This Exists: Political Candidate Outed As…Straight?
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before – a candidate for political office fakes being bisexual to please voters, but their opponent in the race attempts to out them as being straight in order to sabotage their campaign. Oh, what’s that? You haven’t heard of anything like that? Well, clearly you haven’t been paying attention to the race for the 182nd district seat in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives.
Because that’s exactly what happened when longtime Rep. Babette Josephs said of her opponent, 29-year-old (and looks even younger than that) Gregg Kravitz (pictured), “I outed him as a straight person.” She also caustically criticized him for supposedly using the phrase “I swing both ways” to describe his sexual orientation: “That’s quite a respectful way to talk about sexuality.” The issue is so highly politicized because the 182nd district, located in Philadelphia, is noted for the influence of LGBT voters there.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Josephs said Kravitz first claimed to be gay, but later met her with a girlfriend in tow. Of course, if Kravitz only claimed to be bisexual, a girlfriend would hardly be damning evidence of an elaborate lie. For his part, Kravitz told Talking Points Memo that he’s had “‘intimate relationships’ with both men and women.” The TPM interview isn’t the only political mileage Kravitz has gotten out of Josephs’ unusual accusations: Newsweek’s media and politics blog The Gaggle covered the story, and Kravitz tweeted out additional publicity the issue received from The Advocate and Politico.
And how does the LGBT community feel about this? Well, they’re pretty happy. Explains Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal, “We’ve hit a new high point when candidates are accused of pretending to be gay to win a seat.” And those accusations may help Kravitz win: Josephs doesn’t seem interested in pursuing the sexual orientation angle further, telling TPM she “[doesn’t] even care” about the issue anymore – a sure sign it’s not working in her favor. Josephs is notoriously outspoken, also saying of Kravitz:
“He’s a trust-fund baby, he has as much money as needs; he does not have a job, he’s 29 years old, he’s never had a job; and so 24/7, he is out there talking to my friends, my supporters, my constituents, and saying, ‘She’s entrenched. She’s part of the problem.’ And I’ve been told he’s even said, ‘She’s old.'”
Her feistiness, while terrific for blogging purposes, hasn’t done her any favors here. Even if she retains her seat, the real star of this whole mess is Kravitz, who rose from total obscurity to starring role in one of the more unique political stories in recent years. When even French Canada is blogging about a state House of Representatives race, it’s clear they’ve hit a nerve, and it appears Kravitz knows just how to capitalize.
