Now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Vice President-elect JD Vance were making the rounds on Capitol Hill Wednesday, meeting with Senate Republicans who, understandably, seem to be struggling to suppress their gag reflex when considering Gaetz’s attorney general nomination.
Their meeting with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was (it appears) a particular success for the incoming Trump administration. The longtime Donald Trump defender and South Carolina senator came out of that meeting with a new talking point for his colleagues to latch onto, if they so choose: the allegations against Gaetz are unproven, regardless of what is in the House Ethics Committee’s report.
“I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I have seen this movie before,” Graham, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement following the meeting.
“After years of being investigated by the Department of Justice, no charges were brought against Matt Gaetz. This is something we should all remember,” Graham said. “I would also urge my colleagues to go back to a time-tested process, receive relevant information, and give the nominee a chance to make their case as to why they should be confirmed. This standard — which I have long adhered to — has served the Senate and country well.”
“This process will not be a rubber stamp nor will it be driven by a lynch mob,” he concluded.
Can someone please out this piece of shit motherfucker before he retires?
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
Fuck off with the “outing” fantasies.
Being publicly gay would be an appealing and positive quality for Senator Graham, unlike all of his other qualities.
Threatening LGBTQ people with “outing” is fucked up.
With allies like this…
different-church-lady
Exact same move he pulled to get Kavanaugh through.
Baud
Patty Murray on Blue sky
https://bsky.app/profile/pattymurray.bsky.social/post/3lbeafs2uyk2g
TBone
I thought we weren’t gonna let every utterance steal enough oxygen to set our hair on fire.
different-church-lady
@Baud: Guy who was gifted one of Obama’s SCOTUS nominations says what?
TBone
@Baud: 👍
Patty Murray wiki:
She was Washington’s first female U.S. senator and is the first woman in American history to hold the position of president pro tempore. Murray is also the youngest senator to occupy the office of president pro tempore in more than five decades.[1] As president pro tempore, Murray is third in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
different-church-lady
@TBone: Burning hair is the fuel the internet runs on.
Suzanne
Why do you think that would matter?
The right wing doesn’t have a problem with hypocrisy.
different-church-lady
Government by sex abusers, for sex abusers.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: It’s been used as a strategy in the past: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/mike-rogers-outed-gay-republicans-108368/
satby
I doubt that hiding “the gay” is what’s driving Lindsey. He’s not hiding his gay old self under any baskets. Whatever they’ve got on him, it’s not that.
TBone
@different-church-lady: 😆
bbleh
Dude, he’s about as out as possible, short I suppose of lurid videos, which would make things even worse.
And for the MAGAts — from the MAGAt-in-Chief all the way down to the illiterates — it’s perfectly fine, because he knows his place. He kisses the right asses, he performs the right way at the right time, he’s even a useful (entirely bad-faith) excuse: “why how can you say I’m anti-gay, I support Lindsey Graham, haw haw haw!”
They have no shame, and they don’t understand hypocrisy. FFS their leader is a convicted fraudster and
rapisthas been found repeatedly liable for sexual assault. And yet they rant piously about “illegals.”Graham is on their side, and that’s all that matters; the rest is just performance.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@TBone:
I’m coming around to the notion that making Gaetz the centerpiece of opposition to Trump’s cabinet appointments is a pretty good idea.
Steve LaBonne
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: I would pie a commenter for this kind of homophobia. It’s revolting coming from a front pager.
TBone
@@mistermix.bsky.social: hegseth too.
Geminid
@Suzanne: It would punish Graham. I guess the notion is that if we can’t beat them we can at least punish one of them:
“Pull that gay crab into the bucket!”
SFBayAreaGal
So why doesn’t the Democrats that are on the Ethics Panel release the findings?
KatKapCC
Pray tell, what is that makes you (and all the others who do) think Graham is secretly gay?
Bonus points if nothing you say is based in homophobia, stereotypes, or heteronormative clichéd bullshit!
different-church-lady
@KatKapCC: Also wouldn’t mind an explanation of what fuck all it has to do with anything.
TBone
@KatKapCC:
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/09/lindsey-grahams-10-gayest-moments/
Planetjanet
It would be nice if we could live our own values on this here blog. So maybe we don’t harass someone based on their perceived sexual orientation.
KatKapCC
@TBone: That article is all a bunch of silly garbage. Most of it is other people saying he’s gay, because they seem to think it’s okay to use it as an insult against someone they don’t like.
sab
@Steve LaBonne: Agreed.
sab
@SFBayAreaGal: Can they without their Republican chairman’s approval?
Steve LaBonne
Every Republican in Congress knows what Gaetz is and almost all of them hate his guts. Gaetz is equivalent to Caligula’s horse- a test of how far Senators will allow themselves to be humiliated.
Geminid
@SFBayAreaGal: Maybe because they expect Republican Senators will obtain the report through unofficial channels. I’ll be surprised if they don’t.
balconesfault
So has this been another Garland slow-walk screwup?
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25346389-american-oversight-motion-for-pi-gaetz-fbi-lawsuit
bbleh
@sab: of course. They could read it into the Record, for example. Or just leak it.*
This isn’t a question of what they know or what they COULD do. It’s a question of what they WILL do, and the calculus is VERY different for Dems and Reps.
* I’m assuming it’s already been leaked, but the media have their own calculus.
different-church-lady
@Steve LaBonne:
All of it, Katie.
Steve in the ATL
@different-church-lady: hypocrisy.
Steve in the ATL
@Planetjanet: it’s the hypocrisy, not homophobia. But everyone here knows that already.
cain
@Steve LaBonne: yeah, but everyone wants to kiss the ring because they are afraid of the death threats.
I don’t know why Graham is the way he is, but he’s definitely going down some kind of rabbit hole.
Omnes Omnibus
Hey, why don’t we call him Miss Lindsey as long as we are going down this road?
different-church-lady
@Steve in the ATL: Why does Graham’s orientation have anything to do with Gaetz being a sex pest?
Sister Golden Bear
@Steve LaBonne: Agreed.
different-church-lady
@cain: he smells power, plain and simple.
Planetjanet
@Steve in the ATL: Rule #1: Don’t collaborate with Nazis. We don’t use their tactics for our ends. The homophobia is the active ingredient there that would motivate his fellow Republicans against him.
Sister Golden Bear
@Planetjanet: This.
@mistermix.bsky.social
I’m going to repeat myself for the pearl clutchers.
Members of the gay community have used outing and threats of outing as a strategic way to fight closeted gay opponents (mostly Republicans) in the fights over AIDS and gay marriage.
On AIDS: https://medicalhealthhumanities.com/2018/05/12/outing-and-aids-activism/
On outing (“reporting”) politicians against gay marriage: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/mike-rogers-outed-gay-republicans-108368/
So, if you think I’m wrong that outing/reporting isn’t a strategy to consider, then:
Don’t call names, make an argument. Tell me why Lindsey deserves to be sheltered when he shelters a sex predator.
And if you want to call me “homophobic” go right ahead. I have almost 20 years of posting here and you can read it all in the archives. Find my homophobia.
different-church-lady
Oh dear…
Planetjanet
Keep digging that hole…
Steve LaBonne
@@mistermix.bsky.social: At least I can pie your comments.
KatKapCC
@@mistermix.bsky.social: So because some members of the community support this, you feel free to ignore members who don’t? Because some of us disagreeing with this very post are members of the queer community who do not support it. But because our views don’t align with yours, you have no compunction about dismissing them outright. Rather than listening to actual queer people right here with you on this blog, you’re plugging your ears and rereading posts from some other random people who tell you that you don’t have to do anything differently even though it’s offensive to some. Got it.
“Find my homophobia.” I mean, telling queer people in this thread to basically bite you kinda counts, I think.
Motivated Seller
So cutting down a prominent republican senator for the fault of being gay would somehow end up good for gay people??? Is this really what you meant by Democratic allies need to be more willing to “get their hands dirty”? Not sure that really pencils out.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
Is it just me, or is the movie that Graham has seen before Clear and Present Danger?
@mistermix.bsky.social
@KatKapCC:
I appreciate the comment.
If I came off as telling queer people to bite me, that wasn’t my intention.
Lindsey Graham, part of a party that has resurrected the grooming libel against the gay community, is a giant hypocrite and IMO outing him wouldn’t be the worst moral offense against the man. I don’t consider that homophobic. And the gay/queer people I know wouldn’t be sad if he was outed, FWIW — I’ve had conversations with them on this specific topic.
Geminid
@sab: The Ethics Committ has a longstanding, ironclad rule: what hsppens in the Ethics Commitfee stays in the Ethics Committee.” That is, unless it takes action. If the Committee acts by recommending disciplinary action– Reprimand, Censure or Expulsion– then the accused gets a public hearing and the opportunity to rebut testimony.
Members can forestall disciplinary action by resigning. Gaetz was only the latest of many to take this off ramp. He’s the first one I know of to seek another position in government. In his case it’s a powerful one.
This rule is clearly for the protection of members, both the accused and the ones who are not. It’s Congress’s way of covering it ass because it incentivises corrupt or compromised members to make a clean exit and not a messy one.
This raises an obvious question: what about the public interest? But the Ethics Committee was never intended to further the public interest except incidentally. Congress is protecting its own interests here, just like just about every other institution on the planet.
But like I said, Gaetz’s is a special case. That’s why I expect Senators will obtain the report itself or at least a detailed summary before too long. Matt Gaetz made some bitter enemies within the Republican caucus and they wiil sink him if they can.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Speaking as one of the LGBTQ+ commentariat taken aback by the post, outing is at best necessary evil and usually somewhere beyond reprehensible. Consider that all here use nyms for a variety of reasons, and doxxing those identities isn’t far removed from outing.
With that said, the modern GQP MAGAtry seems beyond shaming, to the point that even the old “dead girl / live boy” step-too-far seems unable to shame their pols into reality (see Gaetz, Jordan and the incoming maladministration), so even if it were an acceptable step it seems unlikely to have a measurable impact.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steve LaBonne:
You can pie FPs. Ask me how I know.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq):
I agree that the effectiveness might be limited.
As you can tell, I guard my anonymity, too.
different-church-lady
@SiubhanDuinne: How do you know?!?
Ohio Mom
I don’t know if Graham is gay or not, just like I don’t know if Trump is on drugs most days. In both cases, rumors repeated over years that seem to me to be likely true.
And I don’t spend much time wondering about Graham’s personal life, it makes no difference to me, though I am disgusted with his record, including consistently voting against LGBTQ interests.
I will say though that since Graham is a public figure, that to me is a different calculus than outing say, a history teacher from your local high school. The history teacher deserves to be protected, but Graham? I certainly understand revenge fantasies directed at him.
Sister Golden Bear
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
Way to listen to us queer posters here. But hey, your gay friends…
And if you’re so well versed in queer history, you’d know that outing was reserved for those engaged in anti-gay actions. Not because you’re pissed at other stuff they’re doing.
Keep digging….
frosty
I don’t particularly want to pie the FPer, but his posts bring out the worst fights among the commenters, going back to the election. I don’t know why that is but I think I’ll just pass them by from now on.
See you on the next post.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Sister Golden Bear:
How overt do the anti-gay actions need to be before outing is justified? Graham is part of a party that has resurrected the grooming slur against gay teachers. His party just denied bathroom access to a trans woman. He’s giving advice to a nominee of that party on how to hide his (alleged) statutory rape by claiming that the (well-founded) accusations are simply accusations.
Is party membership not enough? Does he specifically have to make anti-gay pronouncements before outing him is justified?
And, yeah, I did live through the 80s and 90s and was a sometimes participant and constant observer of AIDS activism. So maybe that lived history is an influence I need to moderate…
Ohio Mom
@@mistermix.bsky.social: The effectiveness of outing Graham (should he be gay) would be diminished in part* because he’s been free-loading his entire life on society’s growing acceptance of gays, for which other people gave their lives.
* The other part being, as already established, contemporary Republicans are shameless.
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
I understand the frustration with the house dems on their current actions. But I actually think this slow-walking of the report is a pretty smart political move. Here’s why.
1. The highest priority of the dems is to throw sand in the Rs gears.
2. The senate Rs desperately don’t want to vote on this nomination because Gaetz is such an obviously horrible choice, but crossing Trump isn’t what they want to do either. They’re desperately hoping the house will release the report and give them a reason to deny Gaetz.
3. The house dems should just sit back and watch Rs squirm through every little tidbit that comes out. Watch them choke on their own words of support for this scum.
4. THIS IS KEY: Release the report AFTER Gaetz is confirmed or denied, with no D votes. Use his nomination as a weapon against every mother trucker who voted for him in 2026.
5. Releasing the report after will also have the effect of incensing Trump (and Gaetz, if he’s confirmed). More likely they’ll be obsessed with finding the leaker, and less opportunity to fuck around with other stuff.
Keep your powder dry, my dudes and let your enemies dangle. No mercy, outright guerilla warfare.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Ohio Mom:
Good point.
Omnes Omnibus
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Speaking as a cis-het person, I have always thought that such a decision cannot be made by people like me. It has to come from the community being affected by the individual’s behavior. I don’t get a vote.
SiubhanDuinne
@different-church-lady:
I have been known to pie front pagers on occasion. I mean, the pie filter works on the lowly and lofty alike ;-)
Also, for those who might be interested, I sometimes use the pie filter not to block offensive or annoying or infuriating commenters, but to give me a quick visual clue when there’s a conversation going on that I want to follow without getting distracted by other topics. That way, I deliberately look for the delicious pastries and toggle them open instead of ignoring them. It’s certainly not foolproof, but it can save time and sanity. Kind of a jerry-built “threaded comments” feature.
ETA: I sometimes pie myself if I ask a question and want to make sure I catch all the answers.
Steve LaBonne
@SiubhanDuinne: The toggle is a truly useful feature.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Omnes Omnibus:
I understand this and somewhat disagree, obviously to my detriment in the comments here.
Omnes Omnibus
Evil!!!! Jerry-built EVIL!!!!!
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Damn, dude, traded the garden shovel for the gradall there.
Maybe quit while you’re
aheadhead above waterwherever you are just now?SiubhanDuinne
@Steve LaBonne:
It is indeed! The whole thing is really smart, well-designed, intuitive, and easy to apply and unapply at will. Also, the drawings are very cute.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues: meesa liking this approach.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq):
LOL – what’s a gradall? Is that what they would call a road grader in the Dakotas?
SiubhanDuinne
@Omnes Omnibus:
No no no, I don’t WANT threaded comments! HATE them!! My way is much better :-D
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@@mistermix.bsky.social: This: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_%26_Swasey_Company#Gradall
different-church-lady
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
You’ve got a funny way of showing it.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues:
I don’t 100% understand your point about the Dem’s slow-walking. My understanding was the ethics committee vote today was the R’s voting to hide the report, D’s didn’t have anything to do with it. Or did I miss something.
I agree that it’s a long game, but my take is somebody’s going to leak it. The main bad parts have already been dribbling out.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@SiubhanDuinne: What about those of us who want quilted comments?
😇
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: ::side-eye::
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq): Ah, a scoop shovel! Got it.
KatKapCC
@@mistermix.bsky.social: I ask this not as snark but with sincerity: What other experiences which are not your own do you feel empowered to make declarations about?
Geminid
@SiubhanDuinne: I want a flag with the motto:
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@Geminid: That would have to be printed on mylar, yes?
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Yes, the Rs are dragging their feet. But the dems are not forcing their hand or leaking the report. I’m saying (hoping that there is actually a plan here) that this is not a bad approach. Let these fuckers twist in agony before politically cutting them off at the knees.
Basically, “please proceed, Governer” approach.
Sister Golden Bear
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Not. Your. Call. To. Make.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@KatKapCC:
I’ll answer in sincerity: in the context of commenting on politics and other parts of life, I do it every day in my personal and blog life.
I’ll leave examples about LGBTQ+ out of it, and pick a couple others.
Immigration. Never been an immigrant, but we talk about it all the time here.
Homelessness. Never been homeless, have some opinions on what we should do about it.
Music. Can’t play the piano for shit, but I have opinions on who’s a good piano player. (Maybe this is a weak one because the experience is “listening to music”).
I try to be informed by reading stories of immigrants and the homeless, and people who like music I like but are actual musicians, but I certainly haven’t had those experiences. I don’t know whether you have those experiences yourself, but I’m guessing there are many other topics where you don’t have direct experience but still have opinions.
p.a.
He should not be outed. Good faith folk of all persuasions should just keep asking him to stop knotting the rope he and his colleagues plan to put around the necks of all their targets. That’ll work eventually.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues: Got it — drip drip drip is better than all at once, agree.
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Yes! And, it puts the responsibility for this whole affair on the Rs. Do any of us doubt that the report is pretty bad, and it’s got horrid stuff in it?
Hopefully, Jeffries and AOC will have the skill to tie this to the Rs when it finally leaks.
Lyrebird
@Steve LaBonne: Agreed.
MisterMix, my opinion ain’t much, but I really think you should remove “closet case” and the whole threatening with outing from this post and any post.
Keeping track of Graham’s attempts to promote corruption and fascism, yes. Keeping the homophobia flowing, no.
ETA: I don’t think YOU are necessarily one bit homophobic, and I agree we debate others’ situations, but there are some slurs that are definitely homophobic and hate words… I have heard people share how much it stings to hear “Miss Lindsey” as a slam, for instance.
The Truffle
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues: I can go with this approach.
Maybe this will be the point where MAGA jumps the shark at last.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@p.a.:
Appreciate that you’re still using Tumblr, but encourage you to try Bluesky.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Lyrebird:
Agree that “Miss L” is out of bounds, and I would never use that kind of slur. Thanks for the clarification on the accusations of homophobia that are being thrown around in this thread.
KatKapCC
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Immigration and homelessness are not intrinsic elements of a person’s existence. Having ideas about how to solve issues at the border or how to get people housed do not require having once been an immigrant or an unhoused person yourself. You can read lots of articles and studies and learn the details of immigration law and housing policies.
You cannot read anything that will let you fully understand what it is like to inhabit this world as a queer person. Just like I, a white person, cannot read anything that will let me fully understand what it is like to inhabit this world as a Black person. And thus, I do not tell Black people the right way to do their politics and to lead their lives.
You seem very devoted to remaining on this soapbox, and I really have to wonder why.
And I ask this too: Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Graham is gay. What would outing him do? What would come of that? Do you think he would suddenly become a liberal? Do you think he would stop supporting his shitty party and join the other one, from which his forced outing came? Do you think he would become a better politician and person…or do you think it would only give him fuel for the fire against the Democratic Party, by being able to say “Look how little regard they have for people’s privacy and they have no respect and they’re terrible etc etc” and make him even worse than he is now?
What would it solve to force him out? What good would it do a single queer person? Because newsflash: You getting a little bit of giddy glee over it doesn’t do a fucking thing. So what would it do, other than show any other closeted person that they better hope to G-d the cis het libs don’t find out and decide to set their sights on them next?
People remain in the closet for many reasons, reasons you have never ever once in your life had to worry about. You have no right to demand they contend with them, no matter how odious the person may be.
Lyrebird
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Thanks MisterMix!
@mistermix.bsky.social
@KatKapCC:
I think we try to be allies to the black community and that can include some critique. It’s a bit of a push, IMO, to say that you can’t comment on a political issue because you aren’t a member of a community. I think this is the fundamental disagreement between me and some of the other commenters here.
Why am I on my soapbox? Well that’s one way to put it. I wrote something, people disagreed, so I’m spending extra time in the comments to explain myself. I do that when some members of the community push back. I try to address well-meaning comments and spend extra time doing it.
What would it solve to out Lindsey? I’ll fully acknowledge that it would be an expression of power against a party that is using their power to crush others. I think we’re fundamentally in a situation where we need to leverage whatever power we have to fight back against a party that wants to crush us, as long as it’s not immoral (which is something we disagree on). Would it be effective? Not sure, depends on the circumstances. He’s a public figure. It’s not a tragedy if he gets some just desserts. If glee were the only outcome, it’s not worth the trouble. I think the right circumstances could yield something
Also, I’m late for dinner. Anyone who wants to comment further can email me: [email protected] Lurkers included.
TBone
@KatKapCC:
LGBTQ Nation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Q.Digital, Inc. Q.Digital is a media company serving the LGBTQ+ community through its sites: LGBTQ Nation, Queerty, Into, and GayCities. Q.Digital is 100% owned by its current and former employees. Q.Digital is LGBTQ+ owned and operated and has been certified by NGLCC as a LGBTQBE (LGBT Business Enterprise).
SiubhanDuinne
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq):
You will have to take that up with QuiltingFool. I’m ThreadingFool. (Haven’t seen SmockingFool around these parts for a while.)
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@KatKapCC:
I’m not saying I agree with MM, but if the closeted person isn’t a prominent right-wing piece of shit like Graham, why should they worry?
Aussie Sheila
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues:
In politics, timing is everything. I suspect that the Report release is being slow walked for maximum effect. Good.
Play the game, hard.
The more this keeps hitting the news, the better.
It has ‘clouds and questions’ all over it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Ernesto Miranda was a horrible person. Can you make the connection?
KatKapCC
@@mistermix.bsky.social: I’m not saying you can’t comment on political issues related to the queer community. But you do not get to decide what happens in an individual possibly-queer person’s life, and to make the decision that they should be outed. You mentioned immigration and homelessness. Those are political issues. What gender Lindsey Graham is attracted to is not.
Outing him “would be an expression of power against a party” — no, against a single person. I’ll grant you, Graham is a crappy little toad, but if you think his forced outing (if he is gay, which again, we do not know for a fact) would impact the GOP as a whole in any way, that is laughable. And if you think it would give us any “leverage” against that party, that seems wildly naive. Again: IT WOULD ONLY MAKE THEM WORSE. Look at the state of the GOP right now, for fuck’s sake. “Worse” is the only direction that party has been going for decades, and forcing the private business of one member (who, as far as we know, has not done anything like what Gaetz has done) into the open sure as shit ain’t gonna make them rethink the path they’ve been gleefully trotting down for years now.
You mention Graham getting what he deserves. Let me ask you: Let’s say he is gay, and that some kind of solid proof of that is spilled. And let’s say some of the more psychotic elements of the Maga base find him at an event or rally or just walking down the street and kick the shit out of him. Is that what he deserves? Be careful how you answer, because that’s a dark road.
You think it could “yield something”. You can’t even say what, and the things you might say are highly unlikely to occur. Despite your claims, it really seems like you just want him to suffer because his party makes people suffer. I know we all grew tired of the “when they go low, we go high” stuff, but that doesn’t mean we have to wallow down in the muck with them instead.
KatKapCC
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Do you think only right wingers are subject to harassment and abuse and assault? Are you that naive that you don’t know what happens to queer people in some parts of this country? It’s not like a homophobe is going to ask someone’s political party before beating them up for being gay. There are people of all political stripes and from every corner of the nation in the closet, and every one of them could have something to fear by being outed.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@KatKapCC:
Fair point, but I was specifically responding to this:
Why would cis het libs out non-prominent, non-far-right closeted people?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
I don’t think that’s comparable here imo. Ernesto Miranda was not a powerful person using state power to hurt vulnerable people
Geminid
@Aussie Sheila: A couple mornings ago Politico Playbook had a article on the posture of Senators towards the Gaetz nomination and the Ethics Committee report. At the end the reporters quoted an unnamed Republican Senator:
Gaetz is especially vulnerable because of all the enemies he made among his Republican House colleagues. Some of them hate his guts, and at least one of them– Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma– is a Senator now. And Republican Senators know their state’s Republican Representatives and talk to them about this type of matter.
So I think the information in this report will end up in the hands of Senators before too long, in addition to whatever additional dirt Republican Representatives have on Gaetz..
Geminid
@KatKapCC: The spirit of vindictiveness has its own logic that can always find a higher purpose in hurting people who “deserve” to be hurt.
KatKapCC
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): For any other various reasons they might be upset with that person. I had a friend get outed by her college roommate because she wouldn’t let the person cheat off her during an exam. Now, that’s adolescent behavior, sure, but people can be vindictive over many things.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Then you didn’t make the connection.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: It’s funny how people seem to forget that Ernesto Miranda was actually convicted.
K-Mo
Late to the conversation here but here are a few thoughts:
1. The OP advocates violence against a person in the name of a righteous cause. I think that’s a wrong path generally.
2. The OP chose a form of violence that is a specific harm often directed at gay people. It’s important to point out that this isn’t some “fair game” form of violence that’s easier to defend than other forms. In fact, in some ways it’s worse.
3. There is an overarching flavor here that isn’t right- maybe it’s the insinuation that being gay or being closeted is something shameful.