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Pen Points
Foxy Family Values & Bachelor-Republican Politicians

By Thomas Kraemer

A bigger issue than the refusal of U.S. Senate candidate Mark Foley to discuss his sexual orientation is his choice to lead a bachelor lifestyle. (See http://www.gaytoday.com/events/052603ev.asp ) Religious conservatives view both bachelors and gays as being anti-family, even though neither status reveals anything about a man's private sexual behavior. National gay leaders are negligent in not directly challenging the hypocrisy that Republicans embrace Foley's bachelorhood, but shun gays.

On Bill O'Reilly's May 27, 2003 Fox News television show, the Republican's bachelorhood hypocrisy was not mentioned in the debate between Chuck Wolfe, of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and Patrick Guerriero, of the Log Cabin Republicans. Predictably, O'Reilly arrogantly berated Foley for refusing to appear and talk about this controversy on the most watched cable news show in prime time. Foley's absence was conspicuous because he frequently appears on Fox News to promote his conservative views.
Bill O'Reilly

O'Reilly was intellectually unable to grasp Wolfe's point that Foley's angry response was offensive because it implied that something is wrong with being gay. O'Reilly probably dismissed this point because he frequently admonishes gay guests that the public will never accept their lifestyle and gays should keep quiet about their sex lives just as he did when he was a swinging single. In other words, O'Reilly agrees with Foley that something is wrong about being gay.

O'Reilly pompously implied Geraldo Rivera had agreed that nobody should talk about their sex life. Ironically, Fox News had recently reported Geraldo's latest serial marriage, which in effect talks about his private sex life. Of course, O'Reilly has often disagreed with the idea that a public marriage announcement says anything about your private sex life.

Guerriero, to his credit, rebutted the poll O'Reilly quoted that showed Senator Santorum's anti-gay remarks had not hurt him politically. Guerriero politely pointed out that the same poll also showed that more voters are now viewing Santorum negatively. Unfortunately, Guerriero spent most of his time repeating the Republican talking points.

Wolfe focused mostly on asking candidates for openness on sexual orientation, whereas Guerriero was focused mostly on getting Republicans elected. Both national gay leaders were negligent by not challenging why Republicans hypocritically embrace bachelors, but shun gays.

Foley's bachelorhood, even if he is heterosexual, raises some important political questions as follows:

Rep. Mark Foley How does Foley reconcile his own demand for sexual privacy with Senator Rick Santorum's belief, which is that contraception, abortion and same-sex sodomy can be outlawed because the right to privacy doesn't exist in the Constitution?

Has Foley selfishly shirked his family duty to further his political career?

Has Foley been unable to attract a wife because he is misogynistic or anti-family?

Anybody who has grown up in a religiously conservative environment knows that bachelorhood is not an acceptable choice unless you become a celibate priest. Many older gay priests have told me that they avoided heterosexual marriage by exploiting this loophole.

I clearly remember the angry reaction I got, as a teenager, when I announced that I wanted to be a bachelor. I was firmly reminded of the Biblical command to go forth and multiply. Shirking your family duty was considered despicable and selfish as avoiding military duty by draft dodging. And I wanted to do both!

Both bachelors and gays violate Republican "Judeo-Christian family values" equally. Given this moral truth, it is interesting that so many bachelors, such as Foley and Senator Lindsay Graham, have been able to succeed within the Republican Party.

Apparently, becoming a Republican politician has become an attractive new alternative to becoming a priest to avoid the heterosexual lifestyle. Unlike being a priest, Republican politicians are not required to take vows of celibacy or fuck the choirboys. Bachelor politicians can work longer hours than family men. The only requirements for Republican politicians are to fuck gays and "don't ask, don't tell." This sounds like a dream job for closeted gay men.

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