Gay Vietnam Vet Makes Romney Look Like an Ass

It seems that gay rights issues continue to plague the clown car crowd a/k/a the GOP slate of would be presidential nominees. And while bashing gays may play to the Christianist/Tea Party base of the Republican Party (I combine the two groups because data shows an almost 85% overlap between the Christian Right and the Tea Party), I suspect that it is probably alienating moderate and independent voters. CNN has an article that looks at the missteps of various GOP candidates. However, as Andrew Sullivan noted on a quote on his blog, Romney definitely has proven so far to be the most heartless, inept and insensitive when confronted with living, breathing LGBT citizens(see the video above). First this via Andrew's blog:

What is striking is how Romney, despite picking up—sooner than some of his rivals might have—what Garon thought of the issue, completely fails to turn this into any sort of a human moment. You are a politician; here is an old man, sitting next to you in a diner, who, one way or the other, has had a complicated life. There was no strand Romney could seek out and hang on to? Ask what years he fought in the war, express some sense of respect or internal struggle—anything.

[A]sking people to die for this country, while denying them the full rights accorded other citizens is an ancient and disreputable tradition.

As noted above, I'm sure the GOP debate crowd that booed a gay soldier deployed in the Middle East will find little offense with Romney's glaring callousness. But what about everyone else? The GOP is pandering to a diminishing audience that is literally dying off. Is anyone in the GOP looking toward the longer term future? Now, back to CNN's run down of gay related debacles by the boot licking whores in the GOP:

It's becoming an increasingly routine scene on the campaign trail: A Republican presidential candidate being confronted over his or her position on gay rights.

On Monday, Mitt Romney was stumping at a diner when he unknowingly approached a gay New Hampshire resident dining with his partner. The man asked Romney if he would support the repeal of state laws allowing same-sex marriage; Romney responded that marriage should be between a man and a woman. When Romney's spokesman tried to cut the conversation short, the man said mockingly, "Ohhh, I guess the question was too hot."

On Sunday, Rick Perry was speaking at a coffee house in Iowa when an audience member screamed, "Why do you hate gay people so much?" He was also asked why he is "demonizing gay and lesbian people" and pressed on gays serving openly in the military.

Last week, an eight-year-old boy approached Michele Bachmann at a book signing and, after prodding, said, "Ms. Bachmann - my mommy's gay but she doesn't need any fixing." Bachmann later called it "reprehensible" that the mother encouraged the child to make the comment. (It was the second time Bachmann had been challenged in recent weeks: She was also questioned by a high school student in Waverly, Iowa, who asked what she would do to support the LGBT community and pressed her on marriage rights for same-sex couples.)

Also last week, Rick Santorum got into a heated discussion with a student at Dordt College - a Christian college in Iowa - who linked gay marriage rights to interracial marriage rights. An agitated Santorum asked the student why he didn't understand that same-sex marriage would "be a hit to faith and family in America."

The phenomenon of Republican candidates being confronted about gay rights is not new, though it seems to have increased in recent weeks. Bachmann, in particular, has been a target of gay rights advocates: . . . . . .

Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of gay Republican group GOProud, said he isn't surprised to see the candidates be confronted over gay rights issues. "I don't think it's surprising because more and more gay people are coming out and living their lives openly and honestly, and so we look at - everyone knows gay people in their lives, and they're considering how issues effect the lives of all Americans, including gay Americans," he said.

Republicans are not the only candidates to be confronted over their stance on gay rights. President Obama has repeatedly been challenged on both the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (before it was repealed) and on his opposition to gay marriage, which he has said is "evolving." At a June fundraiser in New York, one attendee interrupted the president and yelled out for him to address same-sex marriage, while outside the event a small group of protesters insisted, "It's time to evolve."

Bigotry is bigotry no matter how one tries to put lipstick on the pig (or wrap it in "deeply held religious beliefs). As more LGBT Americans are living out and proud, anti-gay stereotypes are being exposed as false and gays are seen as real, normal individuals. The phenomenon of what's happening to the GOP's political whores underscores the power of being out, proud, and unapologetic for how one was born.