I'm gay, and like many other proud, gay men who have been politically active, I am all for shining a light into the dark crevices of Washington, DC, which has become a place of darkness and repression - not exactly the shining city on a hill we all wish for.

As a gay man, I believe anyone who attack gays and supports anti-gay policies should be exposed and held up to public scrutiny and their personal motives examined. After six years of the current regime, which came into office claiming it would restore dignity to the White House, I suspect Americans have just about had all the hypocrisy they can stomach.

Those gay Republican staffers who have supported policies and political speechifyting that amounts to nothing less than gay-bashing have sacrificed their personal integrity for a lousy salary. They are in denial and need help.

Shine the light and the truth might set us all free!

There is this ongoing belief that a gay Republican is by definition a hypocrite. This argument ignores, as I pointed out in a post for another article, not only the complexity of what rights have been given to or barred from gays based on politicians in power (Clinton creating "don't ask don't tell" and signing the Defense of Marriage Act; the Texas Sodomy Law being overturned at a time when Republicans control both the White House and Congress, and with a primarily conservative Supreme Court presiding over the decision), but of the variety of men and women who are gay.

There are some gays who are by definition politically conservative. They believe in less intrusive government, and power residing more with individual states than a central bureaucracy. There are gays who are personally conservative. They have an old-fashioned view of life in general, and the Republican party "fits" better with them. Some are business hawks who want to make a lot of money with little interference.

Outing is always an unacceptable fascist tactic. No matter how much we may think a person is conning the public and "deserve to be exposed," it isn't right. That people will try to demonize Republican gays so that they can make this action palatable is particularly noxious. It's a hate tactic, and it should not be tolerated.

Here's a question: what could possibly attract gays, particularly politicians, to the GOP in the first place? Why go there? Is it to "keep 'em guessing," or perhaps the sheer mendacity: you guys think there is something wrong with me, but look, you need me, I bring you votes, I bring you the plurality that allows you to win. Can't you see how wrong you are about being against gays?

And then there is the shame angle. The shame angle can't be avoided if the perpetration involves sex. What is it that allows a person who certainly knows better to threaten themselves in so obvious and self-destructive a manner? Foley is so perfect in this regard he would not be believable as a fictional character. The man who WRITES THE LEGISLATION to protect children against pedophiles engages in the behavior--on line--so there is a written record!

What is that if not a person who seeks shame--and in fact is so shame ridden--he can't even experience it in himself? This is what is pathetic about this sort of witch hunt. Six months from now, nobody will be the wiser. Foley will get a job working for one of his wealthy Palm Beach constituents, the GOP will continue to court the religious right, the ministers of the religious right will continue to manipulate their deluded flock, and the next generation of addicts will bide their time, waiting to sock it too those who would force them to deny their nature.

The shame game will continue as long as the repression and prejudice is sanctioned by the majority. This is evident when the broader issue itself is taken out of the closet. I can understand the anger of the gay rights advocates who want to out the hypocrites. I hope they will get heard, and not let their anger get in the way of their broader purpose.

Legislation would help, but not what has been drawn up. I'm talking about legislation THAT MADE IT A CRIME TO DESCRIMINATE AGAINST HOMOSEXUALS, and thereby made same-sex "unions," as much a right for gays as for Ma and Pa Kettle. I'm well aware that's a pipe dream in the current social order, but at least it puts the shoe on the right foot.

The reason why it's a pipe dream,however, is not really due to the retrograds, but with the current anarchy among liberals--and entails a shift in thinking that's a long way off.

I don't even know where to start!

"Neither was fully out, if "out" entails an unequivocal public confirmation of one's orientation."

That means they want it both ways. Even Mark Foley himself wasn't the sad closet case that was originally presented. He's had a partner for years (a doctor, no less) that he actually brought to functions and junkets. These people are leeches sucking at the tit of everyone who paved, and is paving the way for gay rights.

"When [my boss] found out about me, we never had a direct conversation about it, but I knew his attitudes about it ... And I know that when he did find out, his exact quote was, 'Yeah, so what? He did a damn good job.'"

A damn good job of supporting th GOP's toxic and relentless gay-bashing?

"According to the two gay former GOP staffers interviewed by Salon, Trandahl and Fordham are not alone. There are other gay Republican staffers, and their default stance in the Bush era is a more relaxed version of the military's policy of "Don't ask, don't tell." Both staffers say homosexuality wasn't an issue for the members of Congress for whom they worked."

In other words, stay in your self-loathing closet and shut up about it. I would like to know the voting records of these staffers bosses and if they support the GOP's anti-gay platform.

I say out every last one of the fucking hypocrites. Then let's see how big that tent really is. And they should be shunned and despised by the gay community.