexual preference had no bearing on his duties as a lawmaker. He accused Democratic activists of trying to derail his candidacy for the Senate.

[Dan from Michigan]

I could care less if he's gay or not. It's a private matter and none of my business.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Actually I think this is more about Republiphobia than homophobia :)

[clintonh8r]

...not that there's anything wrong with that....(for you Seinfeld fans)

[NeoCaveman]

I agree with your assesment

Cracked me up to hear Dem's make snide comments about Nader like "he lives with his sister" "he's never been married" etc. No bigger group of hypocrites(sp?) than the Rat party.

[MinuteGal]

Neither the uninspiring Foley or the equally uninspiring McCollum have a prayer in Florida. The Republicans better come up with an attractive, well-known conservative candidate pretty darn quick.

The Dem senate seat is ripe for the plucking this election and I'm getting bad vibes that the Pubbies will drop the basket. I'm praying that both GW and brother Jeb step in with some political as well as common sense.

Leni
Florida

[AppyPappy]

To be honest with you, I don't care.

[PJ-Comix]

I knew this was coming. In fact I was going to post something about it on FR a few months ago about why it might not be a good idea to nominate Foley but but held off.

[Kuksool]

Bob Graham is running for President, not Senator. I believe the RATS are trying to recruit Miami Mayor Alex Penelas to run for the Senate.

[Wilhelm Tell]

Personally, I don't think he's gay, but I wish he would point blank come out and say that, if thats the case, I don't see why he's letting them make an issue out of this.

Unfortunately there is a double standard. It is particularly effective to accuse a conservative of being gay. If he denies it, he will be either called a liar or "homophobic." Some conservatives might turn against him (even if he has a good voting record).

Suppose he doesn't say anything one way or the other. The left will say how can we trust someone who can't answer a simple question about his private life. These are the very people who rush to the defense of a Ted Kennedy or a Bill Clinton -- again, double standards rule.

Suppose a conservative is accused of being gay and he admits to being gay? This will alienate some of his power-base, even if he has a good voting record. Meanwhile, the left will accuse him of not being gay enough -- if he were really "sincere" in his gayness, he would be a good little Marxist and not a Republican.

Finally, suppose a conservative is accused of being gay but there is ample evidence that he is not gay. Suppose he goes to the extent of producing ex-girlfriends and no one can find a, ugh, boyfriend or any evidence of strange encounters. First of all, there is something pathetic about a man having to give details about his personal life to try and prove he isn't gay. Also, the fringe leftists will have a field-day. If a former girlfriend is attractive, the militant lesbians will get indignant and accuse the man of "lookism" and find him guilty of all sorts of affronts to political-correctness. The only N.O.W.-approved heterosexual men are Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton.

The double standard thrives in part because no one expects a leftist politician to follow the norms of conventional morality. A leftist can even preach about morality and he will be given a pass for anything short of being caught with a live boy or a dead girl. The way things are going, even this minimal standard is in doubt.

[Ax]

Mark Foley is my congressman. I have no complaints, even though I haven't been here all that long. I have written to my senators re the continued U.S. presence in the U.N. and have been sloughed off. I will be writing soon to Mark Foley to see what HE can do to get this ball rolling. My continued support for Rep. Foley will depend on his answer.

[kAcknor]

To be honest with you, I don't care.

kAcknor Sez:

No kidding. The best way to take the entire issue away from those who use it to bash us is to just ignore it. I don't mean no response, but a clear, loud and quick "Who the H*ll cares!?!?" every time they bring it up.

It's more than past time to return the old phrase "It's none of your business" to today's politics.

The reason we didn't succeed with Clinton was that the vast majority of people think just that way (looking back it may have been the best thing. Algore as incumbent might have just pulled it off). It will also work today.

Make a CLEAR distinction between child porn, pedophilia, and actions that use force against another, then say "None of your business!"

I guess my libertarian side is showing, ;) but it's a hammer we hand the left to pound us with.

"tIqIpqu' 'ej nom tIqIp" (Hit them hard and hit them fast.)

Have you checked the *bang_list today?

[onyx]

Who do you like for US senator?

[TheCrusader]

I resent people who start rumors like that. By the way, what's up with that gerbil that fell out of his pant leg?

[DPB101]

I see Foley is pro-"choice" as well. Seems as if Florida GOP could do better than this.

He voted to ban PBA, to ban Federal funding of abortion and to ban human cloning. More here

His district includes northern Palm Beach County and abuts Robert Wexler's district. That a Republican is elected at all, much less with the landslides Foley gets, is an accomplishment. Yes, he does have to finesse certain issues--Medicare and Social Security mostly. Foley is a quasi-libertarian and was, I believe, a member of the GOP House Libertarian caucus.

[Consort]

My continued support for Rep. Foley will depend on his answer.

Beware of the single issue trap. Don't do anything that will put the Dems in power.

[ztiworoh]

Having worked pretty closely with Rep Foley in the past, when I was assigned to the House floor, I'd say he'd make a very decent Senator. I don't really know where they get these gay rumors, he's always seemed very straight to me, other than the fact that he is always meticulously dressed, but that's an image thing and helps in politics anyway. On the issues he's a moderate Republican, fits in with the Bush administration's policies well most of the time. I'd gladly support him in a Senate run.

[Consort]

Sounds sensible to me. I'm tired of the obstruction from the Left.

[Malcolm]

I'll never understand Log Cabin Republicans. If I were of that persuation, the Democrats would be the obvious choice, as they support "gay rights" and everything that goes with it. 10-15 years ago, there was this Jewish person who was trying to join the KKK in Mississippi. You just want to grab that idiot by the neck, and yell in his face, "DON'T YOU KNOW?" The GOP will certainly take gay votes if they are cast, but any person of that lifestyle has to be voting for economic reasons, not for any support from Republicans to pass anything that's on the homo agenda. Christians like me will be pushing in the opposite direction, and we are not a paper tiger. It's gonna take quite a demonstration of power to defeat us, and if that time ever came, involvement in politics by us would be a waste of time anyway.....

[Malcolm]

I'll never understand Log Cabin Republicans. You just want to grab that idiot by the neck, and yell in his face, "DON'T YOU KNOW?" If I were of that persuation, the Democrats would be the obvious choice, as they support "gay rights" and everything that goes with it. The GOP will certainly take gay votes if they are cast, but any person of that lifestyle has to be voting for economic reasons, not for any support from Republicans to pass anything that's on the homo agenda. Christians like me will be pushing in the opposite direction, and we are not a paper tiger. It's gonna take quite a demonstration of power to defeat us, and if that time ever came, involvement in politics by us would be a waste of time anyway.....

[Malcolm]

I'll never understand Log Cabin Republicans. You just want to grab that idiot by the neck, and yell in his face, "DON'T YOU KNOW?" If I were of that persuation, the Democrats would be the obvious choice, as they support "gay rights" and everything that goes with it. The GOP will certainly take gay votes if they are cast, but any person of that lifestyle has to be voting for economic reasons, not for any support from Republicans to pass anything that's on the homo agenda. Christians like me will be pushing in the opposite direction, and we are not a paper tiger. It's gonna take quite a demonstration of power to defeat us, and if that time ever came, involvement in politics by us would be a waste of time anyway.....