A gay, libertarian reader writes:
I have to disagree when you write, “Whatever their stance on public homosexuality, they [Democrats] would be subject to the same pressures and potential “repression” that any Republican would theoretically feel, say, to cruise in public bathrooms.”
I don’t think so. There’s no doubt that Democrats and liberals are more accepting of the gay lifestyle. Therefore, a gay Republican is going to be hurt far worse than a gay Democrat for the same offense. The same applies to cheating on a spouse in a straight arrangement. Since the Republicans are the party of morals then a Republican behaving ‘immorally’ suffers much more than a similar Dem.
This is precisely the piece of common wisdom that I believe to be most wrong. Or at least, I don’t think you can hold this view unless you consider most Democrats to be libertines with no qualms about how their behavior affects those closest to them.
Morality pervades Democrats’ lives too, just like anyone else’s (they might prefer to call it “ethics” or something), in the form of how they keep promises and treat their families. Many of them at least appear to be upstanding people who fulfill their commitments.
Whatever one’s position on same-sex marriage or Social Security survivor benefits for partners, regardless of acceptance or rejection of the gay lifestyle, personal betrayal of one’s spouse is still just that. When revealed, it still shatters your life the same way, Republican or Democrat. Regardless of party, a corrupt family man hides his dirty deeds and lives in fear — perhaps even does them anonymously in order to avoid detection (ala Senator Craig).
And speaking of charlatans, Mark Foley was not exactly bothered by his homosexuality, so it would be hard to argue that he was “repressed.”