Gay Republicans

Which Gay Republican Hypocrite is Next?

Bob Fertik — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:34:58 -0400

Jon Ponder connects the dots so I don't have to:

In the wake of closeted Sen. Larry Craig’s self-outing in an airport men’s room this summer, Mike Rogers, the Washington-based publisher of blogActive who outed Craig, is threatening to reveal the secret sexual identities of two leading GOP senators, while two allegedly gay Republican congressmen are making headlines and drawing unwelcome attention to themselves, the timing of which could not be worse.

The Senators are Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), while the Representatives are Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and David Dreier (R-CA).

Beyond the individual scandals, Ponder assesses the larger political impact on the GOP's dying coalition:

Republicans painted themselves into this gay corner when they formed their star-crossed coalition with Christian nationalists in 1979. It was never a good fit. Country club Republicans don’t generally care about discussing family values, and going to church is not the central focus of their lives — not hardly.

The GOP could find itself right back where it was after Watergate. Bush and his toadying to the Christian right has driven away the right-leaning independents. Without the support of the poor, dumbass so-called Christians, there aren’t enough country clubbers and anti-taxers out there to win a national election. Status quo circa 1977.

If the secret lives of any of these men are revealed as the election cycle ratchets up, the Christianists could well seek solace in a third party next year, leaving the GOP’s Washington elite literally without a base to stand on.

Gee wouldn't that be a tragedy.

Is Patrick McHenry Involved in the Tawdriest Republican Scandal Ever?

Bob Fertik — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:28:10 -0400

Former Rep. Mark Foley's lead defender, corrupt gay rightwing Republican Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is back in the news, and this could be the tawdriest Republican scandal ever. Howie Klein tells the story, which reads like the plot of a mystery:

it looks like there is a connection between McHenry and a murderous Republican homosexual love triangle/escort service.

The murdered gay Republicans include Ralph Reed's purported ex-lover, Ralph Gonzalez (former head of the rabidly homophobic Georgia Republican Party), David Abrami and McHenry guy-pal Robert Drake, the shooter. All three were found last week in a murder-suicide in an Orlando apartment. According to right-wing website, the North Carolina Conservative "All three men were active in Republican politics." They mention that Drake is "an associate" of McHenry's but don't define that. He is alleged to be an associate of quite a few younger men, some of whom are gay and some of whom are just gay-for-pay.

That's just the tip of the iceberg - read it all here. (And don't miss the comments.)

And if you like to solve mysteries, start digging because this one could be HUGE!

Sen. Larry Craig Arrested for Men's Room Sex Solicitation

Bob Fertik — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:55:31 -0400

Last October, while the Mark Foley scandal was still buzzing, we reported Mike Rogers' discovery that rightwing Idaho Senator Larry Craig is gay.

I have done extensive research into this case, including trips to the Pacific Northwest to meet with men who have say they have physical relations with the Senator. I have also met with a man here in Washington, D.C., who says the same -- and that these incidents occurred in the bathrooms of Union Station. None of these men know each other, or knew that I was talking to others. They all reported similar personal characteristics about the Senator, which lead me to believe, beyond any doubt, that their stories are valid.

Craig's spokesperson vehemently denied the story:

"The senator says the story is completely ridiculous. Mr. Rogers has no facts to back up his story. [The events] absolutely did not (occur); there is no basis in fact."

Well guess what? According to Roll Call,

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.

Craig’s arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

A spokesman for Craig described the incident as a “he said/he said misunderstanding,” and said the office would release a fuller statement later Monday afternoon.

After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report. At one point during the interview, Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, “What do you think about that?” the report states.

What do I think about that? I think it's time for Craig to get new business cards that identify him as a Self-Loathing Lying Pervert.

I think it's time for Craig to apologize to Mike Rogers.

And I think the voters of Idaho should demand his immediate resignation.

Meanwhile has anyone heard any comments from Craig's homophobic allies like James Dobson or Pat Robertson?

Update 1: The police report is hysterical.

Update 2: When rightwing blogger Hugh Hewitt throws you under the bus, you're really in trouble.

Update 3: Over at DailyKos, mcjoan wonders why the Idaho Statesman has been sitting on Dan Popkey's expose of Craig's men's room cruising all year. Why? Because Craig is a Republican. As Atrios would say, this has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.

Update 4: The year isn't 2/3 over, but Craig has already won the award for Best Legal Defense of 2007, as told by the arresting officer:

Craig stated “that he has a wide stance when going to the bathroom and that his foot may have touched mine,” the report states.

He's also earned himself a nickname that will stick with him for life: Larry "Wide-Stance" Craig. Knowing W's grade school humor, I'm sure he'll be the first to use it.

Update 5: I agree with Kos:

To me, it's pretty obvious that every conservative anti-gay extremist is gay. If you're not gay, you don't sit around obsessing over gay sex. If you sit around obsessing about gay sex, then you're gay. It's that simple.

It sure is.

Rep. Patrick McHenry's Voting Fraud Scandal is Also a "Sleepover" Scandal

Bob Fertik — Sun, 13 May 2007 15:11:30 -0400

Remember Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the GOP's lead defender of page-molesting Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL)? It seemed strange that anyone would defend Foley, so I decided to learn more about McHenry and - suprise surprise! - last October I outed him as gay.

Now McHenry finds himself at the center of a voter fraud scandal - a real one, not the bogus kind cooked up by Karl Rove and his "loyal Bushie" U.S. Attorneys. A young male campaign staffer, Michael Aaron Lay, was indicted on May 7 for voting in McHenry's 2004 primaries in North Carolina while living (and receiving his campaign paycheck) in Tennessee. (Michael Rogers has the voting and pay records to prove it.)

Now it's not unusual for young campaign workers to leave their home towns to work for Congressional candidates. But usually they rent an apartment or stay with friends. Where did Lay sleep? According to his illegal voter registration, he slept at 1100 Requa Road - Patrick McHenry's home!

And here's where it gets fun - McHenry and Lay weren't the only single young men in this bachelor pad! Michael Rogers did some digging and found another out-of-town paid staffer, Jason Jent Deans. And he also found Matthew Allen Hamilton, who registered in 1998 but only started voting in primaries when McHenry was on the ballot. Rogers also found a registration for Neil Everett Capano.

McHenry's secret life inspired the creation of the Patrick McHenry blog, which asks "Why Won't He Just 'Come Out' And Tell The Truth." The blog reports

Lay was one of six college-age men living temporary at McHenry’s Cherryville home during the primary campaign, and all showed up in N.C. State Board of Elections records as having voted in Gaston County.

And here's another key fact: McHenry won the primary by only 86 votes.

As Rogers writes,

I mean, enough already!

The funny thing about McHenry is this: I've received tons of tips from across the state, including one from an elected official who told me, "I can tell you Patrick McHenry is gay. I've known him long enough to know."

Now, I'm not saying he is gay, but he does seem to like engaging with Barney Frank. If you have not seen the video of their exchange, it's priceless.

And on Thursday, McHenry refers to Congresswoman Ellen Taucher as a man. It seems clear to me that Patrick has some serious gender identity issues.

In typical form, is it any wonder that Patrick McHenry was the Republican attack dog against the Democrats on Foleygate? What is really funny here, is how he tries to call Foley an "obscure congressman from Florida." Check this video out:

Joseph Cannon sums it up:

This story has it all: Republican hypocrisy on gay issues (McHenry first came to my notice when he tried to blame the Foley scandal on Nancy Pelosi!) and a revealing look at the voter registration fraud controversy. Karl Rove wants us to think that only Dems would fill out a registration form improperly -- but so far, the only evidence of such a thing actually occurring points to the four Village People hanging out at the McHenry pad. And to Ann Coulter.

Now that the D.A. has indicted one of McHenry's sleepover staffers, it seems likely that one or more of the others will follow. And McHenry could also be charged with conspiracy to commit voter fraud.

And with all of this attention on McHenry's sleepover staffers, people are going to ask whether McHenry was having Foley-style "sleepover parties" with the young men. How will that go over in Jesse Helms country?

Anyone wanna bet on how long McHenry stays in Congress?

A Gay Porn Star is Honored at CPAC

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:00:18 -0500

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070307/cm_thenation/45172362

A Gay Porn Star is Honored at CPAC

Wed Mar 7, 5:28 AM ET

The Nation -- A former gay porn star and male escort was awarded the Jeanne
Kirkpatrick Freedom award at last weekend's CPAC. He is Cpl. Matt Sanchez, a
Marine, campus culture warrior and Fox News favorite who David Horowitz
introduced me to at CPAC.

Tom Bacchus has a full run-down of the Sanchez saga, along with photos which
you should absolutely NOT view if you are in the presence of minors or in a
crowded workplace. On my blog, I describe my meeting with Sanchez, discuss
his psychological similarities to Ann Coulter, and explain how personally
conflicted figures like him are drawn to the right.

http://tombacchus.blogspot.com/2007/03/dirty-sanchez.html

What to make of Matt Sanchez, the 36 year old Marine who's begun to make the
rightwing gab show circuit by complaining that (what a shocker) fellow
students at Columbia University don't like having a military presence at
their school, a Manhattan university.

Will Condi Rice Hire A Platoon of Lesbians?

CactusPat — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:53:20 -0500

This is just too rich.... Last week Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) sliced and diced the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy by suggesting Condoliar Rice hire the gay linguists dismissed by the Pentagon during a congressional hearing on the '08 State Dept. budget. Ackerman said. "...For some reason, the military seems more afraid of gay people than they are against terrorists, but they're very brave with the terrorists.... If the terrorists ever got a hold of this information, they'd get a platoon of lesbians to chase us out of Baghdad...."

(more)

Delicious, especially considering the ambiguity about Condi's own sexuality.

Here's a report and partial transcript of the exchange...

Rice Pressed On Fired Gay Linguists

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: February 7, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET

(Washington) Condoleezza Rice got a grilling Wednesday when she bemoaned "the foreign language deficit that we have" and how much the government needs Farsi and Arabic speakers during an appearance on Capitol Hill.

Rice was appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee justifying the State Department's proposed budget increases.

After she complained several times that the department was facing a problem finding translators an exasperated Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) asked why the department had not hired any of the translators fired by the Pentagon because they are gay and lesbian.

Under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" more than two dozen Arabic translators have been dropped since the war in Iraq began.

"It seems that the Defense Department has a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' when it comes to homosexuals. You don't have such a prohibition in your agency, do you?" Ackerman asked Rice.

"No, we do not," Rice replied.

"Well, it seems that the military has gone around and fired a whole bunch of people who speak foreign languages — Farsi and Arabic, etc.," Ackerman told her.

The Congressman said that they had already been trained at government expense and had passed security tests.

"For some reason, the military seems more afraid of gay people than they are against terrorists, but they're very brave with the terrorists," Ackerman said.."If the terrorists ever got a hold of this information, they'd get a platoon of lesbians to chase us out of Baghdad."

The remark drew some smiles from fellow members of the panel, but Rice was stone faced.

He then asked directly why the State Department had not looked at the fired gay linguists.

"Can we marry up those two — or maybe that's the wrong word — can we have some kind of union of those two issues?" Ackerman asked.

"Congressman Ackerman, I'm not aware of the availability of people, but I certainly will look [at] what we are doing right now," Rice replied, adding that the department had increased staff in many critical areas but needs additional people at higher levels.

"But maybe you might find some of those competent people among those who are recently unemployed."

"We'll look at it," is all Ackerman could get Rice to commit to.

"Secretary Rice would have no trouble finding gay linguists," said Sharon Alexander, deputy director of policy for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

"In fact, our government could go a long way in addressing the shortage of language expertise by doing just as Congressman Ackerman suggests. SLDN would be happy to introduce Secretary Rice to our many clients who speak Arabic but have been dismissed because of the ban," said Alexander.

Since the ban on gays serving openly was implemented a decade ago more than 11,000 men and women have been dismissed under "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" according to the Government Accountability Office.

Last month Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) said that he will reintroduce legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." early in this session of Congress and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has told Defense Secretary Robert Gates he wants an answer on the new secretary's position on DADT by March 16.

And guess what? She's actually looking into it!

h/t thecarpetbaggerreport.com, thinkprogress, Pam's House Blend, and freddomtoserve...

Meet the New Part-Time RNC Chair - Senator Mel Martinez (Repugnant-FL)

CactusPat — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 06:44:10 -0500

It's official, Kenny (BoyToy) Mehlman's replacement has been anointed by our Dear Smirkin' MisLeader. Mel (Empty-Suit) Martinez is the new partime RNC Chair. He of the infamous Terry Schiavo memo. And, yes, another Lobbygate - Bob Ney - Jack Abramoff tainted Republican. Oh, and he's also caught up in a little campaign finance scandal of his own involving corporate embezzlers in S. Fl. But I'm sure that's someone else's fault.... Great choice Smirky! I'm enjoying the hell out of watching you flush your Repugnant crime syndicate down the ol' swirly slip and slide...

Bush Announces Sen. Martinez Next RNC Chairman
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), a close WH ally and a Cuban American, will take the job of general chairman of the RNC, Bush announced to reporters at the WH this afternoon. The appointment comes in the wake of an election that yielded shrinking GOP support from Hispanic voters. Martinez, a first-term senator, will remain in office and serve as the party's chief spokesman and fundraiser heading into the 2008 elections. Mike Duncan, the RNC's current general counsel and a former party treasurer, will manage day-to-day operations and be elected chairman in January, Bush said. The current co-chair, Jo Ann Davidson, will continue in that post... (more)

Counsel to GOP Senator Wrote Memo On Schiavo Martinez Aide Who Cited Upside For Party Resigns
The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night. Brian H. Darling, 39, a former lobbyist for the Alexander Strategy Group on gun rights and other issues, offered his resignation and it was immediately accepted, Martinez said. Martinez, the GOP's Senate point man on the issue, said he earlier had been assured by aides that his office had nothing to do with producing the memo. "I never did an investigation, as such," he said. "I just took it for granted that we wouldn't be that stupid. It was never my intention to in any way politicize this issue."

Martinez, a freshman who was secretary of housing and urban development for most of President Bush's first term, said he had not read the one-page memo. He said he inadvertently passed it to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who had worked with him on the issue. After that, officials gave the memo to reporters for ABC News and The Washington Post. Harkin said in an interview that Martinez handed him the memo on the Senate floor, in hopes of gaining his support for the bill giving federal courts jurisdiction in the Florida case in an effort to restore the brain-damaged Florida woman's feeding tube. "He said these were talking points -- something that we're working on here," Harkin said...

The bonus of this flawed selection is that it has the base (AL Qaida, pun intended) in an uproar. Seems he's soft on them criminal illegal immigrant types. A kos blogger has posted a few gems gleamed from various flying monkey blogs, or you can read what they are howlin' 'bout here and here.

Added bonus, AmeicaBlog points out that while he puts on an anti-gay homohysterical public face, he has no propblem whith gay republican staffers....

Maher Outs RNC Chair Kenny (BoyToy) Mehlman on Larry King, CNN Censorship, Mehlman Quits

CactusPat — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 18:07:38 -0500

OK, Maher outs Kenny (BoyToy) Mehlman on Larry King Wed. eve. CNN then censors it out of the midnight and 3:00AM repeats of the show and purges the the offending passages from the King show's transcript. Then CNN goes further by demanding YouTube pull the videos of the segment posted by YouTube members, including a cease and desist sent letter to AmericaBlog editor, John Arivosis. But YouTube hasn't purged all copies of the video segment, yet.... if they do manage to ferret them all, there is a copy over on HuffPo (Alternet's PeekBlog and the IFILM Viral Videos channel, too).

Next day, CNN's John King reports on rumor Kenny (Boy Toy) Mehlman is stepping down...

"He's been on the gerbil wheel, as one of his close friends put it, for well in excess of six years now and he's tired."

Yeah, Right! GERBILS!!! Nothing Freudian there... The "Gray Lady" (NYT) made it official on Friday...

Republican Party Chairman Will Not Seek Another Term The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman, said Thursday that he would not seek to retain the post when his term expires in January and would return to a job in the private sector. This has been a great ride, but at the same time I have a lot of interests in addition to politics,” said Mr. Mehlman, who managed President Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004 and was the White House political director before that. The decision was not a surprise. Associates of Mr. Mehlman said in July that he would not seek a second term as chairman regardless of the outcome of the midterm elections...

Now the RNC is supposedly looking at former MD Lt. Governor, and defeated homeless hustlin' Senate candidate Michael Steele, to head the criminally corrupt RNC. Or maybe it's Carville's wife Mary Matalin?

Surely they JEST! Well maybe not... But how can they possibly consider a black man to head such a racist organization as the RNC? [ERROR, does not compute!]

FL GOP Gubernatorial Nominee Charlie Crist: 'I Never Had Sex With That Man'

CactusPat — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:07:54 -0400

Look out America! Another Gay Republican is on the prowl. Gay Republicans are dropping from the sky! Do you know where your children are? Unbelievable! A rising young star in the FL GOP has been boasting about sexual trysts with FL GOP candidate and Jebthro Bush wannabe Charlie Crist. There have been many rumors over the yrs., including one that has Crist as Mark Foley's former roomate (1, 2, 3, 4)....

Crist Denies Trysts - GOP frontrunner: I have never had sex with a man By Bob Norman
A young rising star in the Republican Party has boasted to witnesses of his sexual relationship with Charlie Crist, the frontrunner in the Florida governor's race who has repeatedly denied that he is gay. The GOP staffer, 21-year-old Jason Wetherington, told friends at separate social functions in August that he had sex with Crist... (more), according to two credible and independent sources who heard Wetherington make the claim first-hand.

Wetherington, who recently worked as a field director for U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris and currently works for state representative Ellyn Bodganoff's reelection campaign, also named a man whom he said is Crist's long-term partner, a convicted thief named Bruce Carlton Jordan who also recently worked for Harris in her long-shot Senate bid.

Jordan made headlines recently when the Miami Herald learned that the felon was working as Harris's travel aide. The newspaper noted that Jordan, 42, was reported to be close friends with Charlie Crist, whom he convinced to attend an annual Florida Funeral Directors Association meeting in 2003.

Jordan was charged in 2003 with stealing thousands of dollars from two organizations for whom he worked, including the Tallahassee-based Florida Funeral Directors Association, where he served as executive director. He completed a 60-day jail sentence in February and will be on probation until the year 2011, according to state records.

When the Herald questioned Crist about Jordan this past August, the frontrunner in the governor's race told the newspaper that he doesn't remember the man. "I don't know who Bruce Jordan is," he said at the time. "It doesn't mean I haven't met him. I don't know who you are speaking about."

I asked Crist during a phone interview on Monday morning if he had ever had sex with Jordan.

"No," he said. "I don't recall the name."

That Crist doesn't remember Jordan seemed incredible to me. Not only did the attorney general make a special appearance at the funeral directors' conference, but former presidents of the association say Jordan was known to be pals with Crist. Attempts to reach Jordan weren't successful, but his father told me that Crist and his son are friends.

"He talks about [Crist], but I don't think he's seen Charlie in a while," said Albert Jordan, who lives in Inverness, where he and his wife raised their son.

When asked if his son and Crist had a sexual relationship, the father simply said, "Not as far as I know."

I recounted some of those facts with Crist.

"I'm not saying I haven't met him, I probably have," he said. "I just can't picture him, that's all."

I also asked him about Wetherington's claim to sources that he'd had sex with Crist. "That's ridiculous," he said. "Completely false."

Then I asked him if he'd ever in his life had sex with a man.

"Never," he said.

While there is no proof that what Wetherington has said is true, it's clear that he said it. I first learned about his claims after receiving an anonymous e-mail on October 6. The e-mail was linked to a 2003 story of mine reporting that now-disgraced congressman Mark Foley was gay.

"Why don't you do the same story for another hugely visible FL politician running for office? Call if you want a starting point."

Immediately I knew the e-mailer was referring to Crist. For years, it has been rumored that Crist, the favorite to move into the governor's mansion after the November 7 election, is gay.

I was interested in pursuing the lead mainly because I've come to believe that any closeted politician in the Republican Party — which openly woos homophobes into its ranks while opposing gay rights — is fair game for the media.

Crist, for his part, has been moderate on those issues and supports civil unions. "I'm a live and let live kind of guy," he told me.

But the Palm Beach Post reported on Friday that Crist can be heard in recently recorded phone calls targeting voters saying, "I support a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriages, and I oppose adoption by gay couples."

I asked him about that, and he said he's always held those positions. I asked him if he thought it was fair for reporters to ask him about his own sexuality. "Of course it's fair," he said. "It's just happens to be wrong."

Many people aren't convinced that Crist is telling the truth. I am one of them, especially after reporting this column. The source behind the e-mail, who asked that I not reveal his name for fear of retribution, is a gay man, a registered Independent voter and former Republican who isn't involved in Democratic Party politics. He was motivated to tell his story, he says, by his outrage at the Foley scandal.

He recounted a dinner party of four people at a friend's posh waterfront home in Las Olas Isles. He didn't remember the exact date but it took place in early August. He was there with his friend, his friend's partner, and Wetherington.

His friend had struck up a sexual relationship with Wetherington after meeting him in an AOL chat room. Wetherington spoke at the party about working for Katherine Harris's campaign. To me, this was significant since Harris is a stalwart of the Religious Right and openly denounces homosexuality. Wetherington even took a call from Harris after they sat down for cocktails before dinner. "He was like Harris's gay valet," the source said.

As they sipped their drinks, Jason started talking about his relationship with Crist, which he said had been sexual in nature.

"Charlie Crist? Are you kidding?" the source remembers asking.

They asked Jason about the size of Crist's anatomy. Jason "wouldn't go there," said the source. "He said that he remains friendly with Crist and that he was expecting an appointment when Crist becomes governor."

The source said that after the dinner he struggled for a few weeks with what he'd heard. When the Foley scandal hit the news, he called ABC News, which had broken the congressional page story. He said the network had no interest in the story.

Then he contacted me. I learned that Wetherington, a dark-haired and good-looking former page in the state senate, had been Harris's southeast field director and had left the campaign after the primary to work for Bogdanoff.

Wetherington had also appeared in numerous Sun-Sentinel articles. From them, I learned he was an alum of Fort Lauderdale High School, where he was the student body's vice president and the student advisor to the Broward County School Board.

On August 11, 2002, the newspaper published a feature story about Wetherington under the headline: "Leader by example: The school board's student advisor is a take-charge guy with lofty ideals and goals."

In it, Wetherington was very open about his ambition, telling the newspaper, "I'll make it to Washington, whether in the Senate or the White House." His mother said she was certain she would someday be a "First Mom."

The article also mentioned his role as a leader at First Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale. The huge 12,000-member church is one of the more anti-gay institutions in the county and has been aligned with the ultra-conservative Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and its rabidly right-wing minister, D. James Kennedy.

Wetherington appeared to be living a seriously twisted double life. On the one hand, he was a young Christian Republican leader and on the other a cruiser of men in AOL chat rooms.

Two weeks ago, I dropped by Wetherington's apartment complex off Sunrise Boulevard near the Intracoastal. As it happened, he was in his car in the parking lot, about to drive away.

I asked him to roll down his window, introduced myself, and told him what I was doing there. Wetherington confirmed he was gay. I told him what I had learned about the dinner party, which he admitted attending. But he denied that he had ever had sex with Crist.

"The only way I would have said that was if I was really drunk," he told me, adding that he didn't "remember anything" about the party.

I told him that the source told me that they had asked him about Crist's anatomy. Wetherington became more adamant about this detail than anything else during the impromptu interview. He asserted several times that he had never spoken about Crist's anatomy.

I assured him that the source had told me the same thing.

He said that he had met Crist on at least three different occasions, including at his church and at Crist's Republican primary debate with Tom Gallagher in West Palm Beach, but the extent of his contact with the Attorney General was "shaking his hand."

Did he already have a job locked up with the administration if Crist wins the election?

"I sent him a resume," he said. "I want to work for him, but I never said that I had a job with the administration."

I told Wetherington that it must be tough navigating his two conflicting worlds.

"It has been a personal struggle," he told me. "But I have my mother and I have the church "

Wetherington went on to say that he had come out to the church and that his activity there had decreased significantly because of it. He said he needed to go but wanted me to call him so we could meet for a standard interview. He never returned my phone calls.

A week later, I received another e-mail from another source who created the Yahoo name of "EveryOne KnowsAboutCC" to contact me. I spoke with the new source and he told an extremely similar story about Wetherington, only he'd heard it at a different party that took place in Broward County this past August.

This source, unlike the first, has known Wetherington for years. Again, the source supplied his identity — which is known in some local political circles — but asked that I not reveal it publicly.

The source was credible and possessed knowledge that only a confidante of Wetherington's could possibly have. He said he contacted me because he had learned that I had interviewed Wetherington.

"I am very conflicted about talking yet at the same time with the whole Foley thing, you can imagine how I must feel," he said. " Jason is a very nice kid, but as a gay person, we struggle very hard and, to have somebody [Crist] who sucks up to a party that badmouths us and works against us, is very two-faced."

He said Wetherington told him and several other people at a party that he had sex with the politician in a hotel room in the Tampa-Sarasota area while he was working on the Harris campaign. He said Wetherington recounted that he spoke with Crist about a campaign matter and "one thing led to another and they had sex."

"No birthmarks, moles, or such," said the source. "He also said that it happened on more than one occasion."

The new source also told me, like the first, that the young aide boasted that he was in line for an appointment to Crist's administration after he won the governor's race.

And he said that Wetherington named Crist's long-term partner: Bruce Carlton Jordan. The source said he had no idea who Jordan was, but had jotted the name down so he would remember it.

Both the sources are obviously telling the truth about Wetherington. That means that Wetherington, one of the most promising young Republican staffers in Florida, either had a sexual relationship with Crist or was lying about it.

There's no proof, just the ring of truth. Crist, meanwhile, is clearly in denial mode as indicated by his hollow claim that he doesn't remember Jordan. He tries to write the issue off as pre-election politics.

"It's the silly season," he said.

Maybe, but I don't think this issue is going away anytime soon.

Also see Bob Norman's blog post on his reasoning for publishing this article. It's sound... and if you didn't catch it, FL Dem Nominee Jim Davis has caught up to Crist in the latest poll...

Jerry Weller Rats-Out Fellow Republican Pervert?

CactusPat — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 21:50:02 -0400

Hmmmm, is suspected pervert Jerry Weller ratting out a fellow Republican pervert to try and save his own ass?

Weller refers incident to House
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris, through his election attorney, moved Thursday to inform the House that a former male page or intern may have been the subject of inappropriate attention from another lawmaker, Weller's campaign manager said Thursday. Steven Shearer said the congressman was not prepared to reveal the identity of the youth, the timing, nor the identity of the lawmaker, but felt confident that a former page or intern was "inappropriately invited to a social function by another congressman."...

Weller and his staff learned of the alleged incident through conversations with reporters and others Thursday. Shearer said Weller directed his campaign attorney to inform the House Page Board and the House Ethics Committee of the incident. The committee is investigating inappropriate contacts by former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., with former pages and the handling of the matter by House leaders and staff.

Foley, 52, resigned abruptly late last month when it was revealed he had carried on explicit text message conversations with underage male pages.Shearer said Weller's name came up before the page inquiry within the last week, but as far as the congressman knows, solely in the context that he was the sponsor of the page or intern in question.

He said neither the congressman nor his office ever knew of the invitation, what became of the incident, and have yet to confirm the identity of the former page or intern.

He said the congressman would provide whatever information might be asked of him by the Page Board or the committee, and stressed that neither had contacted Weller for any reason. "When it comes down to it, we are very, very confident that's the extent of anything associated with Congressman Weller," Shearer said.

Congressional pages are high school juniors who work, live and study on Capitol Hill for one or two semesters. Their duties include ferrying messages and running errands. Shearer could not confirm whether Foley or another lawmaker is the subject of Weller's notice to the House.

House leaders and staff have come under scrutiny for failing to act more forcefully when they first learned of non-explicit contact by Foley with a page after that person left Washington. The contact alarmed the page and his parents, and they relayed their concerns to the page's sponsor, Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., who in turn told House leaders.

His concerns came some months after Foley's chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, says he informed Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville and chair of the three-member House Page Board, of his concerns over Foley's behavior. At that time, Shimkus and then-House Clerk Jeff Trandahl warned Foley to cease contact with pages, but did not inform the board nor the Ethics Committee.

The unconfirmed mention of Weller in the page inquiry had inspired intense speculation on Democratic-leaning Internet Web blogs about what role he might have played. Shearer accused the congressman's opponents of leaking his name in connection with the page inquiry, and said it came from "national Democrats what want to put another seat in play for free."

Weller's 11th Congressional District seat has been considered relatively safe by independent observers in recent weeks, though predictions of a disastrous Nov. 7 election for incumbent Republicans have many Democrats hoping that the party will post unexpected victories in seats like Weller's.

The race, however, has yet to attract big money from national party organizations on either side, indicating Weller is thought to hold the advantage over Democratic opponent John Pavich, a Beecher attorney and political newcomer.

Shearer did not accuse Pavich of any role in the speculation about Weller, and Pavich's campaign manager and brother, Matt Pavich, had no comment.

A spokesman for Shimkus declined specific comment, other than to say any such information would be considered confidential and referred to the House Ethics Committee or a legal authority.

A spokesman for Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., the lone Democrat on the board, also declined comment.

EDWARD FELKER, sng@nationalpress.com, 202-277-2487
Posted Online: 2006-10-20