South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer called on his own boss, Gov. Mark Sanford, to resign. Then Bauer himself gets slapped with the “he’s anti-gay and gay himself” storyline, confirmed by professional outer Mike Rogers. But now word circles that it was Sanford who put the gay hit on Bauer in an attempt to smear him. Say what?
That’s the word going ’round! State Sen. Jake Knotts is the one standing by Bauer, claiming Sanford leaked Bauer’s sexuality to discredit him, which would help Sanford, since the two are now sparring for the state’s top job. Knotts wrote a letter to fellow legislatures requesting them act immediately to remove Sanford, who’s ethics record is, already, soiled beyond repair.
For the record, Sanford’s camp denies the leak, and Bauer isn’t talking. The two parties, also, aren’t exactly on speaking terms with each other.
Does this mean Bauer is not gay? No. Rogers, the blogger who originally reported Bauer’s sexuality, claims to have multiple sources backing up his report. And yet: Rogers is on the hook for playing puppet to Sanford’s smear campaign. But Rogers insists his report was absolutely not linked to Sanford’s office, but backed by his own reporting. (The only reporter who called Rogers about the story to see if there was a link, meanwhile, was Politico‘s Andy Barr, who hung up on Rogers, the blogger claims. Barr’s report doesn’t mention Rogers once.)
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It’s certainly not hard to believe Sanford was putting out damaging information about Bauer, and vice versa. This is a political office that’s already plagued with scandal, and now we’re just pouring on the icing. And loving every minute of it. These two men are despicable.
dgz
silver lining: they’ve severely damaged the repub brand in SC.
Queerty: “whose,” not “who’s.”
stevenelliot
I love to watch this red-state, that threw my husband and me out on our asses, implode. Hehehe. The only two things Rethugs are good at are smear tactics and lies….as I said in another post: “a pox on the republican house of south carolina”
Up next….Lindsey Graham gets caught smoking pole LOL
Jay
Sanford inspired or not, he’s still a gay anti-gay.
I think he will also end up governor, regardless of Sanford’s hit.
mb00
ouch, all this he-said-he-said-he-said is hurting my brain.
ArronC
Being that I live in S.C., trust me when I say that the devil himself would be a better governor than Sanford. It is a sad day when I would rather see a self-hating gay in office.
terrwill
Boy o Boy……..what happened to these right wing red state values????? Homos all ova the place!! Miss Lindsey Grahm must be beside herself!!
Bill Garnett
Even if South Carolinians were as enlightened and sophisticated as to ignore Bauer’s sexual orientation and focus on his qualifications, they would still have to take into account the possibility of him being open to blackmail if he maintains a closeted lifestyle. That is a large risk for someone opting for governor of a state.
Bauer needs to clear the air by either admitting he is gay or confronting allegations head on until they are resolved. So far Bauer has yet to specifically deal with the details of the Rogers allegations with a reporter, but seems to be sidestepping the issue. Just like Senator Larry Craig, he may feel that he can have sex with guys and still not be gay. South Carolinians deserve to have this matter settled.
Mike Barton
There is no evidence to prove the anti-gay allegation. http://www.menaces2society.com/2009/09/sc-lt-gov-andre-bauers-anti-gay-voting.html