Gay.

Cop. Personal Trainer. Republican.

Uhhh...

I'd let him punch my ballot...

Gay.

Seriously, though - I hope more male politicos do stuff like this (both D and R) to show the hypocrisy you obviously see, the more extreme the better!

gay

On one hand, this guy was the only Republican in the Legislature to support universal background checks for all gun purchases. On the other, when he was in the passenger seat of a drunk driver's car and was pulled over, he told the cop making the stop that "this is small town shit" and that he hoped the officer did not come to Seattle and need help or a back up, for which he was disciplined. So, you decide whether or not he's a scumbag.

"Won't damage his political career" ??

Say what? We here up north are finally rid of the scandal-ridden exec, Aaron Reardon.

Hope ran against Reardon in the last election and stood a good chance of winning until Reardon's lackeys dug up some really old dirt. The state patrol is currently investigating that, and other offenses allegedly committed by Reardon or his staff.

Snohomish County residents are sick of it, glad that Reardon is finally gone, and many wish they had voted for Hope last time around.

He's buff? So fuckin' what. Rearend was a jerk, a womanizer, and a liar. And a lousy exec. Kudos to Mike Hope.

Now whenever I see male cheesecake it pales in comparison to Terry's Mr. Turk photos. This mope Rep. Nope is strictly bush league.

This movie, though. I'm confounded by the filmmaker's description: "For centuries they have walked among the living undiscovered, until one woman's desire to be a mother leads to another family's revenge." Whaaaaaat the fuck does that mean?

Yeah, really. Looks like the cover of a gay porn muscle video. Doesn't matter what he looks like. When I saw Republican, I shut down further thought.

Something is missing...um...oh, yeah! He should be wearing a big ass cross.

Now there's a Republican I could get behind!

@11, what the hell is an "ass cross"?

@13 Try Google.

Wrong, Cienna. Partisanship trumps gender.

If this hypothetical woman was a Republican, her Republican peers would not use photos like this to belittle and dismiss her, but if Mike Hope was a Democrat, his Republican peers would most definitely use these photos to belittle and dismiss him.

if riz says he's gay, then he's gay. his word is infallible.

@14, the preview on Urban Dictionary suggested something filthy, but when I visited the link it had been erased. Now I'll never know.

On the other hand, and as cleverly pointed out by @1, 4, & 6, men in America expressing any basic form of sexuality --close-fitting clothes, great physique, lack of shame to show it in public-- are immediately branded "gay", as if somehow only gay men can or should alone express sexuality. So in that regard, props to this dude for putting himself out there; even if he does look like he crashed into a steroids truck.

@8 So Hope is qualified to be Snohomish County exec because he's not as bad as Reardon? That's a pretty low bar. Surely there must be some other alternative in the entire county.

@Goldy: We have Granite Falls, and Sultan. So yes, it's a pretty low bar.

And at this point a soggy bag of peanuts would be better than Aaron Rearend.

It is refreshing when a Republican is willing to actually put all his conservative family values on display like that.

here's a suggestion....rather than 'imagining what the public might think' and just lamenting the state of the world, why not do some actual reporting...like pick up the phone and call him and ask him some questions. like
'Gee, nice abs. Where do you work out?'
'What's up with this movie you made?'
' IMDB - Pretty unique website for a politician - how do your fellow pol's view this? And your family...? Oh, so you're not married...seeing anyone? What's his name?'
'do you see any contradictions etc with GOP platform?
'what do you think would happen if a woman pol did this? Any hypocrisy there?'

Or take a SLOG poll and see what the #1 question people want to know about this dude.

@23, "has the steroid use shrunk your balls like they say?"

I notice the articles critical of female politicians' attire referenced in Madrid's post are written by other women. Men don't seem to have as many body issues as women. (Black women also are more accepting of their bodies as is . http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/b… )

My heavy set male friends take great pride in their bear-like physiques. They luxuriate and boast about their bacon, potatoes, and heavy beer consumption. They don't show the slightest interest losing weight.

This guy, who looks like he works out hard and eats a healthy diet. Six packs are 90% made in the kitchen, not the gym. (It doesn't take steroids to look like that.) He wants to show off the results of his efforts.

I've always been an active guy who eats healthfully and staying in shape is one benefit of that. Being active helps me stay fit, and being fit helps me stay active. I like being able climb, run, bike, etc. without my body becoming a hindrance. That my body stays lean is a nice side effect. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy when someone notices my pecs, but that's not the object of my workouts. I enjoy more being able to walk up a fight of stairs without losing my breath.

I'd fuck him

So odd that an ex-cop politician would be injecting illegal steroids. I can assure you he did not get that way from drinking protein shakes...