Ken Mehlman Confronted Over Past

Activist Jon Winkleman tried to get former RNC chair Ken Mehlman to own up to his role in numerous anti-gay campaigns, but Mehlman wasn't having it. Clip description:

I ran into Bush's former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman who oversaw the anti-LGBT campaigns and ballot questions Bush used as wedge issues and to throw red meat to his base. Mehlman claims he came out after Bush left office, though it was widely known in DC that Mehlman was gay at the time. He knew what he was doing and that it was hurting other LGBT Americans. I know he helped with the efforts to pass marriage in NY but he still supports those who do us harm. Also his cynical anti-LGBT campaigns at the RNC fanned the flames of hate and violent hate crimes increased in the districts they focused. LGBT people were hurt...physically, because of Mehlman's actions. So of course I had to go over and say something.

Reince Priebus Elected RNC Chairman

Reince Priebus, former head of the Wisconsin GOP, has been elected as chairman of the Republican National Committee. A general foe of LGBT rights, last month Priebus promised NOM's Maggie Gallagher that he would oppose marriage equality as head of the RNC. Known for chasing pork barrel projects for Wisconsin, his last gig was as part of his legal firm's "Stimulus Legislation Team," which sought to "identify opportunities, prepare appropriate proposals and make targeted contacts to secure federal funds."

Michael Steele Drops RNC Chair Bid

Three ballots so far and no one has reached the 85 votes needed to win. Reince Priebus leads with 54 votes, but Michael Steele is reportedly telling his backers to throw their support behind Pfizer lobbyist Maria Cino.

Debate Watch: 100% Of RNC Chair Candidates Denounce Same-Sex Marriage

RNC Chairman Michael Steele is fighting for his job at today's debate, where every single candidate responded to NOM's question on marriage equality by invoking Jeebus, traditional values, and the sanctity of one man-one woman.

NOM Interviews Michael Steele

Even though he holds a slim chance of reelection, NOM included current RNC chair Michael Steele in their vettings of all the candidates for the position he now occupies. Steele says that should the courts ultimately strike down Prop 8, he'd support a renewed push for the Federal Marriage Amendment. Transcript by Towleroad:

Without hesitation or doubt. In fact we would partner with our leadership in the House and our governors and leadership in the state legislatures to create a very very strong front line if you will, on that issue. I can't again stress how important that is for how we will lead as a people, and how we will see ourselves as a nation. And again, that is not to the exclusion of anyone, it's not anti- anyone, or any group. It's just so fundamental and foundational, I think it needs to be protected."

NOM Wants To Pick New RNC Chairman

With Michael Steele unlikely to be reelected as chairman of the Republican National Committee, NOM has been interviewing all of the contenders, saying that they will attempt to block any candidate that doesn't toe their anti-gay line. Here they interview former Michigan GOP chair Saul Anuzis, who ran unsuccessfully for the national slot in 2009.

Repulsive Anti-Gay Quisling Homophobic Scumbag Asshat Closeted Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Has Come Out

Maybe the $4M loft he bought in gay gay gay Chelsea this summer did (or more likely, brought) the trick, as Mike Rogers reports today that repulsive 2004 Dubya campaign manager and former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman is about to come out. [UPDATE: It's official. See update at the bottom of this post.]

In 2004 Steve Schmidt (then the Republican National Convention spokesman and later the McCain campaign's senior strategist) lied to me when I asked him point blank about Mehlman. "Ken Mehlman is not gay," he proclaimed. In 2006, Mehlman told the New York Daily News, "I am not gay, but those stories did a number on my dating life for six months." It's so nice to be proven right, me that is, not Ken. If this move doesn't call for a Roy Cohn Award, I don't know what does. Ken Mehlman is horridly homophobic and no matter how orchestrated his coming out is, our community should hold him accountable for his past.

As we saw with Jim McGreevy, many gay leaders will attempt to elbow themselves to the front of the line to say on cable TV how wonderful it is that Ken is now being honest with the American people. Someone will be quoted in the New York Times saying something like, "After so many years of working for the Republicans, it's wonderful to see Ken be true to himself." Or perhaps you'll read a quote in the Washington Post about how "every gay person is on their own personal journey and we are happy Ken has decided to be so open about his personal struggle." Next up will come the book, then the TV shows, and of course the speaking tour. I'll only buy it if he is really sorry.

Mehlman's crimes against his own people are motherfucking LEGION. Mike Rogers continues:

So, how can Ken Mehlman redeem himself? I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for being the architect of the 2004 Bush reelection campaign. I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for his role in developing strategy that resulted in George W. Bush threatening to veto ENDA or any bill containing hate crimes laws. I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for the pressing of two Federal Marriage Amendments as political tools. I want to hear from Ken that he is sorry for developing the 72-hour strategy, using homophobic churches to become political arms of the GOP before Election Day.

We can be sure that GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans are positively drooling over the prospect of welcoming Mehlman onto their boards of directors. VOMIT.

UPDATE: It's official. Here's Mehlman's statement.

"It's taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life. Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I've told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they've been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that's made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago. I wish I was where I am today 20 years ago. The process of not being able to say who I am in public life was very difficult. No one else knew this except me. My family didn't know. My friends didn't know. Anyone who watched me knew I was a guy who was clearly uncomfortable with the topic."

Read the entire story on the Atlantic. Andy Towle is reporting that Mehlman has already agreed to chair a "major anti-Prop 8 fundraiser" for Americans For Equal Rights, Ted Olson and David Boies' outfit. Gee thanks, shitbag. That's like offering to help rebuild a house when YOU were the fucker that helped BURN IT DOWN.

UPDATE II: Courtesy of Towleroad, here's the official invite to the AFER/Mehlman Prop 8 fundraiser. UPDATE III: Oscar winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black cheers on Facebook.

Tweet Of The Day - Kim Lehman

Kim Lehman is a member of the Republican National Committee, which continues to lurch further into Teabagistan.

Limbaugh Did It First

The RNC uses the escape chute metaphor against Obama.

(Via - New York Magazine)

World's Second-Worst Hairpiece Suggested To Replace Michael Steele As RNC Chair

In a long story about potential candidates to replace RNC chair Michael Steele, Politics Daily closes with this:

Maybe the GOP just wants to forget questions such as color and gender and pick the Republicans Party's resident bad-ass. I'm talking, of course, about arch-conservative author, actor, and martial arts champion Chuck Norris. If you have high school kids, you've heard them: Chuck Norris jokes. [Sample: "When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't push himself up, he pushes the Earth down." Or, "Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas."] My favorite: "Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King -- and got one." Isn't that the kind of leader the Republicans need? In 2008, Norris endorsed Mike Huckabee for president, an endorsement Huckabee announced with a straight-faced Chuck Norris joke of his own: "My plan to secure the border? Two words: Chuck Norris." The Huck didn't win the White House, but it wasn't Norris' fault. Or as the teenagers might say: "Chuck Norris doesn't need Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee's party needs Chuck Norris."

World Net Daily, where Norris writes foaming-mouthed Christian-right screeds, seems to be taking the satire seriously.

National Review: Palin For RNC Chairman

The National Review thinks Sarah Palin would be a great replacement for Michael Steele as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

This is a job for Sarah Palin. Palin would be a much better RNC chairman than presidential candidate or freelance kingmaker. She'd raise tons of money and help recruit good candidates, i.e., she'd excel at doing the things Steele should have been doing instead of appointing himself Republican pundit-at-large. A Chairman Palin would help set the right tone for the Republican party without having to get herself entangled in the minutiae of policy-development, which has not been her forte. Sure, she'd be polarizing, but so is Barack Obama, and these are polarized times

I endorse this idea!

Michael Steele: Afghanistan Is A War Of Obama's Choosing

RNC chairman Michael Steele told a crowd at a Connecticut GOP fundraiser that Afghanistan was a "war of Obama's choosing" and "is not something that the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in." That may be the final straw for Steele as even Liz Cheney is now calling for his resignation. Not for lying about how the war started, of course, but for suggesting that we can't win.

Closeted Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Buys $4M Loft In NYC Gayborhood

Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken "Closet Case" Mehlman has bought a $4M loft in the heart of Chelsea, where he'll run into fellow tenants Lance Bass and Marc Jacobs in the elevator. Curbed reports:

Mehlman just paid $3.775 million for a 2,200-square-foot 2BR/3BA loft on the 17th floor, and according to the listing (still viewable on the rather spectacular website of broker/designer Fionn Campbell), that's the highest apartment in the building's best line. The apartment was only on the market for a month, and Mehlman paid $100k above the asking price. Aggressive move, but as his old boss would say, he's the decider.

Mehlman resigned as RNC chairman in 2006 one day after Bill Maher outed him on his HBO show. Mehlman claimed the resignation had been coming and was unrelated to Maher's comments.

More Hot Water For Michael Steele

RNC Launches Scare Campaign On Taxes And Health Care Reform

Taxes! Drumbeat! Obama! Bigger drumbeat! Scary!

Jon Stewart Vs. Muppet Michael Steele

GOP Flacks Call For Steele To Resign

Tittygate Fallout: RNC Chief Of Staff Ken McKay Falls On His Sword

RNC chairman Michael Steele continues to find fall guys for the Club Voyeur tittygate scandal. This time it's his chief of staff, Ken McKay.

The resignation of Ken McKay, Steele's highest-ranking aide, is the most drastic in a series of attempts at damage control by the RNC after it was revealed March 29 that the committee had spent $1,900 to entertain young donors at a risqué West Hollywood nightclub. The staff member who authorized the expenditure was fired last week, and the RNC has implemented new spending accountability procedures. "The members of the Republican National Committee entrusted myself and every staffer to lead the loyal opposition against the destructive Obama agenda, build a stronger Republican Party and win elections," Steele said in a statement. "This is a role I take with the utmost seriousness. With this in mind, I want to do everything in my power to ensure that the committee uses all its resources in the best possible fashion."

Teabaggers and some centrist Republicans continue to call for Steele himself to step down.