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I Ain’t Gay: Lindsey Graham Apologizes To Suicidal Gays For Not Being Gay

by Tommy Christopher | 1:56 pm, July 2nd, 2010

» 14 comments

It seems like political sexual attacks are the order of the day. On the heels of Kathleen Parker’s asinine assault on President Obama‘s “manhood” (deliciously deconstructed in a must-read post by Rachel Sklar) and in the context of a debate over the “womanhood” of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, Sen. Lindsey Graham has dropped a hilarious response to those on the right who have accused him of being blackmailed over his supposed secret gayness.

Buried in a lenghty New York Times Magazine profile of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is this gem of a quote, over politically motivated speculation that the bachelor lawmaker is gay:

“Like maybe I’m having a clandestine affair with Ricky Martin,” he said. “I know it’s really gonna upset a lot of gay men — I’m sure hundreds of ’em are gonna be jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge — but I ain’t available. I ain’t gay. Sorry.”

That’s okay, Lindsey, I’m sure the fact that you don’t have Ricky Martin locked down will balance out some of the disappointment. Some.

While Graham’s response is pretty damn funny, the accusation behind it is anything but. The reduction of our political discourse to cries of “Sissy!” and “Dyke!” is indicative of a dearth of real ideas or solutions which Graham illustrates nicely, elsewhere in the piece:

On four occasions, Graham met with Tea Party groups. The first, in his Senate office, was “very, very contentious,” he recalled. During a later meeting, in Charleston, Graham said he challenged them: “ ‘What do you want to do? You take back your country — and do what with it?’ . . . Everybody went from being kind of hostile to just dead silent.”

More importantly, it is harmful to our growth into a tolerant, civil society. Just as Parker’s idea of manhood is a poor goalpost for young men, and her acceptance of the premise that womanhood equals weakness, the idea that gayness is a blackmailable stain contributes to an environment where people, especially young people, are bullied for being themselves.

On that count, Graham himself is of little help. He’s a strong opponent of gay marriage, having supported a Constitutional ban, and voted in favor of banning gay adoptions in DC.

The balance of the Times piece talks about how Graham has been re-cast as the new John McCain, someone who is relatively open to compromise with the White House. That’s a pretty low bar, but it also puts me in mind of the recent reversal of Gen. David Petraeus’ fortunes on the left. Once pilloried as “General Betray Us,” there has been little outcry now that he’s President Obama’s guy. What a difference a year makes.

Elena Kagan, Immigration Reform, Lindsey Graham, Lindsey Graham Homosexual, Rachel Sklar, Ricky Martin, William Sheen

valkyrie101

Petraeus may have been villified by some on the left but that opinion has not been shared by most progressives. Don’t forget, many progressives voted in favor of Bush’s request for a war resolution.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kevin-Zimmerman/10028160 Kevin Zimmerman

What I don’t see people caring much about is his nonchalant mocking of suicide, specifically off of the Golden Gate Bridge (the most used suicide locale in the world) and presumably connecting that to a high rate of suicide among gays. This kind of “gaffe’ if you want to go there is akin to “joking” about a black person hanging himself from a tree or a Jew putting her head in an oven, they’re just not laughing matters that you can throw out left and right.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

@Kevin Zimmerman What I don’t see people caring about is the fact that everything we say now is a perceived slight by one victim group or another.
valkyrie101

I agree with you this time, Chris. It is darn right stupid to complain about what Graham said. Clearly an acceptable figure of speech.
redleaf

Only conservatives care if somebody is gay.
Liberals couldn’t give a crap less.
me1ranger

redleaf said:
Only conservatives care if somebody is gay.Liberals couldn’t give a crap less.

Remember Mark Foley and Larry Craig? Of course you don’t..hypocrite.
And Tommy..only womanhood in a man is percieved as weakness. Having said that, I can’t stand bullies.
valkyrie101

me1ranger said:
Remember Mark Foley and Larry Craig? Of course you don’t..hypocrite.And Tommy..only womanhood in a man is percieved as weakness. Having said that, I can’t stand bullies.

Actually you got that wrong, me1ranger. Foley and Craig were themselves hypocrites, pretending to be one thing but living a secret life in political opposition to that. That is why the dems went after them. The fact is, democrats are pretty cool with gays, and the rights of gays, but the conservatives are not. Correct?
ImNotBlue

On the heels of Kathleen Parker’s asinine assault on President Obama’s “manhood”…

Tommy… didn’t MoDo write something similar? Did you complain then too?
TFitz

Seems like the Republicans are by far the Gayer of the two parties. Not that there is anything at all wrong with that, mind you. I’m just saying.

Conservatism has always attracted the fetishist element. Heck, Goebbels was gay and he’s evidently running Meg Whitmans campaign for gov of CA.
Hi Tommy!
http://none pyrope

Goebbels was NOT a conservative.

It does not matter to me whether Lindsay Graham is a homosexual, he’s a RINO, and that’s quite enough for me to dislike him.
jrcmi

“Goebbels was NOT a conservative.”

He was a fascist – which cuts a little too close to modern neoconservatism.

“It does not matter to me whether Lindsay Graham is a homosexual, he’s a RINO”

Translation: He only votes the conservative party line 99% of the time.
http://richardh-g.blogspot.com/ Richardhg

Oh, Graham is the definition of the gay guy who is so ugly, he has to go out with girls. His comments actually underline self-hatred, an anger at where he wants to be, but fears to go.

And he is part of the Evil Empire anyway. The vast criminal conspiracy against the American people that the three branches of Government have become. It seems that the denial of civil rights, and the abuse of the people, is a pattern that the three branches of Government are unable to break.

Contempt was Hitler’s primary tool. It allowed him to mass murder social groups of his choosing. It has become the new tool of the Religious Wrong in their global Christian jihad.

I just laugh. It is just a play. I expect nothing more from the three branches of US Government, clutching to each other, riding on the heads of the people they are flushing down the drain.
Steamboater

Wen a republican says he’s not gay, he ususlly is.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Mackin/1104811771 Jim Mackin

I don’t give a damn if he’s gay or not. What upsets me is that he has bought into the “global warming-climate control hoax. I’d be glad to vote for a gay who takes positions on the issues i support.