The Tea Party is famous for having terrible ideas, but faking a gay sex scandal has to be a new low.
Secret audio recordings obtained by the Detroit News reveal that Rep. Todd Courser (R), a tea party lawmaker in Michigan, asked an aide to to send an anonymous email to GOP influencers alleging the Courser was seen having sex with a male prostitute behind a Lansing nightclub.
But why would a family values Republican want such a nasty rumor spread about him? Why, to cover up the less-scandalous fact that he’s been having a heterosexual affair with Rep. Cindy Gamrat (R), a married tea party state lawmaker.
It would have worked perfectly (but really though, would it have?) had Ben Graham, Courser’s aide at the time, not recorded the whole thing. Graham refused to send the email, and was promptly fired. (Side note: Gamrat also fired her aide who was unwilling to assist in the coverup.)
How about we take this to the next level?
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In the recordings, Courser was heard asking Graham to send the email and get “nasty about it” by saying the lawmaker was addicted to porn and was a “sexual deviant.”
After getting past those false allegations, anything else would be mild by comparison. Right? Right?! This needs to work. Oh God please let this work.
The two lawmakers are married with children, and have worked in tandem to actively block same-sex marriage even after the Supreme Court’s June decision. Because Jesus. And freedom.
We look forward to this becoming a sub-plot on the next season of Veep.
Douglas Schlitz
Brilliant thinking dumb ass !
Tommy Parlon
You have got to be kidding með??©
drivendervish
This story makes no sense. Since when is it more socially acceptable for a “straight” male member of the far right republican fringe to have sex with a gay male prostitute, in public no less, than to be caught in a heterosexual extramarital affair?? LOL. There are much better reasons for paying a young hot gay male prostitute to pleasure you behind the bar. This is the manufacture of a heterosexual affair to cover up this lawmakers actions while drunk and horny.
Bob Pattinson
It’s pure comic opera!
David G. Abler
TWO Tea Party hypocrites. My state of MI
Duncan Noel Campbell
This. Is. Awesome.
Mark Pointon
Charming people…
Xzamilio
But they’ll confess their sins to white Jesus and then continue on thumping the bahhh-bull and all will be peachy keen with the GOP… with that said, this story is more fishy than a port-a-john at Lilith Fair.
Ladbrook
Please do a follow-up post after their next elections. I’m anxious to see if the people who voted for them the last time will vote for them again the next time.
And if so, then so be it… voters can be incredibly loyal to Stupid if the Stupid votes the “right” way.
Billy Budd
An example of the finest people in the world.
Ladbrook
I hope they both catch herpes… it’s forever.
excusemydust
Just lovely. One does wonder how their constituents feel about all of this.
BBellairs
@drivendervish: His reason for manufacturing the male sex story was to create an overly sensational scandal to make the fact that he was having an affair with the woman less scandalous when it was found out. A totally out there and f^cked up reason, but there it is. I just saw this reported on the local Detroit newscast.
jwtraveler
More defenders of family values.
Goforit
If it was recorded where is the audio? Seams as though both aides have quite a lawsuit if they wish to pursue.
Michael
So these right wingnuts are just fundamentally stupid I guess. Wow.
OhHellNo
Please. If he’s a Republican lawmaker, he’s probably done both.
mcflyer54
@drivendervish: the idea, as enormously stupid as it was, is that they would create a scandal, prove that it was false (I’m assuming that Courser was to have an airtight alibi for the day/time of the alledged gay encounter) then he would blame this phony gay dalliance on a smear campaign by an opponent. Next step would be to anonymously release information about an affair with (female) Gamrat which Courser would also declare as part of someone’s smear campaign against him. If however, the truth were to come out about Courser & Gambit the feeling was that a (normal) heterosexual affair would be less offensive than the disgustingly icky gay “thing” and people would be forgiving. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you’re either Courser or Gambit) the ruse was discovered and both have now publicly humiliated their spouses and children (she has 3, he has 4). It’s all about Christian family values for these two sorry ass teabaggers – they both had families for which they held no value. I believe their Bible handles adultery quite well Lev. 20:10 says both should be put to death – we sure wouldn’t want to infringe on their “strongly held religious beliefs” and not follow through as their bible instructs, would we?
mcflyer54
@Goforit: nope no lawsuit in Michigan. The court ruled that a private conversation does not require the permission of both parties to be recorded. Courser has already attempted to suggest that, although he admits that it’s his voice, the recording of the conversation is questionable. Read the entire article in the Detroit paper where they discount Courser’s claim.
Bryguyf69
@drivendervish: My guess is that it’s meant to be a mere distraction, albeit a shocking one. It will later be easily disproved, and he benefits from looking victimized. Looking like a victim is a well-known tactic in crisis management. Nightline even did a report on this. When Rosanne was booed for disrespecting the national anthem, she claimed to be the victim of child abuse. Dennis Hastert said he was also a victim in the recent/current extortion scandal.
Basically, the gay rumor: 1) Distracts from the true scandal; 2) Seemingly disproves any possibility of a hetero affair; 3) Makes him look like a victim; 4) can embarrass his opponents who accuse him, but later proven wrong
Bryguyf69
I see a future episode of LAW & ORDER: SVU…
Bryguyf69
@Michael: http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/image.cfm?id=30065&name=nnboxpdp.jpg
bottom250
Sad how sex negative the USA is.
blackberry finn
@Xzamilio: What color Jesus did Bishop Eddie Long confess to, moron?
twinkie1cat
I guess it would be to protect the female lawmaker he was having sex with since there is a strong double standard against women having affairs that doesn’t exist for men.
With the prostitute he could have said he was drunk or experimenting. With a female it was a double case of adultery.
In any case it was the usual Teaparty hypocrisy.
Bryguyf69
@Goforit: You can hear the audio at the link below. The 25 y/o aide, Ben Graham, sure sounds gay…
https://soundcloud.com/detroitnews/rep-courser-tells-aide-his-misdirection-plan/s-seWMM
Bryguyf69
@Goforit: You can hear the audio at the link below. The 25 y/o aide, Ben Graham, sure sounds gay…
And I agree that the two aides, Ben Graham and Keith Allard, have valid lawsuits since they were apparently fired for refusing to carry out an illegal plot.
https://soundcloud.com/detroitnews/rep-courser-tells-aide-his-misdirection-plan/s-seWMM
Bryguyf69
@mcflyer54: I think you’ve misread @Goforit’s comment. S/he’s not saying that Courser might have a case, but that the two aides have cases against Courser and Gamrat for wrongful termination. The two aides were allegedly fired for refusing to participate in the plot. If true, they have a case since you can’t fire someone for refusing to engage in illegal acts.
billeetee
Oh not to worry. Mike Huckabee will pop up and forgive them just as he did for Josh Duggar and all will be well and good again in God’s Kingdom!
sanfranca1
@Goforit: Evidently, in Michigan, recording a private conversation without the consent of the other party is legal. From the complete story in the Detroit News:
“A Michigan Court of Appeals ruling says participants in a conversation may record a discussion without getting the permission of other participants. “A recording made by a participant is nothing more than a more accurate record of what was said,” the court decided in a 1982 case.”
sanfranca1
Complete details:
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2015/08/06/recordings-state-rep-asked-aide-hide-relationship/31269315/
Bryguyf69
Admit it, y’all wanna see how Ben Graham, the 25 y/o aide, looks. Your interest is piqued even more by his gay-sounding voice (if that offends the politically correct, keep in mind that 10+ studies have verified that a “gay voice” exists!). And of course, some of you admire how a 25 y/o had the courage to challenge Courser, first refusing to write the fake emails, then suggesting that his boss resign. At one point, he was even cornered by both Courser and Gamrat, but wouldn’t budge. He kept steering the conversation back to work. The Detroit News made him seem almost heroic, guided by principle and prayer. And of course, you also wonder how the other terminated aide, Keith Allard, looks.
Graham’s voice is linked in the previous post and you can see both aides in the below photo. Graham is on the far right and Allard is next to him.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mGq8QpCywD8/VO_CK-KS28I/AAAAAAAAA0o/CzlgJUxLtYM/s640/KALLARD.jpg
Brian JC Kneeland
Can’t be – Tea Party people are all good Christians who hate gays because – they bible says to – so they would not violate the ten commandments!! Would they?