Phillip Hinkle apparently went on Craig’s List and found himself a male companion to rent for an evening, offering $80 and a nice tip if he was satisfied. When the guy showed up and found out it was Indiana’s District 92 representative in the state’s House of Representatives he was dealing with, he decided to call the whole thing off. Hinkle got mad and the guy called his sister who came and rescued the poor 18-year-old and phoned Hinkle’s wife to tell her to call her now angry hubby off.
A great story for the scandal sheets. Picked up by the gay press, of course. And the not so gay press.
And the details have made it into Hinkle’s Wikipedia page.
To wit,
Though Hinkle co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, in 2011 he was identified as the man who paid an 18-year-old man for "a really good time" in a hotel room. The man stated that when they were in the hotel room, Hinkle "grabbed him in the rear, dropped his towel and sat down on the bed — naked."[4][1] Several of his fellow GOP lawmakers debated whether Hinkle should resign.[5] Governor Mitch Daniels called the situation a "family tragedy".[4]
I’ve been having a debate with a cousin of mine lately over whether all this gay stuff should now fall under the rubric of "who cares." She, being a reasonable sort, thinks it should. Who cares, indeed?
Well, I think the people of Indiana should care for starters. This guy Hinkle, if you look up his voting record, has argued that Indiana should not only pass legislation that would ban gay marriage. He’d like to ban “any relationship ‘substantially similar to marriage,’” as well.
As for Hinkle’s little adventure, well you gotta love the Bill Clinton logic. “We didn't do anything. We just talked baseball and commented on the view.”
And it follows, ipso ergo flopso mopso, as the day follows the night, that I'm totally innocent. Like the T-shirt says, “I’m not gay, but my boyfriend is.” Or, in this case, the guy down on his knees in front of me.
Once again (how many times, Lord, how many times?) what we have here is a fine family man, member in good standing at St. Christopher Catholic Church, and republican politician (oh dear, did I contradict myself?) taking family values seriously and working on legislation to prevent gay marriage. Not only gay marriage, though. Did you get that "any relationship 'substantially similar to marriage'" bit? No domestic partnerships. Nuttin'.
Nice piece of work, this guy.
And while we're on the topic of Indiana Republicans (ah, yes, remember that guy who couldn’t spell potato?), what's with this Governor Mitch Daniels and his take on the situation as a "family tragedy"?
I understand Daniels came to power on the strength of the 2010 republican sweep. And he capped state property taxes at 1–3% of their value, and this led to a budget shortfall, which led to major spending cuts on essential services. And that he got stronger abortion laws passed and state funding withdrawn from all healthcare providers who offered abortion services. All this while lowering corporate income tax rates. None of this affects families, of course.
Family tragedy, my ass!
_____
No comments:
Post a Comment