July 19, 2021

SPECIAL TO BUZZFLASH BY MARK KARLIN

One of the great social advancements of the last two decades is that media largely avoids associating gender preference with one’s political effectiveness. On the whole, it also does not drag politicians out of the closet if they don’t want to declare their sexual orientation. It is acceptable to identify gender preference when a politician such as Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) openly identifies herself as a bi-sexual, but to the credit of the mainstream media, I have yet to read that her bi-sexuality impacts her performance in the Senate. [Her objectionable pro-filibuster stance speaks for itself, as it should.] This generally holds true of other office holders who are not binary in their sexuality.

It is the former advancement on the gender front that presents a challenge when a politician who is all but out of the closet — as in the case of Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — continually supports anti-LGBTQ causes, Republican political positions and anti-LGBTQ court nominations. Is it a lapse of political correctness to call Graham a hypocrite for saying he would go to war for the right of Chick-fil-A, against student opposition, to open an outlet on the Notre Dame campus?

Last week Graham tweeted, "I want everyone in South Carolina and across America to know I have Chick fil-A's back. I hope we don't have to, but I will go to war for the principles Chick fil-A stands for."

The issue of speculating about Graham’s barely veiled gayness is openly discussed in gay publications such as this excerpt from the Washington Blade, which bills itself as “America’s LGBTQ News Source.” In a 2020 article entitled, “The sad, closeted hypocrisy of Lindsey Graham,” the Blade noted:

Graham, for years and years rumored to be gay, is rushing the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice [Amy Coney Barrett] who will likely rule on challenges to the Obergefell marriage decision that will undoubtedly curtail its scope, if not overturn it entirely, as Justices Alito and Thomas revealed last week as their goal.

The confirmed bachelor’s efforts to keep his sexual orientation a secret suffered a blow this summer, when male escorts and porn stars created a stir with the “Lady Graham” hashtag and revelations about “ladybugs” (Google it if you have an iron stomach). Porn star Sean Harding went public on Twitter, alleging Graham has hired multiple D.C.-based escorts over the years who signed non-disclosure agreements, which have enabled this farce to persist for so long.

Yet, he blathers on about the virtues of being anti-LGBTQ, despite not even trying to hide his sexuality by bringing “beards” [women to make it appear he is heterosexual] to DC or South Carolina events. There’s the outside possibility, of course, that he could be an incel or asexual.

But like our only bachelor president, James Buchanan, it is most likely Graham is just vanilla gay.

The pioneering LGBTQ publication GLAAD compiled a list of Graham’s anti-gay positions that included:

—01.28.15—While questioning Loretta Lynch during her attorney general nomination hearing, Graham compared same-sex marriage to polygamy. “What legal rationale would be in play that would prohibit polygamy?” he asked. “Could you try to articulate how one could be banned under the Constitution and the other not?”

—06.26.15—Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, Graham released a statement calling himself “a proud defender of traditional marriage” and stressing his support for “religious liberty.”

The Blade article ended with, “Patti LuPone said it best when she tweeted earlier this year: ‘Lindsey Graham you are a disgrace. On a personal note, why don’t you just bite the bullet and come out. You might just come to your senses.’”

Somehow BuzzFlash doubts that the loopy Graham would come to his senses if he stepped out of the closet. That would be like expecting the pixilated Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) to come to his senses if he drank a barrel of Wisconsin beer.

And those are just some of the reasons Lindsey Graham is the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the week.

So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Your suggestions for BuzzFlash’s GOP Hypocrite of the Week are welcome. Send to BuzzFlash@BuzzFlash.com. Include your name and city of residence. If your suggestion is chosen, you will be acknowledged.

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