In my rush to toss something up about the latest revelations about Ted Haggard—turns out that Mike Jones, the escort, wasn’t Ted’s only piece of man ass—I overlooked the most sensational aspect of the story. Not that Haggard was getting with a “young volunteer” at his church, but when the church paid the boy to shut up and go away.
Brady Boyd, who succeeded Haggard as senior pastor of the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press that the man came forward to church officials in late 2006 shortly after a Denver male prostitute claimed to have had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with Haggard…. Boyd said the church reached a legal settlement to pay the man for counseling and college tuition, with one condition being that none of the parties involved discuss the matter publicly.
Anticipating criticism of the settlement with the former church volunteer, Boyd said Friday that it was in the best interests of all involved. He would not name the volunteer or the settlement amount.
“It wasn’t at all a settlement to make him be quiet or not tell his story,” Boyd said. “Our desire was to help him. Here was a young man who wanted to get on with his life. We considered it more compassionate assistance—certainly not hush money.”
So it wasn’t about keeping him quiet… but the guy could only have the money if he agreed not to talk about what went down—or who—with anyone. And the earth is 5000 years old.
People who pay hush money very rarely consider it—or will admit to it—being hush money. But there was a moment there when the revelations about Haggard threatened the survival of his church, which threatened the livelihoods of other pastors and staffers, and the news that their pastor had been banging a member of the congregation right there in Zion—excuse me, Colorado Springs—and not just sneaking off to Sodom—excuse me, Denver—could’ve brought down New Life and forced Brady, et al, to seek honest employment. To avoid that fate, the leaders of New Life made the decision to pay Haggard’s boyfriend an undisclosed amount of money provided he not speak publicly about his affair.
The man is coming forward now, the story suggests, in reaction Haggard’s publicity appearances for the new HBO documentary, “The Trials of Ted Haggard.” Here’s hoping the ex-New-Life volunteer got counseling from a competent shrink, accepted his sexual orientation, and is not only coming forward but also coming out.
Truth Wins Out has called on the authorities to investigate whether New Life broke any laws when it paid out the hush money.
Do we have any idea how old this kid is? Funding his college tuition sounds suspiciously underage.
partial answer from the AP story:
“Technically, legally, they were both adults,” Clohessy [national director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests] said. “Psychologically and emotionally, Haggard was dramatically more powerful. … By definition, any sexual contact between a congregant and minister is inherently abusive and manipulative.”
oh, and I didn’t see this at first (also from the AP story):
“In an AP interview this month before an appearance in front of TV critics in California, Haggard described his sexuality as complex and something that can’t be put into stereotypical boxes.’ “
Apparently, what’s sinful / degenerate / depraved for everyone else is “complex” for him.
Ted Haggard was impolitic when he decided to have a sexual relationship with a young volunteer. He made a mistake when he lied about the relationship to the public. But, this mistake does not warrant a witch hunt, a public investigation, or calling for the resignation of a committed public servant.
Don’t we have more important issues to deal with in the US when the US has a 9% unemployment rate and the future of our schools is in jeopardy?
If you have ever had a relationship that you later felt was a mistake, don’t be one of those throwing the first stone. Support Ted Haggard!
There will be a Rally for Ted:
Sunday, 1/25 @ 5:30pm at Cal Anderson Park!
Please join the facebook group.
The difference, 4, is that Haggard was condemning homosexuality from the pulpit while engaging in it — with Jones, with this dude they paid to go away. He had anti-gay religious rhetoric coming out of one side of his mouth and cock going in the other. He was also the leader of a 30 million member organization devoted, in large part, to attacking gay and lesbians and stripping of us of our civil rights.
Two openly gay adult men — with a large age gap, with an inherent power imbalance, but with no professional relationship — entering into a sexual relationship is slightly different than a wealthy, prominent, powerful anti-gay leader seeking gay sex on the sly from hookers and members of his congregation.
Still, if Haggard were guilty of banging hookers and sleeping with a much younger man and he was, say, a dentist… there wouldn’t really be any scandal here. The gap between Haggard’s professed religious beliefs, and the fortune he amassed professing them, and his conduct make this a scandal.
And remember: he wasn’t fired from New Life by angry, hypocritical gays demanding his head, but by his angry co-religionists.
Shut the fuck up dan savage poohead. There are no differences!
#4 is trolling. He knows the difference.
Dan, will you be hopping a train to Colorado to bail out a brother queer on the hotseat?
So homophobic readers like this blog(4,6)I agree on the hypocrisy of church “holy men”,Dont forget Bishop Law from Boston is alive and well in a a palace at the Vatican
@4
Watch yourself.
Peons don’t get to question the Cult leader’s pronouncements.
They decide when it’s OK to boink a kid and when it’s not.
They decide who gets away with boinking a kid and who does not.
They make up the rules.
They decide who gets any.
They don’t like to be questioned.
That’s the way a cult works.
5
You’re making this up as you go,
aren’t you Dan.
Jesus, the kooks are certainly out in force this morning. All we need is Lord Basil and they’ll all be accounted for.
That’s ‘Cardinal’ Law being harbored in the Vatican. Notice how no one is calling for his head…exactly.
This “church” of Haggard’s sounds like a twisted place. I’m dying to know how the members feel about this second man, an ongoing relationship, and the hush money being paid to him. Will they ever catch on that they are led by hypocrites?
Haggard still doesn’t understand why what he did was wrong. He thinks his sexuality is wrong when it’s not. However it is wrong to cheat on your wife with a prostitute. It’s wrong to have gay sex while denouncing it because hypocrisy is always wrong. It’s wrong to have sex with a member of your congregation because it is an abuse of spiritual power.
There is probably no hope for Haggard in suddenly becoming a good person (i.e. divorcing his wife, getting into a happy and healthy gay relationship, and not trashing other gay people for being gay) but we should throw this stuff up in his face any time new shit he’s done comes to light. If we let it go, he will soon become an influential, hypocritical pastor again and he will continue to cheat and lie and bash gays from the pulpit.
@11 – if Savage is making this up, he’s been making it up in exactly the same way for years & years.
If a guy has himself some man ass, does that make him an ass man?
Frankly, I couldn’t care less who that twisted mutherfuker and his twisted religion are fucking. They all sound like they deserve each other.
the leaders of New Life made the decision to pay Haggard’s boyfriend an undisclosed amount of money provided he not speak publicly about his affair
Out of church coffers no doubt. Meaning they didn’t even use their own $ to pay him off & keep their bullshit “jobs”. No, the little old ladies that buy into their bullshit footed the bill.
At least get them to change the name ‘New Life’. This is the same old same old.
Sorry, Dan, I must agree that you truly are making this up as you go. Go back and read the real-time coverage of the Portland mayoral race. You’ll find all kinds of Clintonesque hypocritical finger-wagging and pious “How dare they accuse me when I was just trying to be a good mentor to gay kids” horseshit spouted by Adams. Tell me honestly that you would be shocked if Adams didn’t cough up the equivalent of a little hush money along the way. And if it turns out that Adams did offer something to his “mentor,” I expect a full-fledged mea culpa.
Sometimes, even though it might not make the headlines, it’s better just to sit back quietly, get all the facts, breathe deeply and admit that sometimes the Clintons and Adamses are just as shitty as the Haggards.
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
just why are some people so fixated by the stale old story?
he is shit, his church is shit – so where is the news?
truly, who really cares but Dan and a few others just so eager to saw on the old saw over and over
and of course, the guy just might at last come all the way out and come to Seattle for coffee – and cruise time at the Cuff – and personals in the Stranger … what then?
The congregation got what it deserved.
One look at that face would cue you in the guy is queer.
“He had anti-gay religious rhetoric coming out of one side of his mouth and cock going in the other. “
Bravo, Dan, that’s one of the funniest one liners I’ve ever heard!
23, dan really does know how to turn a phrase, it’s true. i have some dan quotes emblazoned on my memory that make me laugh every time i think of them. “vag-havin’ bummer of a consolation prize” being in the top ten, for instance.