Rumor has it that MSNBC newsman Chris Matthews will run for senate once his contract runs out.

Seizing on those rumors, Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal asked Matthews about his stance on gay marriage. After eschewing the question - what would Matthews do about the defense of marriage act - Matthews went into a valid tirade about freedom, which could come across as support.

Segal, however, wanted specifics. What he received were expletives:

MS: Well, where are you on the issue?
CM: I have an open heart. I’ll have to live with it.

MS: In other words, you won’t answer the question.
CM: I can answer it the way I have, which is any fucking way I want. I can answer in my way even if it isn’t your way.

You kiss your wife with that mouth?!

Mark Segal and his news team can't quit needling Barack Obama.

This week's cover of Philadelphia Gay News includes this stamp: "It's been 1,529 days since the Senator spoke with local gay press." That's seven more days since the paper's last jab, when the paper ran a half-blank cover protesting the Senator's perceived silence. Segal also included another editorial this week, and surprisingly acknowledged his $1,000 contribution to Hillary Clinton's campaign. The publisher then proclaimed that Obama's Advocate interview should not be considered "one and done:"

With all due respect, Senator, by going to The Advocate, you had a cheat sheet. Clinton had already answered our questions in PGN last week - the same questions you were going to be asked.
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Only the local gay press will ask the detailed questions.

Regardless of his aggressive missive, Segal insists that he wants to be Obama's ally, not his adversary. He's got a funny way of showing it.

What perfect timing! Just days after Philadelphia Gay News' Hillary Clinton-donating publisher, Mark Segal blasted Barack Obama for not talking to the press, The Advocate announced that it's about to publish an interview with the presidential candidate that it conducted yesterday. Via Dallas Voice:

Michelle Garcia, an editorial assistant for The Advocate, told Dallas Voice on Tuesday that the interview will be posted on the magazine’s Web site Thursday. It marks Obama’s first interview with a gay publication since October, when he spoke to The Advocate in response to the controversy surrounding Donnie McClurkin.
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A spokesman for Obama’s campaign said Tuesday that the interview with The Advocate was scheduled prior to publication of the PGN edition and was not done in response to [PGN's criticism], which drew widespread media attention.

Forgive our skepticism.

Meanwhile, is The Advocate the only gay publication on Obama's radar? C'mon! Show the little guys some love, dude.

Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal's no doubt pleased with this week's edition.

His paper made a splash yesterday when it published both an extensive interview with Hillary Clinton and a big, blank middle finger to Barack Obama, who PGN accuses of avoiding the pink press. But an Obama interview isn't the only thing missing from the paper.

Segal - who did the Clinton interview and also penned an exhaustive editorial bashing Obama - failed to disclose that he donated $1,000 to the Clinton campaign back in March of 2007.

That would have made for a good front page.

Hillary Clinton continues to court the gay vote in Pennsylvania.

As the race tightens, the Senator sat down with Philadelphia Gay News, whose Mark Segal and Sarah Blazucki tag teamed the shit out of the Senator. Yes, they addresses civil unions and the military, but they also delved into typically unchartered territory, such as immigration reform for same-sex couples and altering America's foreign policy with homophobic nations like Iran. Said Clinton:

I would be very strongly outspoken about this and it would be part of American foreign policy. There are a number of gross human-rights abuses that countries engage in with whom we have relations and we have to be really vigilant and outspoken in our total repudiation of those kinds of actions and do everything we can, including using our leverage on matters such as aid, to change the behavior so we can try to prevent such atrocities from happening.

Those are commendable comments, but the Democrats best remember that our own State Department still treats gays differently, which will need to be remedied if our government's going to effectively counter anti-queer countries.

Hillary Clinton's getting all sorts of gay love in The Keystone State:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won the endorsement Monday of the Liberty City Democratic Club, Philadelphia’s largest gay political group.

That boosts her support among gay voters at a time when polls show her ahead of rival presidential contender Barack Obama in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary set for April 22.
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The Clinton endorsement by the Liberty City gay Democratic group came a few weeks after a gay Pittsburgh group, the Steel City Democrats, also gave its endorsement to Clinton.

Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal said the Clinton's campaign's taking the gays "very seriously". We should hope so!