This post, written by Howie Klein originally,except for the photo on the left, on Down With Tyranny!
This evening I went to the L.A. County Library's author's series, ALOUD, to hear Daniel Hurewitz, who wrote Bohemian Los Angeles and the Making of Modern Politics and Stuart Timmons, who wrote Gay L.A.-- A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians. There was a great deal to savor and enjoy but what inspired me to run home and get to google was a mention of Frank Shaw,
who was elected mayor of L.A. in 1933. "Unfortunately, he would
eventually go into the history books as having led the most corrupt
city administration in Los Angeles history" and he was the first U.S.
mayor successfully recalled from office.
What brings him up
these 70 years since that recall was his behavior while trying to
deflect the public approbation resulting in his unconscionable
corruption. He turned the L.A.P.D. loose on the 'til then unmolested
gay community, the first time-- though not the last-- they would be
scapegoated by an ambitious and crooked politician.
Before heading over to the Library I saw a New York Times
story about a less socially divisive reaction to gay people, not in
California, where we are currently burdened by a corrupt and
Neanderthal Republican governor, but from Massachusetts, where the
state legislature struck down attempts by right-wing loons driven
insane by hollow interpretations of Bronze Age superstitions, to outlaw
same-sex marriage.
"In
Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure," Gov. Deval
Patrick said after the legislature voted 151 to 45 against the
amendment, which needed 50 favorable votes to come before voters in a
referendum in November 2008.
Massachusetts is the only
state in America with full marriage equality. I guess it isn't a
coincidence that Massachusetts also boasts one of only two openly gay
members of Congress, Barney Frank (whose district, by the way, has a
smaller percentage of gay people than the state in general).
In their May issue OUT
Magazine featured "The Power 50" (they're obsessed with inane lists)
and as part of that they interviewed Barney: "Out On The Hill-- Coming
Out Didn't Stop Barney Frank From Becoming One of America's Most
Powerful Politicians." One question stood out; actually, no questions
stood out. One answer did though.
OUT: Are there closets full of closet cases on Capitol Hill?
Barney: "Sure. There are probably five or seven in the House and at least three senators.
Next question? Nope; they just let it drop. So, I had to turn to "Washington's Most Dangerous Man," my pal Mike Rogers to try to get to the bottom of this. Mike's web site, blogActive,
makes a habit of exposing the worst of the hypocrites, the ones with
the consistently homophobic voting records who also participate in
closeted gay sex, the only kind Republicans approve of.
Mike is ultra cautious.
He wants multiple sworn statements from participants and clear pictures
before he'll out anyone, no matter how viciously anti-gay they are.
Mike totally blew the cover of Virginia wingnut Ed Schrock,
now retired, and for years has been helpful in getting out the
information on Mark Foley (F-FL), also retired, and three who are still
hiding in their closets, David Dreier (R-CA), James McCrery R-LA), and Larry Craig (R-ID).
Craig is a senator and surely one of the 3 Barney was referring to since he outed him on the Bill Maher show last year.
And the others? Well, most people in DC who know about these things
feel that Miss
McConnell (R-KY) doesn't just act that way; he's as gay
as any panicky right-wing closet case you never want to meet. Ditto for
Lindsey Graham (R-SC). That's the easy part. Everyone knows about
McConnell, Graham and Craig. What about all those House members?
Well,
that's tougher. Dreier hardly even counts as being in the closet any
longer since it's so widely known that he's gay, even in his own
district... although no one ever speaks about it out loud. And McCrery
thinks he inoculated himself by marrying his secretary and stashing her
away somewhere deep in Louisiana. We've had some speculation about ex-high school wrestling coach Denny Hastert
but the male prostitute who says he had sex with him was too
embarrassed to be publicly identified. And people are pretty
suspicious, for good reason, about Patrick McNutcase (R-NC). And the other 3? Mike's gone mum on me; but I know he's got some hot investigations he's tying up. Of course, Larry Flynt is trying to get to the bottom of all this too.
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