Fields: We Should We Out Gay Politicians
BY SAM FIELDS
Guest Columnist
Tomorrow, May 8th, the gay-outing movie Outrage opens.
Its supporters suggest that it is about hypocrisy by closeted Republican politicians who are willing to harm their own to protect their political careers.
Opponents are appalled by an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
The centerpiece of the movie is our own governor Charlie Crist, who has repeatedly denied he is gay. I am certainly curious about the evidence.
When is okay to expose hypocrisy? How about the religion of person who threatens to commit suicide if he is exposed?
Not fiction. It happened in the 1960’s when Daniel Burrows told a New York Times reporter that he would kill himself if the paper published that he was a Jew.
His problem? Dannyboy just happened to be an active member of the American Nazi Party. A man of his word, he committed suicide.
Was The Times wrong? I don’t think so.
I have often said: There is only one crime—hypocrisy. Everything else is just an administrative regulation.
May 7th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Why care if the GOV is gay?
May 7th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Anybody who reads this blog ever wonder why Sam Fields is so interested in gays?
May 7th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I’m gay … and I agree with Sam. Nobody thinks there is anything wrong with asking a candidate “Are you married? Do you have kids?” Asking a candidate if they are gay is no different. It should be a routine matter. That fact that any politician believes it is something to be hidden sends the message there is something “wrong” with being gay. Otherwise, why hide it? Jim Kolbe became a better Congressman on gay issues after he was outed.
May 7th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I wish someone would out the Governor—-right out of office!
May 8th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Had a great boss once that used to say it didn’t matter how many hours employees put into their work. What mattered was how much work they put into their hours. Same theme here. What’s wrong with Florida’s Gov isn’t how he gets his rocks off. What’s wrong is the direction he’s taking us. And that aspect of his private life should be his own concern.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Hypocrisy is a character issue. And while it may not be the controlling issue it is always something for the voters to consider.
“Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus”
May 8th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
He who dealt it smelt it.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:21 am
since gays can’t get elected in broward maybe they should stay in the closet. keechel yeah yeah, he got elected because he was in the right place at the right time not because he was a great candidate. he will never be elected to anything other then where he is now.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:11 am
You can’t call what happened with Ken Keechl a fluke. He ran as an openly gay candidate and won big in a district that the County Commission specifically drew for a Republican – more specifically for a very well respected, moderate Republican. He had trouble raising money, trouble campaigning, trouble of every kind. But he had a strong campaign message and was willing to do the work of a campaign. You can’t call that a fluke. Gays can absolutely be elected to higher office in Broward.