I think aggressive characters like our "lefty blogger" think that uncovering gay Republicans will disgust social conservatives and change their voting behavior. They might also believe that they are demonstrating hypocrisy and that doing so will motivate Republicans to abandon social conservatism. I would like to see Republicans abandon social conservatism, and I'm not cheering on these slimy outings. But, honestly, I think these creepy, gleeful efforts at outing will only make social conservatives more conservative, and they will continue to look to the Republican party to serve their needs.
Yes, "creepy, gleeful efforts" don't win you many friends or converts. Of course, they're really just meant to demoralize Republican voters and keep them home on election day.
I suspect they'll have the opposite effect. The GOP leadership has managed to alienate much of its base, but this kind of slimy and obviously organized political effort is more likely to encourage GOP voters to ignore the bad stuff and vote Republican as a way of demonstrating their disgust with the creepiness.
It's funny how Putz and Althouse didn't denounce the "creepy, gleeful efforts" in the form of Karl Rove-engineered whisper campaigns and push-polling against John McCain, or predicted that they would discourage Bush voters:
- John McCain was the "fag candidate"
- he's a "Manchurian Candidate"
- he's got a "black child"
- his wife is a junkie
For that matter, did they happen to notice that mainstream, right wing radio is filled with creeps like Michael Savage, who got kicked off the air on MSNBC for his hateful gay-bashing remarks, or Rush Limbaugh, who's suggested that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian? Why no posts about how right wing radio is hurting the GOP?
Did they think that Sen. Rick Santorum's (R-PA) creepy "man-on-dog" interview, would cause disgust among voters and hurt Republicans' at the polls? Do they fret about Republicans turning off voters when official party conferences feature homophobic keynote speakers?
Outing people is wrong. In any event, listening to Althouse and Putz giving the left sensitivity training is enough to make you gag.
UPDATE (via Kos)
Cue the irony: Ken Blackwell, the GOP candidate for governor in OH who's badly behind in the polls, has questioned the sexuality of his Democratic opponent, Ted Strickland.
Can't wait for the denunciations from Putz and Althouse, and predictions that this will hurt the GOP.
No comments:
Post a Comment