@2 - he could be bi. But it doesn't make him one bit less hypocritical.
You know what? Screw that. "Hypocrisy" is the wrong word to bring up when talking about closet-case antigay bigots. The fact that they're gay, or bi, or in the closet, or what-the-fuck-ever is their business. It doesn't make their voting against basic human rights any worse. Bigotry is bigotry, period, and completely straight bigoted assholes shouldn't get some sort of pass or grudging respect just because they're 'genuine' or 'consistent.'
There are some issues, like abortion or immigration or the minimum wage, where well-intentioned and well-informed people can have honest disagreement. Not gay rights. Not in 2015.
"I just voted how my constituents wanted" is such a lame excuse. What if your constituents want to round up gays and gas them? Would you vote for that too?
Ease up. It seems to me that we can't have it both ways. All across the country we berate lawmakers from liberal states/areas for not supporting equality legislation that their constituents are clamoring for. However, I don't find it hard to believe that, in fact, his ND constituents do NOT support the legislation that he voted against. Elected by the people and for the people. That's not to say he's not a hypocrite personally, voting against legislation that would help him. But it seems like he is simply voting against legislation his constituents don't want.
He's 52 years old, grew up in a very Red State, has never married, has sex with men, but claims to also love women. If he were bi, he would have married some woman to whom he probably never would have revealed his bisexuality until this sort of thing happened.
As a former North Dakotan, I can assure you that he was absolutely voting as instructed by his constituents, who are likely to be as big of pieces of shit as he is. If you think witch trials or mass executions are out of the picture, well you haven't followed ND politics over the last 5 years.
Oh, and how do you get to be a member of the Gay Mafia? I wanna join. I've been something of a co-conspiritor for years. That should count for something, right?
The gay mafia. I hate that term, it's so exclusionary. Straight people hate bigots too!
Leave it to conservatives to make the nasty part shout this story the gender of the recipient, and not the fact that the guy was sending pictures of his dick to unsuspecting strangers.
I mean, I'm sure they suspected they'd get dick pics, but not from the enemy.
I live, vote, and make policies with hypocrites like this. Your opinion please: Local politician, 63, never-married, Momma's boy, highly religious (Sundays AND Wednesdays), washed out of Seminary, preaches to prisoners, former boys wrestling coach, wraps himself in the flag (figuratively and sometimes literally in parades), was a D as a union official while a teacher but went R to run for public office, has a very few male buds but no women friends, and pings my gaydar something fierce. He's annoyed me in many ways for years, but last month, I tried to allow SS married couples to have a joint utility membership (we're both on the co-op board and capital credits of a few thousand dollars can accrue for a member and SSM is now legal in Alaska) and he argued and voted against it (it was a close vote).
No one locally debates my assessment, but the kinder ones would leave it at "he's a tortured soul."
Should I out the closet case? Or just make my pointed barbs sharper?
@20: "Should I out the closet case? Or just make my pointed barbs sharper?"
I'd do the latter. And maybe mention to him in private that if he keeps voting against gay rights, people will start thinking he's gay--since after all, it's common knowledge that the most active political homophobes are always gay.
M? Typo - Marriage is not a unilateral action (unless, of course, we are dealing with the case of the woman who supposedly tried or intended to marry herself). Let us hope that none of the good (or even not-so-good) women he's known were so devoid of sense as to accept his proposals.
As a current ND resident, I was an active proponent of SB 2279, which would, among other things, have added discrimination protection in housing and workplace for the LGBT community...
...he helped in the Do Not Pass vote DESPITE public outcry over the importance of the proposed legislation.
Public testimony on the House floor was over 4 to 1 in favor of passing the measure.
It was the party line, not constituency that forced his vote...you can add liar to his list of character flaws.
"How can you discriminate against the person you're trying to pick up?"
See: Straight Repub male legislators who sponsor all sorts of misogynist laws. It is fucked up, though, when you consider how many people really, at some level, despise the group of people they're attracted to.
Um, that is one weird metaphor.
He's still a closeted gay man.
You know what? Screw that. "Hypocrisy" is the wrong word to bring up when talking about closet-case antigay bigots. The fact that they're gay, or bi, or in the closet, or what-the-fuck-ever is their business. It doesn't make their voting against basic human rights any worse. Bigotry is bigotry, period, and completely straight bigoted assholes shouldn't get some sort of pass or grudging respect just because they're 'genuine' or 'consistent.'
There are some issues, like abortion or immigration or the minimum wage, where well-intentioned and well-informed people can have honest disagreement. Not gay rights. Not in 2015.
Whew. Okay, sorry. {steps down from soapbox}
Sure, he could be. But he's not.
What an asswipe.
@ Boehning: The trail back to respectability is long, but it can be ridden. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Ashburn
He's not bi, he's delusional.
*sigh*
Left out of the cool kids again.
Leave it to conservatives to make the nasty part shout this story the gender of the recipient, and not the fact that the guy was sending pictures of his dick to unsuspecting strangers.
I mean, I'm sure they suspected they'd get dick pics, but not from the enemy.
No one locally debates my assessment, but the kinder ones would leave it at "he's a tortured soul."
Should I out the closet case? Or just make my pointed barbs sharper?
I want in in mafia.
Let's try that again:
Good thing Grindr wasn't around when I lived in North Dakota; I might have stayed.
I'd do the latter. And maybe mention to him in private that if he keeps voting against gay rights, people will start thinking he's gay--since after all, it's common knowledge that the most active political homophobes are always gay.
...he helped in the Do Not Pass vote DESPITE public outcry over the importance of the proposed legislation.
Public testimony on the House floor was over 4 to 1 in favor of passing the measure.
It was the party line, not constituency that forced his vote...you can add liar to his list of character flaws.
See: Straight Repub male legislators who sponsor all sorts of misogynist laws. It is fucked up, though, when you consider how many people really, at some level, despise the group of people they're attracted to.