Texas GOP Congressional Race Devolves Into Full-Fledged Anti-Gay Hatefest
Attack Ad Calls The New Civil Rights Movement Part of ‘Radical Gay Lobby’
A Republican congressional candidate in West Texas is airing a TV ad accusing one of his opponents of secretly being a “gay rights advocate” because he participated in military LGBT Pride runs while serving as a base Air Force commander.
Earlier this month, we told you how retired Col. Michael Bob Starr, a GOP candidate in Congressional District 19, had come under fire for participating in the runs while leading the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene.
RELATED:Â Congressional Candidate, Decorated Officer Attacked For Participating In Air Force Gay Pride Run
Oil field worker Jason Corley, one of eight candidates in the race to replace right-wing Rep. Randy Neugebauer, accused Starr — a decorated officer — of promoting “social engineering” in the military by participating in the runs sponsored by Dyess AFB’s Pride Alliance in 2014 and 2015, following the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Now, Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson — another candidate in the race — has taken the attack a step further with a TV ad alleging that Starr is somehow supported by “the radical gay lobby.”
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“Michael Bob Starr says he’s a conservative values candidate, but Starr supported, promoted and participated in gay Pride events, wore rainbow-colored gay Pride clothing and is being called a gay-rights activist,” the ad’s narrator states. “And liberal gay rights organizations are supporting Starr, the same radical groups who want men to be able to use women’s bathrooms. Michael Bob Starr, supported by the radical gay lobby, wrong for West Texas.”
Interestingly, Robertson himself could be accused of supporting gay rights, given that he once told The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that he would be open to the possibility of an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance:
“If anybody brought that issue forward, I’d be open-minded and look at it,” Robertson said.Â
The allegations in Robertson’s ad are based on articles by Breitbart Texas’ Brandon Darby, an FBI informant who somehow believes that because LGBT news outlets including this one have covered the anti-gay attacks against Starr, they are supporting him:
In another strange twist, one group, The New Civil Rights Movement (NCRM), which calls itself a “broadly cited media organization delivering news and opinion dedicated to the wide interests of the progressive and LGBT communities,†found itself defending and advocating for a candidate who, only days prior, attempted to convince his fellow West Texans that he was actually the anti-gay agenda candidate.
Although we certainly appreciate the free publicity, Darby’s premise is way off. He’s effectively arguing that any news outlet that covers a political candidate supports that candidate. In other words, by reporting on Bob Starr – or Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders, or Donald Trump, or Marco Rubio – any news outlet, including NCRM, supports those candidates, which is obviously false.Â
But this is not particularly surprising from Darby, reportedly a one-time radical “leftist” who infamously became an FBI informant, ratting out two of his fellow activists and sending them to prison.
RELATED: Air Force Colonel Calls GOP Primary Opponent A ‘Coward’ For Anti-Gay Attack
Besides, from a gay rights standpoint, Starr’s response to the attacks has been almost as bad as the attacks themselves, and he certainly wouldn’t merit the support of any LGBT group, let alone a radical one:
“Glen knows that I’ve never been a gay rights advocate,“ Starr responded. “I believe, and have always believed, that homosexual behavior is immoral. I do not support same-sex marriage. I believe the definition of marriage is older than the law or any government, and is defined as a holy union between a man and a woman. I already made this clear when these reports first surfaced.
“I am the only candidate with firsthand knowledge of what the liberals have done to the military with their social experimentation,†Starr stated. “Military policy should be based on one thing and one thing alone – how could we be more effective in protecting our nation and our national security interests.â€
Watch Robertson’s ad here:Â
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XUpWufp2McÂ
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U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is accusing Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of lying during his Senate testimony this week, and warning that the HHS chief’s efforts to destroy faith in the measles vaccine will lead to children dying.
“It’s not a small thing that Trump’s Cabinet thinks Congress and the American people are so dumb that they can tell brazen lies over and over. We can’t normalize this,” Senator Murphy urged.
“The way in which Trump and Trump’s cabinet lie through their teeth, unapologetically and brazenly, to Congress and the American people, is outrageous,” Murphy said in video (below) he posted online Friday. “And I really worry that we risk normalizing it by not calling it out when it happens.”
He called the exchange he had with RFK Jr. “maddening” and “heartbreaking,” and said the HHS Secretary “essentially says that he’s no longer recommending that families get the measles vaccine. That’s going to kill hundreds, if not thousands of kids in this country.”
Murphy then played a clip from Kennedy’s testimony (which NCRM covered earlier this week), and, he said, caught Kennedy in a lie.
RELATED: ‘None of That Is True’: RFK Jr. Fact-Checked Repeatedly in Heated Senate Hearing
“By the way,” Kennedy told Murphy, “I said at the [House] hearing this morning that I was recommending the measles vaccine,” and told him to “look at the transcript.”
“So guess what I did?” Murphy says. “I went and checked the House transcript. It’s hours of testimony. I and my staff watched all of it, and guess what? Nowhere, nowhere in that transcript does he say he recommends the measles vaccine.”
“He lied through his teeth, and he did it because all of these MAGA sycophants have gotten used to lying. Donald Trump does it all the time, so they think they can do it as well. But we can’t normalize this because you can’t run a country if your leaders are lying to you every single day,” the Connecticut Democrat warned.
“RFK Jr. doesn’t support the measles vaccine, and he shouldn’t pretend that he does. He undermines the vaccine on a daily basis and whether we like his conspiracy theory positions or not, he should just be honest with the American people. They should all be honest with the American people, and none of us should normalize or get used to this amount of lying.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
So I hope you watch and share this video about the lies RFK Jr. told this week before the House and Senate. It’s a not a small thing that Trump’s Cabinet thinks Congress and the American people are so dumb that they can tell brazen lies over and over. We can’t normalize this. pic.twitter.com/W9dJJQtm6A
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 16, 2025
READ MORE: ‘It Meant Assassination’: Trump Blasts ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey for ‘8647’
President Donald Trump is attacking the FBI Director he fired, Jim Comey, who is reportedly under investigation over a photo of sea shells formed into the numbers 8647. Top Trump law enforcement and intelligence officials claim it is a call for the assassination of the 47th President, although “86” is generally understood to mean “reject” or “eject,” and, since the 1930s, in restaurant parlance, has meant a menu item is unavailable.
“He knew exactly what that meant,” President Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview that will air Friday evening. “A child knows what that meant.”
“If you’re the FBI Director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination.’ And it says it loud and clear,” Trump alleged.
READ MORE: GOP Plan Redefines Dependent Child as ‘Under 7’—But Adds Loophole for Married Couples
“Now, he wasn’t very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant, and he did it for a reason, and he was hit so hard because people like me, and they like what’s happening with our country. Our country’s become respected again,” the President claimed. “And he’s calling for the assassination of the president.”
Baier interjected, saying: “Obviously, he apologized and said he —”
“Well, he apologized because he was hit,” Trump also claimed. “Look, he’s a very bad —”
When asked what he wants to see happen to the former Director of the FBI, Trump said he did not want to weigh in, and would let his Attorney General handle it.
“I don’t want to take a position on it because that’s gonna be up to Pam [Bondi] and all of the great people, but I will say this. I think it’s a terrible thing. And when you add his history to that, if he had a clean history, he doesn’t.”
“He’s a dirty cop. He’s a dirty cop. And if he had a clean history, I could understand if there was a leniency. But I’m going to let them make that decision.”
READ MORE: ‘Mad King’: Trump Teases ‘Fourth’ Term to U.S. Troops Overseas
Trump Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox News on Thursday night she thinks Comey should go to prison for posting the “8647” photo.
Asked, “Do you believe Comey should be in jail?” Gabbard replied, “I do.”
“Any other person with the position of influence that he has,” she added, “people who take very seriously what what a guy of his stature, his experience, and what the propaganda media has built him up to be?”
“I’m very concerned for the president’s life. We’ve already seen assassination attempts,” she continued. “I’m very concerned for his life, and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”
But others commenting via social media were quick to point to a number of “86” posts apparently made by right wing influencers and even a former member of Congress, as well as T-shirts for sale during the Biden years.
Will @MarshaBlackburn ask for @amazon to be investigated for selling “8646” shirts and merch?
Or is it only worthy of FBI investigations when it’s “8647”?
We’ll hang up and listen. pic.twitter.com/yHoLSVinM0
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) May 16, 2025
Watch the video below or at this link.
Trump on Comey: “He knew exactly what that meant … it meant assassination. It says it loud and clear … he’s calling for the assassination of the president … it’s gonna be up to Pam … he’s a dirty cop.” pic.twitter.com/fCkHnoXFjF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 16, 2025
READ MORE: ‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics
Image via Reuters
During a rally-style appearance before uniformed U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday, President Donald Trump—serving as their Commander-in-Chief—floated the idea of a “fourth” term and falsely claimed victory in the 2020 election he lost. The appearance drew swift criticism for blurring the line between military service and political theater.
“As you know, we won three elections, okay?” Trump told the largely silent troops (video below). “And some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know—I’ll have to think about that.”
“You saw the new, the new hat. The hottest hat is, it says, ‘Trump 2028: We’re driving the left crazy.'”
“When you see that. We didn’t need that hat, but, uh, it was it’s been an amazing period of time,” he concluded.
READ MORE: ‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics
Noting that Trump was speaking “at the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East,” CNN reported that the President “thanked the U.S. troops for political support.”
“There’s – nobody been stronger than the military in terms of backing us, nobody,” Trump said. “So, I just want to thank you all very much. Great honor. Thank you very much.”
CBS News national security coordinating producer Jim LaPorta, who has reported extensively on the military, wrote: “If this was a rally, the president’s remarks would be fine. But in front of service members who are expected to be apolitical, many Defense Department officials would find these remarks inappropriate.”
READ MORE: ‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes
The Bulwark’s Sam Stein observed: “Treating the troops like they’re at a campaign rally and sowing doubt about the past and future of American elections — all in one soundbite.”
Democratic pollster and strategist Luke Martin called it “especially jarring to see Trump flirting with blowing a hole in the Constitution in front of an entire crowd of people who literally swore an oath to protect it with their life.”
Independent journalist Mike Rothschild noted: “Making a statement like this in front of active duty troops would have generated months of scandal, hearings, and resignations in years gone by. Now it’s just another Thursday with the Mad King.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
Trump speaking with the troops in Qatar: “As you know we won three elections. And some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about that. You saw the new hat?… It says Trump 2028.” pic.twitter.com/82mmClpFKe
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) May 15, 2025
READ MORE: GOP Plan Redefines Dependent Child as ‘Under 7’—But Adds Loophole for Married Couples
Image via Reuters
‘Lied Through His Teeth’: Senator Warns RFK Jr. Undermining Vaccine Will ‘Kill’ Kids
‘It Meant Assassination’: Trump Blasts ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey for ‘8647’
‘Mad King’: Trump Teases ‘Fourth’ Term to U.S. Troops Overseas
‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics
‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes
News3 days ago‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes
News3 days ago‘Mad King’: Trump Teases ‘Fourth’ Term to U.S. Troops Overseas
News3 days ago‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics
News2 days ago‘It Meant Assassination’: Trump Blasts ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey for ‘8647’
News2 days ago‘Lied Through His Teeth’: Senator Warns RFK Jr. Undermining Vaccine Will ‘Kill’ Kids