Haggard's Latest Accuser Tells All

UPDATED: An audio clip of the Grant Haas interview is available here.

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Last week I wrote about the appearance of Ted Haggard and his wife on Larry King Live and concluded that I felt both of them were being less than honest and were no doubt posturing to keep the option open for Haggard to do a book or other deal in order to turn his fall into a money making opportunity. Some readers called me too harsh while others said they felt sorry for Haggard's inability to admit reality due to his religious indoctrination. Now, Haggard's second accuser, Grant Haas, has gone on the Mike Signorile Show on Sirius 109 and on XM 98and spilled all the dirt. If anything, I believe that perhaps I was too easy of Haggard. It appears that his drug use and sexual kinkiness went far, far beyond discrete gay sex by someone struggling with the damage done by years of religious brainwashing. Pam Spaulding has many of the nasty details and I ask you to judge for yourself. Here are some highlights:

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Haas was asked by Haggard about the young man's sexual preferences in the bedroom -- bondage, toys, groups, bathhouses, top, bottom, versatile, drugs. Ted told Haas that "since I preferred to be in a "top" position that it would be easy to become straight because "an asshole is similar to a vagina." And eventually Ted started ask about oral, anal, rimming, porn, etc. and explained a "party formula" involving taking crystal-meth, poppers, Viagra, renting pornography and jerking off alone or with others. Haggard also told Hass that he knew a lot of people who were into this type of activity and found it very enjoyable.

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After going on and on in detail about same-sex action, Haggard would then back off and tell Haas that he needed to find a good woman to marry. And listen to this: Haggard offered up his daughter as a dating/marriage prospect for Haas! Knowingly offering to guide his own daughter into a relationship with a closeted man!

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New Life Church had this program called 24-7. It was a program for young men (18-23) who were troubled and trying to get their lives together. They memorized scripture and such, but one feature of the program was the boot camp, that involved intense physical work outs, shaving their heads, etc. So all these cut and hot young men were watched closely by Ted and another church member Christopher Beard, who ran the program. Both went to the gym with these young men, and regularly watched them shower and change clothes. Beard told Haas that "he had the best job in the world" watching the guys in the locker room.

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Haas said that Gayle Haggard knew a whole lot more about what kind of kinky gay Ted activity was going on than she publicly admits to. When Haas asked about her knowledge of these things, Ted told him "yes, she's a freak too", they went to sex toy stores and even molded a dildo together (calling it "Ted Two"), and put it into him. Oy! She also knew that he had had prior same-sex encounters while he was pastor at the church.

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It looks to me as if both Ted and Gayle need to come clean and stop playing the role of "saved sinner" and martyred wife, respectively. Their disingenuous behavior will do nothing but harm honest closeted gays and lesbians who are seeking to deal with the religious brainwashing and self-hate that they have had inflicted on them.