Mehlman = Socarides;
Donor to Moderate CA GOP Pol
(Birds of a feather, in more ways than one. )Say, did you hear the news that the Pope is Catholic yesterday? You might have missed it, what with all the news about former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman officially coming out as a gay man. I hear fellow closeted GOP travelers Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham were simply shocked at the announcement, but we'll leave their coming outings for another day.
Many ordinary gays, legions of bloggers and others in the community are weighing in on Mehlman's publicly joining the tribe, and his abysmal and harmful agenda carried out when he was in a high-level position, carrying out anti-gay policies for the Bush/Cheney/Rove White House and the GOP. Nice to see Mehlman getting raked over the coals, and much of his public record against gay receiving a fuller airing.
But I see Mehlman as in the same blighted category that former President Clinton adviser and Democratic Party strategist Richard Socarides belongs to, and other bloggers don't see a link between the two, beyond that fact that they share a same-sex orientation.
Mehlman and Socarides should be viewed as gay men carrying water for their respective parties, and putting their bosses, access and jobs first, gay community needs second. Sure, Mehlman wielded much more influence and resources than Socarides ever did, but both men stood silent as their bosses did harm to gays. Only a few political degrees separate the two.
Over at Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black's Facebook page yesterday, his friend Socarides left this note, after Black gushed over Mehlman:
Richard Socarides He'll sure have a lot of intelligence to contribute. I'm with you.
Andy Humm, longtime gay advocate from NYC, offered this response to that note:
It is not surprising that Richard Socarides would welcome Ken Mehlman to his club--the gay club where LGBT rights has nothing to do with progressive politics or helping anyone but yourself. It is shocking that Mehlman's coming out hasn't caused him to move away from all the regressive Republican positions that he took as party chairman. He's still into punishing the poor and immigrants.
Socarides and Mehlman work to elect friends like Bloomberg and Bush who have done nothing but make America safer for the rich.
In other Mehlman news, public campaign records reveal he has made only one donation in any California race. He didn't give money to either side in the Prop 8 or Prop 22 gay marriage ballot initiatives, but he contributed to moderate Republican Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher:
| MEHLMAN KENNETH B., KOHLBERG KRAVIS & ROBERTS LP, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON, DC 20007 | FLETCHER FOR ASSEMBLY, ID#1281231 | State Assembly 75 | $500.00 | 10/29/2008 | MONETARY |
Since that donation was made, Fletcher voted against creating Harvey Milk Day in California and he opposed recognizing out-of-state gay marriages, and also in 2009 Equality California gave him a rating of only 29%. However, in May he took to the Assembly floor to speak in favor of lifting the ban on gays in the military and voted for a resolution against the ban.
For info on Mehlman's donations at the federal level, click here.
4 comments:
I don't know if you read Joe.My.God. but the rage against Mehlman there is white hot.
http://joemygod.blogspot.com/
The Republicans are so funny, when the economy is good you say let’s all celebrate “Cinco de Mayo, my brothers” but when the economy is down “it’s all your fault, you damn immigrant”. When most Americans (with Latin America roots) go to the polls this November we will remember that the GOP has gone on a nationwide rant in proposing and passing several anti-immigration legislation (that our US Courts continue to strike down) and have continue to blame the immigrant for the flat economy or worse. We will remember who stands with us and who stands against us, so trying to stop it now is somewhat funny, but go ahead, you will not change our minds. Plus the more radical of the GOP are now attacking our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, in a misguided attempt to garner some much needed votes, they really are fools, and leading the GOP towards obscurity because they are no longer a party of ideas, just of empty suits. Your hate made you do it, in November; you will reap what you have sown. I wonder what Abraham Lincoln would say about todays GOP, he unlike the current GOP was a man of ideas.
Mehlman = Socarides? Yeah. But what about Mehlman and his old law school classmate Barry Obama?
In response to Andy Humm, Mayor Bloomberg has been perhaps the strongest voice in standing up for the right of Muslims to build their community center near Ground Zero. And, if he's done nothing else, that a lot more than many politicians were willing to do.
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