Now that Michele Bachmann is heading for the door, the scramble is among her would-be replacements. And the first hat into the ring belongs to a man who might out-Bachmann Bachmann in his homophobia: Tom Emmer
Emmer has a long and distinguished (if that’s the word) record of antigay activity. A belts-and-suspenders kind of guy, as a Minnesota state representative Emmer authored legislation to ban same-sex marriages and civil unions. He wanted to direct funds away from AIDS services, opposed anti-bullying legislation as  “trying to get in between people,” and donated to the Christian rock group You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, whose head, Bradley Dean, praised Muslims who execute gays as being “more moral than even the American Christians.”
As befits a politician with these beliefs, Emmer is an incredibly inept campaigner. His 2010 run for governor was best known for the $150,000 donation he got from Target, which subsequently did a ridiculous amount of groveling and backpedaling after it became (pardon the expression) a target of boycotts.  (Ironically, Emmer’s opponent and the winner of the race, Mark Dayton, comes from the family that founded Target.) Imagine where marriage equality would be in the state if Emmer had won.
It’s still early in the campaign, so there’s plenty of time to shake a few more nuts from the trees, but Emmer has gotten it off to an auspicious start.
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Photo credit: EmmerForGovernor.com
Caleb in SC
Given Bachmann’s district, I would not be surprised if Emmer won.
Polaro
I seriously doubt anyone worse than Bachmann could actually get elected.
lab
@Polaro: you could not find anyone dumber than bachmann but you could find someone worse…she never accomplished anything.
2eo
@lab: Indeed, the worst kind of bigot is an “educated” bigot with drive. They’ve been taught and have real world experience and have seen the world and they still ignore it to believe in god and the christian world of hate and nothing else.
MrEguy
That guy looks as gay as a picnic basket.
qur812
As a Minnesotan, let me tell you, he’s as bad as Bachmann. Better hair and makeup,
maybe, but just as twisted and nasty, oh yeah.
hephaestion
Tom Emmer looks like yet another self-loathing Closet Case.
Minnesota. The new Mississippi.
Ottoman
@hephaestion: “Minnesota. The new Mississippi”
If that were true, Emmer would have won the governorship and there’d be no marriage equality in Minnesota. Sounds like Minnesota is more progressive than most of the country.