The world according to GRP — Friday, March 09, 2007:
Gays in the conservative closet
It has come to my notice that in the wake of the Mark Foley affair, which played no small part in delivering the U.S. Congress to the Democrats, the "conservative" columnist Ann Coulter (you know — the one who attacked a group of 9/11 widows by saying "These broads are millionaires..." in spite of being a millionaire broad herself) blew the dog-whistle by pronouncing a six-letter anti-gay slur against a Democratic presidential candidate (who is straight) and later claiming that the offending word had nothing to do with gays — as if the dogs would believe that!
(I put the word "conservative" in quotes because today's "conservatives" aren't really conservatives. If you want a real conservative columnist, read Paul Craig Roberts on CounterPunch. But I digress...)
So apparently Ms Coulter thinks there are still votes to be won for "conservatives" by pandering to homophobia. As one whom Ms Coulter would undoubtedly brand a "liberal" (although I'm actually more conservative than she is), I say: Bring it on!
Through most of the English-speaking world, until quite recently, gay activity was illegal; but Left-liberal political parties were more inclined to legalize it than Right-conservative parties.
So, if you're actively gay, and if you live in a jurisdiction in which your gay love life is still illegal and therefore needs to be hidden, with which side of politics are you going to align yourself? Do you have a better chance of hiding your orientation if you support the "pro-gay" Left or the "anti-gay" Right?
If you actually join a political party, will you have a better chance of hiding your orientation if that party is of the "pro-gay" Left or the "anti-gay" Right? And if, after you join, your orientation becomes known to your colleagues, which party is more likely to cover it up in order to avoid being seen with gays in its ranks?
And what if gay activity has been legalized, but you still want to hide your orientation because you think it might be a professional liability? Or a political liability? Which political alignment gives you a better chance of hiding it?
In view of all this, which political parties have more closet gays in their ranks? — those of the Left or those of the Right? And, as it was only recently that all gays were closet gays, which parties have more gays in their ranks — whether in or out of the closet?
Obvious, isn't it?
Disclosure: The undersigned blogger is male, Christian, single, and straight (yes, really!). Ann Coulter is the only woman he has ever described as a broad. "Sauce for the goose..." Oops! — and now I've called her a goose as well.
[Edited March 26 & June 13, 2007.]
Copyright © Gavin R. Putland except as otherwise attributed. Posted at The world according to GRP under the title Gays in the conservative closet. You may republish this item verbatim on your website or blog provided that you include this notice (with hyperlinks).
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