If They’re Democrats, It’s Not Homophobic

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Log Cabin Republicans call out the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for running a sleazy ad saying of an out-gay House candidate in Arizona, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, “We can’t trust him with our kids.”

As reported by the Washington Times, the ad dredges up and sensationalizes accusations of harsh, bootcamp-style disciplinary practices at a private school for troubled teens in Massachusetts where Babeu served as headmaster and executive director from 1998 to 2001. A state investigation recommended that certain practices be stopped but Babeu was never accused of wrongdoing by the state.

The ad, however, uses language that recalls accusations that gay men who are teachers are pedophiles and sexual predators, and not so subtly suggests that Babeu is a threat to children.

“Attack ads don’t get more homophobic than this,” Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo said in a statement. “Not only is this commercial factually inaccurate, but it shows just how low the DCCC is willing to go to stop a gay Republican from being elected to Congress.”

Democrats always think they get a free pass to be homophobic against gay Republicans, just as they feel they can be racists toward black Republicans and sexist toward Republican women.

12 Comments for “If They’re Democrats, It’s Not Homophobic”

  1. posted by Tom Scharbach on

    I was wondering how long it would take for you to bring this up. I guess we’ve now identified the Karl DeMaio of the 2016 election cycle, about whom LCR and IGF will endlessly bombast us with charges of left/liberal “homophobia”.

    Three quiet notes:

    (1) The “homophobic” ad doesn’t mention the fact that Sheriff Paul Babeu is gay, or suggest that his sexual orientation is relevant, or suggest that he personally abused anyone. As the WT notes, the ad concerns Babeu’s actions (or, more pointedly, lack of action) with respect to “harsh disciplinary practices at a private school for at-risk teens, where Babeu served as headmaster and executive director from 1998 to 2001”. The ad is an attack on his record. We have, apparently, reached the point where any criticism of the record of a homocon candidate is considered “homophobic” by LCR and IGF. So be it.

    (2) LCR and other homocons are taking the position that the charges have been “debunked” (see LCR statement). I don’t think that’s true. The story seems to be actively reported in the mainstream media and have legs, in part because Sheriff Babeu initially denied that he had any knowledge of the “harsh disciplinary practices”, was caught out in the lie, and has now, as far as I can tell, defended the practices. If Sheriff Babeu had simply acknowledged that the school was a mess and he was a shitty (term of art) headmaster, the issue would have have nearly the “legs” it seems to have at this point.

    While I don’t think that charges of “homophobia” make any sense in context, I’m not convinced, either, that the issue is germane to Sheriff Babeu’s qualifications for a seat in Congress. If he had personally taken part in the abusive practices, that might be different. But Sheriff Babeau apparently did not, and lack of administrative ability are not part of a Congressmen’s job.

    Perhaps IGF readers in Arizona can comment on the uproar, adding perspective that the rest of us don’t have at this point.

  2. posted by Tom Scharbach on

    BTW, for the record, here is the “homophobic” ad.

    • posted by Doug on

      I’m sorry but I don’t see anything in that ad that I would call homophobic. There is no mention of Paul Babeu’s being gay and no mention that he participated any any of the abuse, only that it happened during his tenure.

      If this is all LRC has it’s a pretty weak argument and a long stretch to read anything homophobic into this ad.

  3. posted by TJ on

    Yeah. It sounds like the accusation isn’t about his sexual orientation…..or really even his party affilition

    I guess he ran a private school and someone at said school was too harsh with the punishment.

    I don’t know what actual punishments were involved or what sort of state or private regulatory oversight exists.

  4. posted by Tom Scharbach on

    From the LCR statement: Log Cabin Republicans is demanding in no uncertain terms …

    Wow! LCR is finally demanding something, anyway. I wonder when LCR is going to formally endorse TPP&P?

  5. posted by Houndentenor on

    There’s nothing he’s done that wouldn’t be just as bad if he’d been straight. Barbeu is a rotten person and doesn’t deserve anyone’s vote.

    But while LCRs are demanding things, why don’t they demand that their own party drop the anti-gay planks from the platform!

    • posted by Tom Scharbach on

      But while LCRs are demanding things, why don’t they demand that their own party drop the anti-gay planks from the platform!

      What? Ruffle party feathers for the sake of LGBT rights? You must be mad.

    • posted by TJ on

      Hey. Why hold the Republican party accountable for anything it says or does?

  6. posted by Jorge on

    This ad reminds me of my experience learning about the critique that George Bush’s Willie Horton ad was a racist signal to white people, and then watching the ad a couple of years ago and having no problem with it, even with its racial overtones, because it described a factual event.

    I feel the exact same way about the headmaster ad. Let the Log Cabin Republicans whine about it. That’s their job, and in modern times the Willie Horton ad has a bad reputation. But as for myself? I care not.

    While I don’t think that charges of “homophobia” make any sense in context, I’m not convinced, either, that the issue is germane to Sheriff Babeu’s qualifications for a seat in Congress.

    That is true. Why on earth would an accusation that he can’t be trusted with kids be relevant? There is an argument to be made, I’m sure, but the ad whiffs.

  7. posted by Tom Scharbach on

    Zack Ford analyzes the “homophobia” flap, with a detailed accounting of the charges and countercharges, and calls out LCR:

    But the DCCC ad doesn’t even mention that allegation; it only references the abusive disciplinary techniques that the DeSisto School applied with Babeu’s knowledge and consent. It was only the Log Cabin Republicans that connected the ad and the abuses at the school to Babeu’s sexuality and “the specter of gays as child predators and deviants.”

    It is thus LCR, not the DCCC, that is perpetuating these archaic stereotypes about gay people in an attempt to defend a gay Republican they desperately want to see elected. Given the lingering question of Babeu’s relationship with a student, regardless of the fact that he was of consenting age, this tactic may have backfired by shining new light on the allegation.

    This isn’t particularly surprising for the organization, which repeatedly prioritizes electing Republicans over advancing LGBT equality. The group’s first ad of 2016, for example, attacked Hillary Clinton for 12-year-old comments on marriage equality while completely ignoring Donald Trump’s various current anti-LGBT positions. The group also endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, despite the candidate’s complete opposition to LGBT equality.

    The call-out is on target, as far as I am concerned. LCR is a sham and a shambles.

    I know that this IGF post is the first among many, and that we will be treated to a constant diet of whining about the “homophobia” of Democrats and LGBT progressives going forward, but it is, as far as I can tell, bullshit. The core problem is that Paul Babeu is, like Carl DeMaio, a flake and a bad candidate, and all the bullshit won’t change that.

    • posted by Jorge on

      “This was despite the fact that Pinal County is some 115 miles north of the border.”

      Huh?

      “Despite the controversy, Babeu did not immediately abandon his congressional run. Just a week after being outed, however, was when the public first learned about the atrocities committed at the DeSisto School in Massachusetts under his watch.”

      Wait a minute.

      There is a publicly known allegation that he had sex with a 17 year old.

      And since it emerged during a previous congressional race in 2012, it is widely known.

      And Think Progress isn’t considering that maybe the ad is a wink-nudge, instead concluding that the LCR brought it up in the first instance? Give me a break. I think right-wing minority organizations are entitled to have the same paranoid memories as any other.

      I will see if I can go one further. How old is this Mexican ex-flame?

      http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/paul-babeus-mexican-ex-lover-says-sheriffs-attorney-threatened-him-with-deportation-6454567

      Oh my.

      But no, it says he’s 34; they would have met at 26. It is obvious that but for his age, we have the same pattern of him trying to take advantage of people he perceives as weaker than him, and causing ruin.

      Anyway,

      This becomes even more similar to the Willie Horton ad.

      Not all gay people are paragons of honor toward the public. Paul Babeu was a closeted gay man who refused to accept his responsibility. That he was a victim of circumstances outside his control does not excuse the choices he made, that such circumstances taint many people does not excuse the need to fight discrimination. It is not wrong for the Democratic Congressional Committee to coat a dagger in a bit of venom in the interests of taking down someone who is a demonstrated threat to public safety. One person, one dose.

    • posted by Tom Scharbach on

      And Think Progress isn’t considering that maybe the ad is a wink-nudge, instead concluding that the LCR brought it up in the first instance? Give me a break. I think right-wing minority organizations are entitled to have the same paranoid memories as any other.

      I suppose, considering that it is the “right-wing minority organizations” who were largely responsible for the fact that social conservative lies/smears about gays and lesbians weren’t challenged in the Republican Party, playing along instead of fighting back. Mehlman, LCR, GOProud and the rest of that sorry bunch have a lot to answer for in that respect, in my opinion.

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