Well, it finally happened. Scott “Homophobe” Walker declared his candidacy for president. The event would have warranted a yawn if it weren’t accompanied by a litany of rabid homophobic rants. We got the message weeks ago when he promised a federal constitutional amendment to undo marriage equality. Then even his wife and kids recoiled in “disappointment.” Apparently, there’s a married lesbian couple in the family. One of the Walker boys even stood as witness at their nuptials. Perhaps the news about the first family feud fueled that saccharine, retch-inducing “Our Dad” op-ed ostensibly penned by the sons. Reading it, one could almost hear the theme from the old “Andy Griffith Show.” The Opie-like whistling of paternal praises no doubt intended to outdo the tenor of their discontent.
Meanwhile, did you see Walker’s Waukesha pep rally where he officially announced his presidential candidacy? The news coverage of that fairground sideshow panned a sea of enthusiastic white faces (the black guy at the event was apparently kicked out after refusing to join Walker on the stage). Since then, with his eye on the Iowa prize, Walker has made more political hay to ingratiate himself to the hardest of hard-core conservatives. Admittedly, that’s not easy when you’re in a scrum with 15 other God-appointed contenders. Of course, Walker’s move targeted the LGBT community. In a South Carolina speech, Walker played the gay pedophile card, saying kids were safer when gays were banned from the Boy Scouts of America. (Speaking of protecting boys from predators, did you see the screen shot of the church guy just busted for soliciting minors? He’s grinning proudly in his “Scott Walker is my Hero” T-shirt. Great stuff...)
So, where do we stand in Walker’s World? The Circles of Republican Hell include the poor denied dignity, women denied reproductive rights, workers denied weekends (even God rested on Sunday, for God’s sake), everyone denied education, immigrants just denied and, last, but not least, LGBTs denied equality. But, since Donald Trump already got first dibs on bashing immigrants, Walker apparently gets the gays.
What bothers me even more than Walker’s hateful pandering is the lack of response by our local LGBT leaders and political organizations. Not surprisingly, that gay Republican state representative is keeping his mouth shut. Still, following social media, as I do, I’ve seen nothing from Fair Wisconsin. If nothing else, some mild pique would be reassuring.
Anyway, it may take another out relative to get our governor to lighten up. It could happen. Remember Lon Cheney? Oops, I mean former Vice President Dick Cheney (I always confuse them. The one, Lon, played a monster, the other, Dick, simply is one). As you’ll recall, when Dick’s lesbian daughter came out, the scales fell miraculously from his eyes and he got religion. Now he’s fine with the whole LGBT thing. As that other gay guy once so thoughtfully said, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Scotty, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
