Gay Hookers?

Wow, this new Republican hooker / bribery scandal is the gift that keeps on giving. Jowl Of The Day 5-5-06

I'd been hearing rumors of possible gay connections to the whole Duke Cunningham scandal since the day he was first arrested last year, but pretty much put it at the back of my mind. It seems like everyone does the gay speculation thing about every politician / celebrity in the news, so I just took it all with a grain of salt. However, I do remember that there was some information being passed around about kept 'boys' in the DC area that somehow related to a houseboat that Cunningham had in DC and I also remembered Jeff Gannon's name being dropped in the middle of all those rumors too. Of course Gannon (the outed former White House Rebublican internet 'reporter' / internet prostitute) has been mentioned in almost every Republican corruption charge and rumor for the last 2 years. If even a tenth of them are true, he'd be majorly sleep deprived and would have the hardest knees and sorest mouth in DC. Therefore, I never really gave a lot of validity to it all.


Jeff Gannon (Prostitute / White House Reporter): Good to know if you pull yourself up by your... ahem... boot straps, you can make it all the way to the White House.

Well, it's all coming back and the speculation is getting louder than ever. With Hookergate hitting the front pages and now CIA boss Porter Goss resigning so quickly and unexpectedly, it seems that these rumors are being revisited and there seems to be real potential for a major 'gay' scandal to go along with all the hundreds of other scandals in which DC Republicans appear to be involved.


Porter Goss (Former CIA Director): "Gannon is this big."

It's no secret that there is a politically closeted conservative gay Republican clique that holds some significant power in DC right now (Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman, anyone?), but everyday, more and more names seem to be getting added to that list. And now, the rumors are involving Porter Goss and his 3rd in charge CIA man Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo (expect a resignation this coming week, BTW). What's being said is that the 'poker' parties with hookers that appear to have been attended by Cunningham, Foggo and Goss, actually involved male prostitutes. And surprise, Jeff Gannon's name is being dropped in there as one of the possible escorts, partly because he seems to know just about every major Republican who's been involved in the most recent scandals - which is quite surprising since he was just a lowly internet 'reporter' with no power or access outside of his little read online magazine before he was recently outed. It also doesn't hurt that he was a documented gay internet escort in DC during the time he started covering the White House. Is it speculation that Gannon and/or other male prostitutes were at these parties? Yes. Is it all possible? Yes. Is it all awesome if true? Yes.


Ken Mehlman (RNC Chairman): "This is the technique I use with Gannon."

Another part of the recent gay rumors has to do with a letter that was partially published in the San Diego Union-Tribune by the lawyer of the President of Shirlington Limousines, Christopher Baker (Shirlington supposedly provided the free limousines to the politicians going to the parties as part of the bribery allegations), where it read that Baker was, "never in attendance in any party where any women were being used for prostitution purposes." An interesting way to phrase a denial about Baker's attendance since it appears likely that he was there and there were also hookers there. Just emphasis the word 'women' in that quote and you suddenly have an interesting legal maneuver to not tell a lie that can be used against him in court, but that doesn't discount the fact that he was there with 'male' prostitutes instead. And since this letter was published, Baker has refused to reissue another letter or speak on record (despite being asked) to rephrase his words and clarify his statements so that this 'gay' rumor can now be laid to rest. Seems likely then that his lawyer's letter was a bit of legalese that people saw through, but that he cannot now correct for fear of either lying or having to admit that there were male prostitutes. The original article with the letter excerpt here: San Diego Union-Tribune

Duke Cunningham has also fueled some of the rumors himself. Gay DC paper, The Washington Blade, has been talking about Duke and his 'gayness' for a while now and they even made mention that Duke told former Human Rights Campaign head, Elizabeth Birch, that he once 'loved' men while he was in the Navy and as a civilian. Maybe it's true or maybe it's not, but either way, I will be glued to this scandal as it unfolds daily. Why? Because the hypocrisy of these conservative right wing 'family' men who have done everything they can to harm the rights and lives of the gay community is just too incredible to ignore. Read Wonkette's blog for all the stories about Duke Cunningham, including the gay connection here: Wonkette - Duke Cunningham


Randall 'Duke' Cunningham (Disgraced Former Congressman): "Gannon always liked me in uniform."

You might think that it would be weird of me to relish the fact that there will be gay headlines coming out of this scandal since it would associate gay people and corruption together and that would not be good for the community. Well, I disagree. Although there is always potential for anything public involving gay people to make homophobes even more intense in their hatred, I think this could have the opposite effect. First, it reveals the hypocrisy of these assholes who are creating and voting on policy that affects our lives. Second, it might start a domino effect that will shove many of these closeted hypocrites out into the public square where they will have to start accounting for their actions. Third, it might make some conservatives rethink their positions on the issues if they see some of their heroes / coworkers / elected officials as something other than the homophobic idiots they've been. Last, it allows me to say, "I told you so", which would just give me very selfish personal gratification (whether it helps the community or not).

Let me just say, I don't have a problem with someone being closeted if they think it is the right thing for them. Hell, I was closeted for a long time myself with some family and a few friends until I was able to work through it in my own time. However, during my closeted years, I never made a 'fag' joke, never said anything negative towards gay people, never voted against the interest of the gay community and I certainly never created public policy to oppress law abiding American citizens based on their sexual orientation. And that's the difference. If any of these corrupt politicians are living any form of a gay life while voting or encouraging others to take my rights away, then I want them exposed to the sunlight in the town square, tarred naked and then dusted with drag queen glitter for all the world to see.

And don't you just love the irony that Tom Cruise's character of Maverick in Top Gun was supposedly modeled after former Navy fighter pilot Duke Cunningham's earlier years? Now... if we can just get Super-Scientologist* Tom Cruise to come out...

*Scientologists believe that homosexuals are emotionally caught between fear and anger and can become normal (or be 'cured') through the study of Scientology. Hey, it's worked for Tom - he's the most 'normal' person I've ever seen.


Tom Cruise (Actor): "I don't know Gannon, but then again, why would a 'normal' guy like me know a homosexual like Gannon?"


Example #2 of Tom's 'normalcy'.


3rd time's a charm: normal, normal, normal!