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.