Thelma Drake Concedes to Glenn Nye

With all the last of the absentee ballots counted, GOP Congresswoman Thelma Drake has finally conceded to Democrat Glenn Nye. Thelma, who I have known for years, voted in lock step with the Chimperator more than 90% of the time and was less than gay friendly. I suspect, that with her district's heavy military population, she thought she's see no bad consequences from voting a far right agenda. In contrast, Glenn - who I have likewise met - will offer the 2nd District's residents a much more open minded and rational approach to the issues facing the country and region. Moreover, he is gay friendly and will be attending tomorrow night's gala event honoring a local pioneer in the LGBT community. Thelma in contrast would NEVER have set foot inside the door of a LGBT organization event. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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Rep. Thelma Drake late Thursday night conceded the election for the 2nd Congressional District to political newcomer Glenn Nye after a bitterly fought race.

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The Nye victory delivers the district to Democrats for the first time since 2000, and he heads to Washington as part of the growing Democratic majority on Capitol Hill. The 34-year-old former foreign service officer ran a campaign stressing the need for bipartisan cooperation in Washington and an exit strategy for the war in Iraq.

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The absentee ballots were about double the normal total received by the registrar’s office. They included 10,115 mailed absentee ballots and 16,663 that were cast in person.

Glenn Nye for Congress

While I no longer live in the 2nd Virginia Congressional District, I have actively promoted Glenn Nye several times on this blog and attended fund raising events for him. Somewhat surprisingly, the Virginian Pilot has endorsed Glenn rather than incumbent Congresswoman, Thelma Drake who received the Pilot's endorsement two years ago. Not only is Glenn right on the issues that impact gay rights, he will also be a breath of fresh air compared to Thelma Drake who has typically voted in lock step with the Chimperator's policies. I know Thelma personally, but sadly I agree that both Congress and the 2nd District need Glenn to help clean up the mess from 8 years of Republican misrule - misrule which Thelma assisted. Here are highlights from the Pilot endorsement editorial:

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Two years ago, this page endorsed U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake's re-election, citing her "superior command on all the issues and her advocacy for her constituents, especially the military and veterans." Things have changed.

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Her opponent in 2008 is Glenn Nye, a Norfolk native of considerable promise, with a deep understanding of foreign policy, clear differences with his opponent and the poise to express them. Since 2006's Democratic takeover on Capitol Hill, Drake has been a member of a dwindling and increasingly rigid minority in Congress, and not a particularly effective one at that. It has led her into some curious decisions, including on the most important vote on veterans benefits in a generation.

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[A]ny hopes that the congresswoman might shift toward the moderate middle have been dashed by a continued adherence to the notion that party loyalty is more important than solving problems. Now she is arguing on the stump that she is a bipartisan legislator, even putting together a list of votes where she and Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama have aligned. But Drake's conversion, if that's what it is, runs counter to both her career and history. Instead, she has her feet firmly in the furthest reaches of the Republican Party's right wing.

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On many issues, Drake is among the most doctrinaire conservatives in Congress, according to multiple measures from multiple sources. She is also among the least powerful, according to congress.org and Roll Call, Capitol Hill's newspaper. . . . Back at home, Drake has run an especially distasteful campaign, based almost entirely on throwing spurious personal attacks at her opponent.

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In the campaign, Drake has been scrambling back to the middle where the electorate lives. Hers has been an unconvincing journey, particularly when so many of her political moves have been measured and dictated by the White House, even as it rode the nation into a ditch. For four years now, the congresswoman's hand was on the wheel, as surely as the president's, and she must be held accountable. After so many consistently wrong turns over so many years, it's unrealistic to expect Drake will help steer us out. In this election, quite simply, Nye's potential is a better bet than Drake's performance.

John McCain's Baldfaced Lie

Barack Obama was in Norfolk this morning and spoke at Granby High School a few miles from my house. One of the issues that came up was the lie being spread by the McSenile/Palin campaign that Obama had referred to Palin as a pig. The truth is Obama never called Palin a pig - although I'd be happy to call her things far worse - and now local Congresswoman, Thelma Drake is jumping on the band wagon. Of course Thelma is terrified that she may lose her re-election contest against Glenn Nye and apparently is willing to lie as well to try to remain in power. Worse yet, Thelma Drake is is one of the 19 national members of the “Palin Truth Squad.” Sara Palin and the truth, now there's an oxymoron from everything we've seen to date. Shame on you Thelma!!

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Andrew Sullivan has a good analysis of this manufactured lie based controversy. With each passing day, McCain is proving himself ever more unworthy to be president. Here's Andrew's thoughts: The full context of Barack Obama's quote is as follows:

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“John McCain says he’s about change, too — except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics. That’s just calling the same thing something different.”

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With a laugh, he added: “You can put lipstick on a pig; it’s still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change; it’s still going to stink after eight years.”

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We are being asked to believe that he called Sarah Palin a pig. If the people making that accusation have half a brain they know it's not true. This is not a question of interpretation. It is a fact. So we now find out again that John McCain is prepared to tell an absolute lie - in public, verifiable, uncontestable. He does not have the minimal public integrity to be president of the United States.

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This claim is absurd on its face, like the Palin nomination to begin with. Absurd. And you can now tell who on the right has even a scintilla of intellectual honesty. That's all this episode is about: another tail-spin in the death throes of the Republican party.

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My only advice to Obama: stay calm; stay cool; focus on the issues; behave like the president you want to be. They are trying to get into your head. But you are so much smarter and more decent than they are.

Congressional Republicans at Risk in Northeast

I have long believed that only crushing electoral defeats will bring change to the Republican Party and, hopefully, lead to the Christianists being thrown under the bus where they so rightly belong. Moreover, the GOP members of Congress need to be severely punished for the blind rubber stamp approval they have given to the Chimperator and Emperor Cheney. The damage to the country has been severe and so should be their electoral punishment. Fortunately, things are not looking good for the GOP and I find it heartening that even in Virginia's 2nd District the incumbent GOP Congresswoman is engaged in a very competitive race where the Democrats have a serious chance of winning in November. Like too many in the GOP, Thelma Drake has generally voted in lock step with the Chimperator. Here are some highlights from the New York Times:

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WASHINGTON — Across the increasingly Democratic Northeast, Republicans are in danger of losing half a dozen or more Congressional seats in November, as even districts once considered safe have become vulnerable to well-financed Democrats, according to political analysts and members of both parties.

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The Republican Party’s challenges in the nine-state Northeast region are a reflection of what the party faces across the country as it is being forced to defend dozens of Congressional seats that are now considered competitive at a time when the party has limited financial resources, political analysts said.

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Meanwhile, all but 2 of the 11 Congressional Democrats who won office in 2006 in the Northeast appear headed into the general election campaign in a strong position, the analysts said. . . . As a result, Democrats are in a strong position to expand their dominance in the Northeast region, where they already hold 60 of the 81 Congressional seats and hope to improve their numbers even further by aggressively contesting Republicans for eight more seats. In the midterm elections of 2006, Democrats picked up 11 seats in the region.

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Democrats are also being helped by a growing concern among voters about the state of the economy and continuing doubts about the war in Iraq, strategists say. Democrats are also doing very well in their fund-raising efforts. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has $54.6 million on hand, compared with $8.4 million raised by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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[T]he challenge that Republicans face nationally is especially large in the Northeast because that is where polls show President Bush to be the most unpopular. . . He said a stark sign of how hard the situation is for Republicans was on Staten Island, where several prominent Republicans declined to run for the seat vacated by Mr. Fossella, which had long been considered a virtual lock for Republicans.

Glenn Nye 24-Hour Fundraiser -2nd Congressional District

I have posted several times about Glenn Nye who is the Democrat candidate for the Virginia 2nd Congressional District who is challenging the incumbent, GOP Congresswoman, Thelma Drake. Now, there is a 24 hour online fundraiser at DailyKos. I'd really like you to join in and help Glenn out if you can. He is a great guy, on the right side of LGBT issues, and has personal on the ground experience having been stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Better yet, Glenn will not vote in lock step with the Chimperator/McCain regime as has sadly been the case with Thelma Drake. I have known Thelma personally for years and think she a great person. Unfortunately, she is wrong on the issues and this nation desperately needs a change in direction. Glenn Nye will help bring about that change whereas a vote for Thelma will unfortunately be a vote for more of the same failed policies and thinking. Here's how you can help Glenn:

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Here's how:

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1. Make a Contribution! That's the best way!
2. Go to the Fundraiser...and get all your friends to go to by emailing them this link: http://www.dailykos.com/tag/Glenn Nye

3. Once you're there...share your views about why we need a change in Washington and why Glenn would be great in Congress!

4. Tell all your friends.

Group Protests Karl Rove Virginia Beach Appearance

I mentioned the other day that GOP Congresswoam Thelma Drake in what appears to be desperation since her Democrat challenger is doing well with fundraising, had a fundraising event of her own today with guest speaker Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove (I have other names for him, but will refrain from profanity). As promised, protesters picketed outside of the Drake event, garnering media coverage that I suspect will only serve to remind voters of Thelma's slavish support of the Chimperator who is unpopular even among many in the local military. In my opinion, Rove is one of the nastiest, sleaziest and disgusting figure in politics today and I have to wonder what was Thelma thinking? Here are a few quotes from the Virginian Pilot:

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The protesters outside Ruth’s Chris Steak House, where the fundraiser is being held, are carrying signs and chanting “Arrest Karl Rove” and “Shame on Thelma Drake.” The protest started about 11:30 a.m. Democrats earlier called on Drake to cancel her sold-out fundraiser with Rove because the former White House adviser defied a congressional subpoena last week.

Thelma Drake with Special Guest Karl Rove

UPDATE: Apparently Thelma and Karl will have some company on Friday. I received this blast e-mail via a Democrat site:

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Mock Trial of Karl Rove to be held at Virginia Beach Town Center FountainFriday, July 18, 2008 11:30 a.m. Mock Trial of Karl Rove to be held at Virginia Beach Town Center FountainFriday, July 18, 200811:30 a.m. Local concerned citizens are staging a mock trial of Karl Rove in front ofRuth's Chris Restaurant where he will be hosting a fundraiser forCongresswoman Thelma Drake. We are inviting all local press to coverour fun event. All are invited to participate or be an observer. Bring signs if you'd like.

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As I have indicated on a number of occasions, I have known GOP Congresswoman Thelma Drake for over a decade and while I have I have often not agreed with her political positions, I have always respected her as a person. Particularly, since of all the elected GOP officials in Virginia Beach - including current Virginia Attorney General Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell - Thelma was the only one who apologized for the mistreatment I received when I warned all of them roughly 8 months before he was outed by Mike Rogers that Congressman Ed Schrock was a closet case and that he would ended up being outed due the the GOP anti-gay jihad. However, now I HAVE to condemn her for having a fundraiser on Friday, July 18, 2008, at the Ruth's Chris in Virginia Beach with KARL ROVE as the guest of honor. Save for the Chimperator and Emperor Palpatine Cheney, I can think of few more disgusting and amoral figures than Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove. The man will say and do anything no matter how low and harm anyone in his thirst for power. As I said, in my opinion, the man is truly amoral and hopefully will be found guilty for contempt of Congress and incarcerated. Here's what Thelma's campaign website is saying:
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11:15 a.m. Roundtable discussion & Photo-Op with Karl Rove 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. Luncheon. Karl Rove remarks followed by Q & A Please make reservation by faxing this form to 757-491-7143 or call 757-491-7141 or mail this form with your personal check made out to: “Thelma Drake for Congress” and mail to Thelma Drake for Congress, P.O. Box 61480, Virginia Beach, VA 23466.

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Honestly, I don't know what the Hell Thelma was thinking. Not surprisingly, the Democrat Party of Virginia has seized on this decision to launch a fundraising campaign seeking contributions for Thelma's Democrat challenger, Glenn Nye. I do not know who is advising Thelma, but to me, this was an incredibly stupid decision which only serves to underscore her blind lockstep voting record of supporting the Chimprerator and his ill conceived policies almost 100% of the time. Fortunately, Thelma had the sense to override the Chimperator's veto of the Medicare Bill today. Nonetheless, that does not excuse her for being seen with Rove this Friday.

Red to Blue Race - Glenn Nye for Congress

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting support for Democratic candidates seen as having a very strong chance of defeating incumbent Republicans in its "Red to Blue" program. Locally, Glenn Nye's race against Virginia 2nd District GOP Congresswoman, Thelma Drake, has been added to the Red to Blue program. Having met Glenn several times now and in light of Thelma Drake's unfortunate lock step voting with the Chimperator (she voted against Jim Webb's GI Bill amendments), it is obvious that not only the 2nd Congressional District, but the nation as a whole, will benefit if Glenn is elected to Congress to bring new, right thinking leadership to Congress. While I consider Thelma Drake a friend, the time has come to elect someone else who will lead the country in a new direction and who will support equality for all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation.

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Information about Glenn can be found here and contributions through the Red to Blue program can be made here. Please help support Glenn's campaign.

Glenn Nye for Congress

This evening I attended a fundraiser for Gleen Nye, the Democrat Challenger for the 2nd District of Virginia seat currently held by Republican Congresswoman Thelma Drake. While (1) I do not live in the 2nd District and (2) Thelma Drake is a personal friend of mine, I nonetheless hope Glenn Nye wins in November because Thelma has sadly been largely a rubber stamp for all of the Chimperator's failed policies ranging from Iraq to the opposition of gay rights. Glenn is young, has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, is supportive of gay rights (he has attended both HRBOR and Equality Virginia events), and is very articulate and smart (I spoke with him at some length tonight). As an added bonus he is pretty easy on the eyes as well.

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Glenn truly understands the need for a dramatic change from the failed policies of the Chimperator which Thelma Drake has blindly rubber stamped. Glenn's campaign web site is found here. We need more members of Congress who know the reality on the ground overseas as opposed to staged visits and who offer up little more than planned sound bites on information they know nothing about first hand. I hope that readers will check out his campaign web page and better yey donate to his campaign. Here are a few highlights about Glenn:

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Glenn returned home to Hampton Roads from Iraq, where he advised a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program, working closely with military colleagues to stabilize Iraqi neighborhoods by creating employment for over 70,000 Iraqis.

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He began his foreign service career focusing on economic development in war-torn Eastern Europe, while working for the U.S. Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Glenn later joined the U.S. State Department, receiving training in the Albanian language and serving initially in Macedonia and Kosovo. In 2001 he received the State Department's Superior Honor Award for organizing the rescue of American citizens caught behind insurgent lines during a civil conflict in Macedonia and for securing the release of an American citizen held hostage by insurgents.

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Glenn was then posted to the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, where he helped protect U.S. intellectual property rights during the negotiation of the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. From there he volunteered to go to Afghanistan, spending almost a year as part of a U.S. government sponsored team managing the historic Afghan Constitutional Convention and supporting the country's first Presidential election.

Success of Jim Webb’s GI Bill Has GOP Foes Looking for Cover

One of those GOP members of Congress who is running for cover is Virginia 2nd District Congresswoman, Thelam Drake. I know Thelma personally and find her to be a wonderful person. Moreover, of the Virginia Beach delegation that I warned about Ed Schrock's "problem" some eight months before he was outed by Mike Rogers, Thelma is the only one that has ever apologized for not listening to me and for treating me harsh. Virginia Attorney General "Taliban Bob" Robert McDonnell (who wants to be Governor) acts if he never knew about Schrock's Mega Phone ads and/or that he just quietly sat on the information. Politically, however, my path and Thelma's diverged some years back and not just because of the Schrock matter. Sadly, she has voted in lock step with the Chimperator far, far too often and her failure to support Jim Webb's bill is a case in point. In terms of gay rights, she's been no friend whatsoever - in part, no doubt since she has bat sh*t crazy Pat Robertson as one of her constituents. Nonetheless, I suspect that her challenger, Glenn Nye, will wrap this vote around Thelma's neck very tightly. It's one thing to say you support the troops, it's another thing to actual vote to support the troops through programs like what Jim Webb is pushing. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot on Thelma's search for cover:

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Just how hot an issue is the GI Bill this election year? Consider this: Hours after the Senate gave a rousing bipartisan endorsement Thursday to Virginia Sen. Jim Webb’s proposal to dramatically expand college aid to veterans, scores of House Republicans who’d voted against it a week earlier scrambled for political cover.

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Veterans’ issues are particularly sensitive for Drake, whose Hampton Roads district is home to nearly 100,000 veterans and who is the only local member of Congress to face a serious challenge this year. She co-sponsored Webb’s bill in the House and spent much of last week trying to explain her initial vote against it. On Monday, Drake told reporters that her vote was influenced by Bush’s veto threat. On Wednesday, she said that her real objection was to domestic spending items that had been added to what was supposed to be a bill funding military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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“She’s got to come up with a better explanation,” said Quentin Kidd, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. In a veteran-heavy district, the initial vote “is potentially very troubling for her.” Kidd said that because Webb, a fellow Virginian, is leading the GI bill fight and his plan has the backing of Virginia’s other senator, Republican John Warner, “I think a lot of people in uniform wonder” about Drake’s position.

Glenn Nye Announces Run for Congress Against Thelma Drake

I have known GOP Congresswoman, Thelma Drake for many years and served with her on the GOP City Committee for Virginia Beach for a number od years. I will further admit – as I have mentioned before – that she is the ONLY elected GOP politician who had the grace and decency to apologize to me after I was treated exceedingly shabbily by virtually all of the GOP elected officials that I warned about former Congressman Ed Schrock and the rumors of his advertising for gay sex on a local a local sex phone service. Likewise, to my knowledge she never dragged my name through the mud like others in the GOP did after I came out of the closet. For that I respect her and thank her.

Nevertheless, as much as I like and respect Thelma as a person, many of her policy positions blindly follow those of the Chimperator, particularly on Iraq. Thus it will be interesting to see what happens now that Virginia Democrat Glenn Nye, a former Foreign Service officer who has worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced that he will run for the Congressional seat currently held by Drake. Since I live in a different Congressional district, I will only be an observer in this political race.

Nye is touting his background in international affairs in his contest against Republican Rep. Thelma Drake , who is in her second term representing the state's 2nd District, which takes in Virginia Beach, portions of Norfolk and surrounding territory, including Virginia's Eastern Shore. Thelma was narrowly re-elected in 2006, and might have lost had she faced a more disciplined opponent. Word on the street is that Nye could give her a competitive race this year - he has actually served in Baghdad . I have yet to find out Nye’s position on gay rights issues, but I suspect that it will have to be friendlier than Thelma Drake’s unless she breaks ranks with the Chimperator. Glenn Nye’s website can be found here: http://www.glennnye.com/home/

Nye grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He recently returned home to Hampton Roads from Iraq, where he advised a USAID program, working closely with military colleagues to stabilize Iraqi neighborhoods by creating employment for over 70,000 Iraqis. In 2001, Nye received the State Department's Superior Honor Award for organizing the rescue of American citizens caught behind insurgent lines in Macedonia.

Are Homophobes Actually Latent Gays??

Direct Democracy asks a very pertinent question(http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/1/25/123018/740): why doesn't the MSM do more to look at the the large number of closeted Republicans who try to hide their homosexual desires by viciously attacking gays via anti-gay legislation? That is to say, why aren't latent homosexuals exposed more by the media? Here's the precise question:

Why is it that more people (members of the media, bloggers, talk show hosts, people I overhear chatting on the subway) aren't talking about the plain fact that, in a conservative movement and a Republican Party in which anything other than Leave It to Beaver-style heterosexuality and family structures are frowned upon, to say the least, there is a very significant chunk of members who are gay? Really gay. Totally gay. And doing everything they can to hide it. And that the more vocally anti-gay one is, the more likely, it appears, that person is conflicted about their own sexual orientation?

To back up the point, Direct Democracy cites(1) the case of former Congressman Ed Schrock, who I knew for nearly 10 years during my GOP days, and (2) the concept of "latent homosexuality." Here's the comments on Schrock:

This brings us to the ironic tale of former Congressman Ed Schrock. Schrock was a conservative legislator for Virginia, and was especially conservative on the gays. He co-sponsored an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage; and, this Navy veteran firmly, oh so firmly, believed that the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy regarding "homosexual conduct" in the military should have been replaced by an outright ban on gay people from serving in the military. This guy was very anti-gay. Ipso facto, he must have been very heterosexual. Heck, he must have been the heterosexualest! Then why was it that Schrock, amid his second term in Congress in 2004, all of a sudden announced that he was dropping his effort to seek re-election to a third term? It probably had a lot to do with Schrock's very explicit audio-profile on a gay sex personals website. Schrock's veneer of . . . an umblemished record of staunch heterosexuality was mortally compromised.

Before his exposure as a hypocrite and his subsequent political downfall, I spoke with Schrock personally by telephone and e-mailed others in the Virginia Beach Republican Party [including current Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell - who I would note is in many ways as extreme toward gays as Schrock was] and challenged the down right excessive anti-gay efforts of Schrock and others in the local party. I warned them that the continued anti-gay hysteria was going to bear some unwanted results to Schrock because members of the local gay community had just about had enough of the gay bashing and sooner or later someone was going to talk and secrets would be revealed. My comments were blown off - in some cases with extremely nasty statements directed toward me - and, of course, the rest is history and I was proven right (only Thelam Drake, the Republican who succeeded Schrock has ever had the class to apologize to me).

As for the correlation between homophobia and latent homosexuality, there actually is research that supports the theory:

A theory that homophobia is a result of latent homosexuality was put forth in the late 20th century. A 1996 study conducted at the University of Georgia by Henry Adams, Lester Wright Jr., and Bethany Lohr indicates that a number of "homophobic" males exhibit latent homosexuality. The research was done on 64 heterosexual men, 35 of whom exhibited "homophobic" traits and 29 who did not. Three tests were conducted using penile plethysmography. While there was no difference in response when the men were exposed to heterosexual and lesbian pornography, there was a major difference in response when the men were exposed to male homosexual pornography.

The researchers reported that 24% of the non-"homophobic" men showed some degree of tumescence [i.e., errection] in response to the male homosexual video, compared to 54% of the subjects who scored high on the "homophobia scale". In addition, 66% of the nonhomophobic group showed no significant increases in tumescence after this video, but only 20% of the "homophobic" men failed to display any arousal. Additionally, when the participants rated their degree of sexual arousal later, the "homophobic" men significantly underestimated their degree of arousal by the male homosexual video.

This situation surely makes sense in the case of major league homophobes like Robert Knight, formerly with Concerned Women for America, and Peter LaBarbera who are both irrationally hysterical over gays and gay rights - hysterical to a point that something more than mere religious belief would seem to be at play. From e-mail exchanges with Knight in particular, I sense he is an extreme case of a closeted, self-loathing gay. Oh sure, he will cite his happy marriage, etc., which, as my own life has shown, means absolutely nothing.

Just imagine how being immediately considered a closet case would perhaps lessen the outspokenness and anti-gay efforts of our most vocal enemies. :)

Ed Schrock - Three Years later

On this day in 2004, activist Michael Rogers outed anti-gay conservative Congressman Ed Schrock (R-VA) on his website Blogactive.com. The most damning claim is served up August 30, with his proof available for all to download, Schrock's voice message to a local gay dating phone line -- proof corroborated by two Hill staffers who confirm that it's the congressman's voice. Schrock dropped out of his reelection campaign two weeks after the first allegations are made. By all reports, he no longer lives in this area and has largely dropped out of sight.

I personally knew Ed Schrock in my GOP days. In many ways, Ed struck me as a decent person. It is sad that he felt so trapped that he resorted to Mega Phone trysts. I guess my gaydar must have sucked at the time because I never got any vibes that Ed was gay. In retrospect, I do recall that his wife always seemed a bit strained and uncomfortable - perhaps she knew Ed's secret and worried that it would ultimately come out.

Once I came out and moved to Norfolk from Virginia Beach, I began to hear rumors about Schrock, but at first did not believe them to be true. I even spoke to Ed about the rumors and suggested that, whether or not the rumors were true, he might be well advised to take a less actively anti-gay stance in his voting record. Afterwards, Schrock's chief of staff subsequently told me to be quiet and basically threatened me. Still later I went further and warned GOP elected officials in the Virginia Beach delegation to the Virginia Legislature that the GOP's continued anti-gay agenda was making Schrock a potential target. All I received was nasty e-mails and/or the silent treatment. Only Congresswoman Thelma Drake has ever had the class to apologize to me in person and again over the phone for her harshness toward me at the time. While I may disagree with some of her political positions, Thelma has shown that on a personal level she is a class act.