Ken Mehlman- GOP Leader during Bush2- comes out

[Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew]

@Sampiro

presumably it was a case of three denials before the cock grew.

Snerk.

[Revtim]

@Roderick_Femm

I hope he falls in love with a man who loves him back, and that he internalizes the ensuing wonderful feelings to the point where he feels deep, poignant guilt - for his previous behavior - for the rest of his long, otherwise happy life. So much so that he spends that life, his fortune, and his sacred honor to expiate that guilt and makes himself the poster boy for an unashamed, open gay life. And that when he dies he realizes that he still didn’t do enough.

That’s the gayest thing I’ve ever read.

[Gyrate]

@Meatros

I saw this and for the life of me I cannot get the idea that his last name is the same as Alfs home planet…

My first reaction was " Larry ‘Bud’ Melman is gay?". Boy, that dates me…

But yes, I too am always irked when a former political figure claims that they wish they could do something about X, Y and Z when they blatantly failed to do anything abotu X, Y and Z when they had the power to, purely out of political cowardice. These people need to STFU.

[Trion]

@Meatros

I saw this and for the life of me I cannot get the idea that his last name is the same as Alfs home planet…

Mehlman is the guy. Melmac is the planet.

[jayjay]

@Gyrate

But yes, I too am always irked when a former political figure claims that they wish they could do something about X, Y and Z when they blatantly failed to do anything abotu X, Y and Z when they had the power to, purely out of political cowardice. These people need to STFU.

Except with Mehlman it was not a case of failing to do anything about X, Y and Z. It was a case of actively promoting X, Y and Z. To Godwinize, Mehlman wasn’t a Jewish cabinet secretary who failed to try to convince Roosevelt to enter WWII against the Nazis. Mehlman was a kapo.

[RTFirefly]

Here’s one section of a great takedown of Mehlman by indiemcemopants at Firedoglake:

In spite of the terror his philosophies inflicted on LGBT citizens and in spite of the decades long scare-fest of anti-gay hatred, gay-baiting and discriminatory laws foisted on us, Ken Mehlman wants us to know that his coming out experience has been just peachy. No apology for all the suicides his party’s stances inevitably brought on. No apology for hate crimes. No apology for the election campaign involving some of the worst anti-gay hatred anyone has ever witnessed. No apology for the terror LGB military people have had to endure. No apology for the forced rapes female soldiers went through to “prove” they are straight.

He just wants us to know that he’s been through a whole, whole lot and that he’s a very happy and well-adjusted person. Well Ken, fuck you.

Ken says, “What I do regret, and think a lot about, is that one of the things I talked a lot about in politics was how I tried to expand the party into neighborhoods where the message wasn’t always heard. I didn’t do this in the gay community at all.”

He can’t be that divorced from reality. It’s not a matter of outreach to the gay community, it’s your whole philosophy, guy. You were and are part of the problem. You’ve created this closet for people and now you want sympathy when you’ve finally come out of it. You’ve hurt too many people. Think of how many hate crimes you caused in 2004 when you were too scared to speak up for anyone. It is your fault. It is conservatives’ fault. You can reach out all you like but your very philosophy promotes bigotry.

<snip>

Ken’s struggle was just terrible. In fact, once he started outing himself, he actually had to assemble a press team to deal with it. The horror. I mean what kind of guy should have to use his millions of dollars and his prestige to assemble a press team to talk about how gay he is now? Must’ve been a truly agonizing experience for him.

Meanwhile those of us who are alone and scared are subjected to constant attacks and terrifying threats that we need to remain closeted or we will die, or lose our jobs. For our own good.

Thanks a lot.

[Jonathan_Chance]

Jesus, that old joke from 2006 that ‘they’re all gay!’ is looking less and less funny.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

So, when he went from “straight Manhattan Republican Jew” to “gay Manhattan liberal Jew” did his minority quotient go up or down?

@Captain_Amazing

@Sampiro

He says he only arrived at this conclusion “relatively recently”. He’s 44, so I’m not sure if relatively recently means he figured it out in 1992, March of 2008 or last Wednesday, though I’m interested how any man capable of an erection can fail to notice which gender makes their dick hard when looked at, felt up or fantasized about, but then maybe he hadn’t discovered his right hand until relatively recently either.

I don’t know if a personal anecdote will help here, but I realized I was sexually attracted to other guys and not to girls a long time before I realized I was gay.

I didn’t know you were gay.

[Evil_Captor]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

So, when he went from “straight Manhattan Republican Jew” to “gay Manhattan liberal Jew” did his minority quotient go up or down?

@Captain_Amazing

I don’t know if a personal anecdote will help here, but I realized I was sexually attracted to other guys and not to girls a long time before I realized I was gay.

I didn’t know you were gay.

And just to pile on, I realized I was sexually attracted to women a long time before Captain Amazing realized that Ken Mehlman was gay.

[bup]

@Sampiro

presumably it was a case of three denials before the cock grew.

In case you were wondering if anyone caught and appreciated this: I caught and appreciated this.

[joebuck20]

Another anti-gay conservative comes out. I’m shocked, shocked, I tell ya!

[Gagundathar]

This is genuinely strange.
I have always suspected that the guys who are the most homophobic are the ones who are the most likely to be closeted homosexuals (sometimes even closeted to themselves).
But it appears that the majority of conservative homophobes really ARE gay.

Are there any conservative anti-gay activists still ranting about the evils of homosexuality?
Is the GOP finally going to stop attacking people for their sexual orientation, or is it too entangled with the entire socially conservative/fundamentalist Christian movement that they can’t afford to stop?

[matt_mcl]

or as the young people say, “I saw what you did there.”

Great OP, Sampiro. We should be able to make trades now, like in sports. Trade Kenny back to the straight side and take, oh, I don’t know – Daniel Radcliffe?

[jayjay]

@matt_mcl

Great OP, Sampiro. We should be able to make trades now, like in sports. Trade Kenny back to the straight side and take, oh, I don’t know – Daniel Radcliffe?

Fantasies about Harry’s wand are soooo 2008…

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Gagundathar

This is genuinely strange.
I have always suspected that the guys who are the most homophobic are the ones who are the most likely to be closeted homosexuals (sometimes even closeted to themselves).
But it appears that the majority of conservative homophobes really ARE gay.

I just hope it’s not a proportional thing, or Fred Phelps must take penises in orifices medical science hasn’t even discovered yet.

[Duke]

@matt_mcl

Great OP, Sampiro. We should be able to make trades now, like in sports. Trade Kenny back to the straight side and take, oh, I don’t know – Daniel Radcliffe?

Wait, you think we want Ken Mehlman? You’re going to need a better offer than that. As the self-appointed GM For Straight People, I’m holding out for George Takei (because he’s just so awesome like that), Portia de Rossi, and that NZed rugby chick I crushed on in college and we’ll give you Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Craig, and any other Daniel you want.

[Simplicio]

So Mehlman’s claim is that while he didn’t know he was gay, Bill Maher did?

Remind me to double check with Mr Maher next time I see him and make sure I’m not really gay.

[Merijeek]

What’s the gay version of Uncle Tom? To Wong Pink? Rainbow Quislings?

-Joe

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Merijeek

What’s the gay version of Uncle Tom?

Aunt Tom.

[Merijeek]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

@Merijeek

What’s the gay version of Uncle Tom?

Aunt Tom.

Why do I immediately see Aunt Tom as wearing a pink feather boa?

Curse you, fabulous gay steretypes!

-Joe