Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I'm Gay

[Denny Crane]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics...nd-former-rnc-chair-ken-mehlman-im-gay/62065/

Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I'm Gay

Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay.

Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview. He agreed to answer a reporter's questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would arise about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California's ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.

"It's taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life," said Mehlman, now an executive vice-president with the New York City-based private equity firm, KKR. "Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I've told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they've been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that's made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago."

Privately, in off-the-record conversations with this reporter over the years, Mehlman voiced support for civil unions and told of how, in private discussions with senior Republican officials, he beat back efforts to attack same-sex marriage. He insisted, too, that President Bush "was no homophobe." He often wondered why gay voters never formed common cause with Republican opponents of Islamic jihad, which he called "the greatest anti-gay force in the world right now."

 

[Denny Crane]

The article isn't very well written for something from The Atlantic...

He was in the closet for 43 years, not that it took him 43 years to figure out he's a homosexual.

 

[julius]

Obama voter, and former Go-Go dancer HCP: Who cares if he's gay?

 

[Denny Crane]

Obama voter, and former Go-Go dancer HCP: Who cares if he's gay?

Read the article. The interesting points, IMO, were about how anti-gay the republicans were when he was doing his job, and about W not being a homophobe (among other things).

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

 

[maxiep]

Good for him. I have a dear friend of mine who struggled for years, trying to please his Baptist parents by denying his sexual orientation. Finally, he couldn't deny it any more.

I hope coming out of the closet makes him happier.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I'm all for people finding peace with their own internal struggles. Good for him

 

[BrianFromWA]

I long for the day when sexuality isn't news, unless it's some child rapist being executed--pour encouragement les autres.

 

[Haakzilla]

...of course Bush was no homophobe, he is a regular at the Bohemian Grove!

 

[crandc]

This is about the worst kept secret in politics.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Good for him. Who cares if he is gay or not? Most republicans are anti-gay because most republicans are religious. Homosexuality is a sin, according to the bible, so why would this shock anyone?

I hope he is happier now that he has figured it out.

 

[crandc]

Good for him. Who cares if he is gay or not? Most republicans are anti-gay because most republicans are religious. Homosexuality is a sin, according to the bible, so why would this shock anyone?

So is eating cheeseburgers. I see no constitutional amendments proposed to ban cheeseburgers. And multiple Christian and Jewish religious organizations support GLBT rights. (So do other faiths but you mentioned bible.) And not all are Republicans.

As to who cares, if he had been open in 2004 when Republicans were promoting anti-gay ballot measures to turn out conservative voters, would he have kept his position as Republican chairman? As to who cares, ever heard of people being thrown out of the military? As to who cares, in 37 states it is legal to fire a person from his/her job on suspicion of being gay. Who cares will stop being an issue when discrimination stops.

Ah, facts.

 

[julius]

Good for him. Who cares if he is gay or not? Most republicans are anti-gay because most republicans are religious. Homosexuality is a sin, according to the bible, so why would this shock anyone?

I hope he is happier now that he has figured it out.

I would bet that most Democrats are religious too, just not what Republicans or conservatives would call religious.

 

[Mediocre Man]

So is eating cheeseburgers. I see no constitutional amendments proposed to ban cheeseburgers. And multiple Christian and Jewish religious organizations support GLBT rights. (So do other faiths but you mentioned bible.) And not all are Republicans.

As to who cares, if he had been open in 2004 when Republicans were promoting anti-gay ballot measures to turn out conservative voters, would he have kept his position as Republican chairman? As to who cares, ever heard of people being thrown out of the military? As to who cares, in 37 states it is legal to fire a person from his/her job on suspicion of being gay. Who cares will stop being an issue when discrimination stops.

Ah, facts.

I must have skipped the page about eating cheeseburgers being a sin.

And what the fuck, woman? Don't attack me because I don't care if he is gay or not.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I would bet that most Democrats are religious too, just not what Republicans or conservatives would call religious.

That's true.

 

[STOMP]

Good for him. Who cares if he is gay or not? Most republicans are anti-gay because most republicans are religious. Homosexuality is a sin, according to the bible, so why would this shock anyone?

I hope he is happier now that he has figured it out.

according to the same book in the old testament (Leviticus) that condemns homosexuality as an abomination, eating shellfish lobster and pork are also sins. So is wearing clothing with more then one type of material (like the shirt socks and boxers I'm wearing right now). So is cutting your hair on the sides of your head and trimming your beard. Laying with a woman on her period... sin. Planting more then one crop in your field... sin. Taken literally, Leviticus also gives us guidance on whats okay with God on which nations we can rightously buy our slaves from. Children who curse their parents should be put to death.

I don't blame religious folk who chose to take the bible literally. But I think those who pick and chose what parts they want to take literally and then say "the bible says so" have a weak argument. Jesus taught a lot about compassion for your fellow man and not judging others. That these fundamental Christian types ignore those many teachings in the New Testament to focus on a verse from a book in the Old that is filled with stuff that doesn't jive with most everyone's reality today seems more then a bit odd to me.

btw, I don't really care whether Mehlman is gay or not either but supporting a political party that actively works against his personal interests as part of their platform (family values) seems conflicted. If I were in his light loafers I'd probably at least back away from supporting a party and focus on individual candidates and issues that I cared about.

STOMP

 

[maxiep]

according to the same book in the old testament (Leviticus) that condemns homosexuality as an abomination, eating shellfish lobster and pork are also sins. So is wearing clothing with more then one type of material (like the shirt socks and boxers I'm wearing right now). So is cutting your hair on the sides of your head and trimming your beard. Laying with a woman on her period... sin. Planting more then one crop in your field... sin. Taken literally, Leviticus also gives us guidance on whats okay with God on which nations we can rightously buy our slaves from. Children who curse their parents should be put to death.

I don't blame religious folk who chose to take the bible literally. But I think those who pick and chose what parts they want to take literally and then say "the bible says so" have a weak argument. Jesus taught a lot about compassion for your fellow man and not judging others. That these fundamental Christian types ignore those many teachings in the New Testament to focus on a verse from a book in the Old that is filled with stuff that doesn't jive with most everyone's reality today seems more then a bit odd to me.

btw, I don't really care whether Mehlman is gay or not either but supporting a political party that actively works against his personal interests as part of their platform (family values) seems conflicted. If I were in his light loafers I'd probably at least back away from supporting a party and focus on individual candidates and issues that I cared about.

STOMP

Ever hear of the Log Cabin Republicans? Your sexual preference doesn't have to dominate all parts of your political philosophy.

 

[crandc]

My problem is not someone saying they don't care about Mehlman's sexual orientation, my problem is saying "who cares?" Unfortunately a lot of people do. And while Mehlman was chair of the RNC his organization went all out to demonize GLBT people. How many firings, how many gay bashings, how many children taken away, how many teens kicked out of their homes, how many suicides resulted from this crusade?

Leviticus condemns the mixing of meat and dairy, so yes eating a cheeseburger is a sin. So of course are all the things Stomp referenced. But Mehlman's organization only proposed constitutional amendments against gays. I'm glad he's offically out, I'm glad he's now working for marriage equality, but he can't just say he feels fine and so all is well. Actually, that's also in the bible. You need to atone by correcting the harm done. That's what the Jewish High Holidays are for.

 

[maxiep]

My problem is not someone saying they don't care about Mehlman's sexual orientation, my problem is saying "who cares?" Unfortunately a lot of people do. And while Mehlman was chair of the RNC his organization went all out to demonize GLBT people. How many firings, how many gay bashings, how many children taken away, how many teens kicked out of their homes, how many suicides resulted from this crusade?

Leviticus condemns the mixing of meat and dairy, so yes eating a cheeseburger is a sin. So of course are all the things Stomp referenced. But Mehlman's organization only proposed constitutional amendments against gays. I'm glad he's offically out, I'm glad he's now working for marriage equality, but he can't just say he feels fine and so all is well. Actually, that's also in the bible. You need to atone by correcting the harm done. That's what the Jewish High Holidays are for.

Why can't he just say he feels fine so all is well? It's his life. His sexuality doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all of his existence. I'm sure lots of party chairpeople have seen parts of their party platform be things with which they disagree.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I'm saddened a bit at the biblical "knowledge" being portrayed in this thread. The parts that many "fundamental" Christians would refer to as doctrinal on this subject include the following:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men ... For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. (Romans 1:18a, 21–27)

There isn't one instance in the Bible of homosexuality, sexual immorality, "unnatural relations", "indecents acts of perversion", etc. that is not labeled a sin. Not one.
Though to use your "shellfish and cheeseburger" examples, the "food laws" of Leviticus were explicitly repealed by Christ himself in Matthew 15 and Acts 10.
As far as the rest of the Levitical laws, the first issue is that they were expressly given to Israel or to "sojourners in the land". They were to set apart Israel as the sole "people of God". In the New Testament Christ tells Peter (and Paul expounds on it in Hebrews) that with His death all believers are "sons of Abraham", and that there is no longer any clean or unclean meat, just as both Jew and Gentile can be saved into the Kingdom.
Another branch of them was for holiness and purification laws, in order to access the Holy of Holies and perform sacrifices. Each of these was rendered moot when Christ died as the perfect, one-time sacrifice for sin. You didn't need to kill a goat, or sparrow, or burn grain, etc. You didn't need to ensure you hadn't bled for 7 days or whatever before performing the sacrifice, b/c no sacrifices are required any longer.
As I said before, I long for the day when Sexuality isn't news. My belief in the verity of the bible and its authority in my life means that I'm supposed to view homosexuality, perversion, theft, etc as sin and stay away from it. But it's not biblical to say that homosexuality in a bigger sin in Christendom than, say, not honoring your parents or lying or theft or lust after someone you're not married to or murder. All sin is rewarded by eternal separation from God, if you do not accept Jesus' sacrifice as enough to atone for your wrongs in thought and deed.

No bible-believing Christian SHOULD say that "we should kill homosexuals". If they have, I apologize and would refer them to many places in Scripture where that's shown as wrong. That said, you can't believe what God says is true and think that homosexuality is not a sin, just like lying, lust, not taking care of your parents, etc. Atonement from that is the crux of the matter. The bible teaches that belief in Christ is the only way to not be damned eternally for those sins--not by some human discipline. And as Christians, if we see fellow Christians committing these sins we're not supposed to just let them go on merrily. For someone not in the church? Not my place to judge or condemn.

 

[Denny Crane]

 

[Denny Crane]

Religious perspective doesn't belong as part of government, other than government should do nothing to squash free exercise. It's perfectly fine that deeply religious people get to vote - certainly deeply religious people might like smaller government or more funding for welfare or whatever it is that government is supposed to do.

It's unfortunate that republicans need the religious right to be their feet on the street come election time. Without those religious folks, the democrats would have their union buddies dominating the door-to-door, get out the vote, hand out the bumper sticker part of campaigns. In the process, the republicans have to answer to these constituents, as they should, but not by brining religious beliefs into the laws.

I tend to agree with crandc's points, though I am less inclined to favor laws that prevent free people from entering into contracts with one another, even if it means someone gets fired because they're gay. It's ultimately not the gay person's fault, it's the employer's.

 

[bodyman5001]

My problem is not someone saying they don't care about Mehlman's sexual orientation, my problem is saying "who cares?" Unfortunately a lot of people do. And while Mehlman was chair of the RNC his organization went all out to demonize GLBT people. How many firings, how many gay bashings, how many children taken away, how many teens kicked out of their homes, how many suicides resulted from this crusade?

Leviticus condemns the mixing of meat and dairy, so yes eating a cheeseburger is a sin. So of course are all the things Stomp referenced. But Mehlman's organization only proposed constitutional amendments against gays. I'm glad he's offically out, I'm glad he's now working for marriage equality, but he can't just say he feels fine and so all is well. Actually, that's also in the bible. You need to atone by correcting the harm done. That's what the Jewish High Holidays are for.

Someone saying "who cares if he is gay?" is to me someone saying in effect that nobody should care. Not that he is asking a specific question about which Americans would care if he was gay. If you want that, call Gallup.

I mean this the way I interpreted Mediocre Man's statement, who cares what the bible says about gays?

Every time I hear something about the bible it makes it seem more far fetched. God doesn't like gay sex but he sure figured out a way to make a whole lot of gays then didn't he?

If God doesn't like fat people, maybe he should figure out how to give us all the metabolism my friend has. The guy can drink 3 McDonald's milkshakes a day and not gain a pound. He wants to but can't.

Hell, he could at least stop us from putting high fructose corn syrup in everything. I can't even find good corn on the cob in Vegas, I wonder if it has anything to do with all the corn being used for Pepsi and ethanol.

 

[STOMP]

Ever hear of the Log Cabin Republicans? Your sexual preference doesn't have to dominate all parts of your political philosophy.

I've heard of them, never met one. What would you put their percentage at in the Republican party? I'm going to make a conservative guess and put it at >1%.

Why do you think every clearly gay Republican elected official chooses to stay in the closet? Why do those same elected officials tend to take such strident stances in their voting and rhetoric against the issues that would seem to adversely affect them personally? and these days besides acquiring power, what is the political philosophy of the Republican party? It sure as hell isn't reducing spending/gov't as evidenced by W's terms.

STOMP

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

saying Republicans are anti-gay is the same as saying Muslims are terrorists.




WHOA!

 

[STOMP]

saying Republicans are anti-gay is the same as saying Muslims are terrorists.




WHOA!

you're joking right? mmmmmerrrr okay

STOMP

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

I'm saddened a bit at the biblical "knowledge" being portrayed in this thread. The parts that many "fundamental" Christians would refer to as doctrinal on this subject include the following:

There isn't one instance in the Bible of homosexuality, sexual immorality, "unnatural relations", "indecents acts of perversion", etc. that is not labeled a sin. Not one.
Though to use your "shellfish and cheeseburger" examples, the "food laws" of Leviticus were explicitly repealed by Christ himself in Matthew 15 and Acts 10.
As far as the rest of the Levitical laws, the first issue is that they were expressly given to Israel or to "sojourners in the land". They were to set apart Israel as the sole "people of God". In the New Testament Christ tells Peter (and Paul expounds on it in Hebrews) that with His death all believers are "sons of Abraham", and that there is no longer any clean or unclean meat, just as both Jew and Gentile can be saved into the Kingdom.
Another branch of them was for holiness and purification laws, in order to access the Holy of Holies and perform sacrifices. Each of these was rendered moot when Christ died as the perfect, one-time sacrifice for sin. You didn't need to kill a goat, or sparrow, or burn grain, etc. You didn't need to ensure you hadn't bled for 7 days or whatever before performing the sacrifice, b/c no sacrifices are required any longer.
As I said before, I long for the day when Sexuality isn't news. My belief in the verity of the bible and its authority in my life means that I'm supposed to view homosexuality, perversion, theft, etc as sin and stay away from it. But it's not biblical to say that homosexuality in a bigger sin in Christendom than, say, not honoring your parents or lying or theft or lust after someone you're not married to or murder. All sin is rewarded by eternal separation from God, if you do not accept Jesus' sacrifice as enough to atone for your wrongs in thought and deed.

No bible-believing Christian SHOULD say that "we should kill homosexuals". If they have, I apologize and would refer them to many places in Scripture where that's shown as wrong. That said, you can't believe what God says is true and think that homosexuality is not a sin, just like lying, lust, not taking care of your parents, etc. Atonement from that is the crux of the matter. The bible teaches that belief in Christ is the only way to not be damned eternally for those sins--not by some human discipline. And as Christians, if we see fellow Christians committing these sins we're not supposed to just let them go on merrily. For someone not in the church? Not my place to judge or condemn.

REPPED

 

[crandc]

So if I convert to Christianity I don't have to follow Kasruth. But I haven't. Of course I don't follow Kashruth anyway except when visiting observant relatives.

Some history. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000. Karl Rove estimated that to win in 2004 he'd need to gain around 4 million evangelical voters. So in 2004 anti-gay ballot initiatives were put on the ballot in 11 states to turn out conservative evangelicals and to appeal to independent voters who did not particularly like Bush but could be terrified by the thought of the "scarey gay". If you vote for Kerry you are voting for "scarey gay" who will take your children and your marriage and spread disease and bring hell on earth. One of these 11 states was Ohio, which Bush won by a very narrow margin and which decided the election. Analysts agree that the anti-gay ballot measure made the difference. Incidentally I did not vote for Kerry, I'm just citing facts.

And the chairman of the Republican party in 2004 was Ken Mehlman. He said not one word.

That's why GLBT folks are now saying for him just to say he feels fine is insufficient. We're all glad he's out. 43 years in the closet is his personal tragedy. But his actions made life that much harder for other gays. And he is right now demonizing Muslims in the same way gays (Blacks, immigrants...) were demonized. Even using the same ad agencies.

The party he is asking GLBT people to support is officially on record opposing any civil partnerships, adoption, anti-discrimination law, ending Don't Ask Don't Tell. He has not publicly asked either his party or any of its individual candidates to change their position. So he can feel fine but what about the rest of us?

 

[mook]

There isn't one instance in the Bible of homosexuality, sexual immorality, "unnatural relations", "indecents acts of perversion", etc. that is not labeled a sin. Not one.

Whuh? How about banging your own daughters?

29And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
30And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
37And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19&version=KJV

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

Whuh? How about banging your own daughters?


http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19&version=KJV

Where exactly in that passage does it say that Lot did NOT sin?