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Is William Gheen A Gay-Hating Gay-Baiter?

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William Gheen thinks U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham is gay. Graham, the senior Republican Senator from South Carolina, has served in both houses of Congress, first in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995, then in the U.S. Senate in 2003. Graham is one of the few Republican Senators who from time to time has been rumored to actually care about bi-partisanship and at least trying to work with the Obama White House. That’s just too left-wing for Gheen, who is accusing Graham of hiding his supposed homosexuality.

Gheen, the head of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) thinks being an in-the-closet gay makes Graham untrustworthy.

Via Huffington Post:

According to Gheen, being gay is “a secret that Lindsey Graham has.”

Gheen told the crowd: “I hope this secret it isn’t being used as leverage over Senator Graham, so today I think Senator Graham, you need to come forward and tell people about your alternative lifestyle and your homosexuality.”

“Barney Frank is more honest and brave than you,” Gheen continued, referring to the openly-gay Massachusetts congressman.

ALIPAC has posted the video titled “US Senator Graham is Gay” — and tagged with the keywords “queer” and “fag” — on YouTube, where various news outlets have covered it.

And this, via Salon:

Exactly what Graham’s sexuality — which has been the subject of rumors in South Carolina for years — has to do with border security isn’t particularly clear. (When asked, the unmarried Graham says he’s not gay, he’s just single.) He is the lone Republican who’s trying to work with Democrats on immigration reform this year; Gheen appears to have decided that makes him fair game for, well, just about anything. The insinuation that he’s only supporting immigration reform because he’s trying to keep something hidden is pretty slimy, though, even by the standards of ALIPAC.

Gheen’s remarks at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, S.C., won him instant notoriety online, and now it seems like he’s trying to capitalize on his fame by being even more outrageous. Which highlights the potential downside of all this Tea Party energy for Republicans — the passion the activists have for ideological purity can lead to situations, like this one, where the GOP is the target of their ire.

Catch that “remarks at a Tea Party rally” bit? Yeah, but those Tea Party folks are just like you and me, and not racist or homophobic, right, Glenn Beck? Bull.

Here’s the point I want to make.

I don’t give a damn if Lindsey Graham is gay. Frankly, given his politics, I’m certainly not a fan. If he is, good for him. I hope he has someone in his life who means the world to him, and if he is I’m sorry he would feel obligated to hide it. I also will call him on it, given his extreme anti-gay stance on LGBTQ issues.

Gheen is calling Graham gay because (1) He obviously doesn’t like gays, and thinks it’s wrong to be gay; (2) He has a problem with gays, since he tagged the video mentioned above “queer” and “fag.” (3) He wants someone even more right-wing in Graham’s seat. (4) He wants attention.

Actions like Gheen’s are the very essence of what’s wrong with how the Right has treated homosexuals since we were called homosexuals.

We were marginalized, made to hide, forced into behaviors because we were demonized. Then, those behaviors were demonized and used as “evidence” of our being demons, and evil, vile creatures, unfit for things society values, like marriage, military service, government service, and, well, even just existing. Yes, existing. (Last year, Pennsylvania state Senator John Eichelberger said gays are “not being punished. We’re allowing them to exist.”)

So, once demonized, we then became “untrustworthy,” because someone, LIKE GHEEN, might out us. “You can’t trust someone who has a secret!” What a great formula. Demonize an entire segment of the population, then demonize them more because you could out them.

Were gays not demonized and marginalized, I have every confidence we would have been equal members of society, no different than the Cleavers of “Leave It To Beaver,” or “Ozzie and Harriet.” (Not that anyone was really like the Cleavers, or, Ozzie and Harriet, nor am I advocating a particular lifestyle, but you get my drift.)

Everyone has secrets, Mr. Gheen. I’m sure you do too. Usually, it’s the ones who scream the loudest who are trying to deflect attention from their own demons.

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'DEHUMANIZING AND DANGEROUS'

Trump Team’s Efforts to Rein Him ‘Wilted’ in Waco as He Invoked ‘Retribution and Violence’: Report

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Any hope that Donald Trump’s new re-election team may have had that they could steer him into running a more conventional campaign appears to have been swept aside as he used his first major rally to whip up the crowd with a litany of grievances and personal attacks.

According to the Guardian’s David Smith, during Trump’s appearance in Waco late Saturday, the former president used his speech to “invoke retribution and violence” at his perceived enemies, with attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) who might possibly challenge him for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

As Smith wrote, “Efforts by Trump’s team to steer a more conventional, disciplined candidacy have wilted in recent days as the 76-year-old unleashed words and images that – even by his provocative standards – are unusually dehumanising, menacing and dangerous,” before adding nothing the past week Trump used “increasingly racist rhetoric as he launched ever more personal attacks against Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, raising fears that supporters could try to lash out on his behalf. Trump even shared an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of Bragg.”

RELATED: Trump is giving his ‘violent followers’ time to get organized: former FBI official

According to the Guardian report, “Wearing a dark jacket, white shirt and no tie, he said: ‘I got bad publicity and my poll numbers have gone through the roof – would you explain this to me … It gets so much publicity that the case actually gets adjudicated in the press and people see it’s bullshit.'”

The former president also, once again, called his 2024 run the “final battle.”

“Our opponents have done everything they can to crush our spirit and to break our will. But they failed. They’ve only made us stronger. And 2024 is the final battle, it’s going to be the big one. You put me back in the White House, their reign will be over and America will be a free nation once again,” he told the crowd.

You can read more here.

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Trump Desperate to Keep Any Possible Criminal Evidence From Supreme Court: Legal Expert

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Donald Trump’s decision to allow one of his lawyers to speak before a grand jury on Friday morning, instead of appealing all the way to the Supreme Court, may have been made out of fear of what the justices on the nation’s highest court might see if they reviewed the case.

According to MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin, under normal circumstances, the former president would have dragged out a legal fight over attorney-client privilege that would have kept attorney Evan Corcoran from testifying under oath about Trump’s possession of government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort that led to the FBI showing up with a warrant.

As Rubin notes, the fact that Trump let Corcoran testify over three hours raised eyebrows.

“For one, yes, it is indeed unusual, if not unheard of, for a lawyer to be litigating against a party one day and then testifying under court-ordered examination by that same party the next one,” she wrote before suggesting Trump and his legal team were looking at the long game when he might need the predominantly conservative Supreme Court to lend him a helping hand.

RELATED: Revealed: Emails show how Trump lawyers drove Michael Cohen to turn on the president

Writing, “Trump has made clear he believes this Supreme Court — controlled by conservative justices, three of whom he appointed — owes him one,” she added, “My hunch is that Trump’s team let Corcoran’s testimony happen because of what’s likely involved in any request to pause, much less, review a crime-fraud-related ruling: the evidence.”

“Put another way, if Trump had petitioned the Supreme Court to stay Corcoran’s testimony and document production, the justices would have seen some, if not all, of what Judge Howell and the three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit have already reviewed: proof that Trump misled Corcoran and engaged in criminal conduct,” she elaborated.

Rubin went on to note that Trump would likely appeal any conviction to the Supreme Court, writing, “And for someone whose one last hope, if he is ultimately charged or tried by any of the multiple entities now investigating him, is that same Supreme Court, letting the justices see evidence of his alleged crimes now would be a bridge too far.”

“Trump can’t afford to lose the Supreme Court yet,” she suggested.

You can read more here.

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No TX Congressional Republican Will Say If They’re Attending Trump’s Rally in Waco – Will He Have Trouble Filling Seats?

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Donald Trump‘s Saturday campaign rally in Waco, Texas, falls during the 30th anniversary of the 51-day siege that community is known for, when 86 people died after a failed ATF raid on an anti-government religious cult suspected of illegally stockpiling firearms amid allegations of sexual abuse, statutory rape, and polygamy.

Experts have been warning for a week that Trump’s choice of Waco, synonymous with violent anti-government extremism, was no accident. His rhetoric this week, including most recently Friday when he warned of “potential death & destruction” should he be indicted, has been seen as encouraging violence.

NCRM was among the first news outlets to report experts’ concerns over Trump’s choice to hold a rally in Waco during the 30th anniversary of the deadly siege.

Not a single congressional Republican from Texas will say they are attending, nor has the town’s GOP mayor, according to a report from Insider, which contacted over two dozen Republican lawmakers and other elected officials.

“None of the 30 Texas Republicans Insider contacted about the event said they were going,” Insider reveals.

“Most of the 30 GOP members contacted about Donald Trump’s inaugural visit to the site of a 30-year-old standoff between cult leader David Koresh and federal authorities did not respond to requests for comment about whether they intended to rally with the scandal-plagued candidate and perhaps say a few kind words,” Insider reports.

“Rep. Pete Sessions, a Waco native who now represents the surrounding 17th congressional district, praised Trump for shining a light on his hometown but said he’d have to miss the spectacle,” Insider adds. “Aides to Rep. Troy Nehls, one of the four House Republicans from Texas who have formally backed Trump’s 2024 run, told Insider he wouldn’t be heading to Waco because of a prior commitment in Washington, DC, this weekend.”

READ MORE: ‘Utter Cowardice’: Jim Jordan Blasted for Telling Reporter He Can’t Read Trump’s Violence-Threatening Post Without Glasses

Meanwhile, in addition to guest list challenges – the campaign refused to tell Insider who the guest speakers will be – Trump may have trouble filling seats.

Mary Trump, the ex-president’s niece who opposes him, has been running a campaign to get anti-Trump Americans to “sign up” for tickets to the Saturday rally, in the hopes of being able to turn away supporters.

“Donald has a rally in Waco this Saturday,” she also said via Twitter. “It’s a ploy to remind his cult of the infamous Waco siege of 1993, where an anti-government cult battled the FBI. Scores of people died. He wants the same violent chaos to rescue him from justice.”

“But we can stop him. If we book the 50,000+ venue, we can make sure most of the seats are empty when the traitor takes the stage,” she said. “We can no longer fail to hold powerful men accountable for their crimes against our country.”

Image via Shutterstock

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