Republican long shot Tom Tancredo seems poised to face the music and rescind his presidential bid:

Tancredo, whose forceful opposition to illegal immigration vaulted him to national prominence, plans to announce he is abandoning his long-shot bid for the presidency, a person close to Tancredo said Wednesday.

The five-term Colorado congressman planned to make the announcement at a news conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for Tancredo or his campaign.

Tancredo's campaign would only say he planned a "major announcement" Thursday.

The politician has previously voted against gay adoption, as well as against gay marriage. Forgive us for not mourning the end of his campaign.

• Bid2Beat AIDS' eBay auction closes up shop tomorrow, so you'd better hurry and bid on this signed copy of Amy Sedaris' domestic bible, I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence. Current price: $102.50. We're hoping it goes up to $200.

• Never forget Akinyele's "Put It In My Mouth". It's so inclusive!

• Log Cabin Republican leader Patrick Sammon on Huckbaee's AIDS comments:

[H]e needs to offer a more credible explanation for his comments than what he has offered so far… Governor Huckabee shouldn’t try to revise history to explain away his comments from 1992. He ought to do the right thing and admit he was wrong.

Too late.

CONTINUED »

The Republicans' actions and words at this weekend's Values Voter Summit prove one thing: the party simply refuses to evolve. Editor Andrew Belonsky explains why the Grand Old Party needs to embrace change, look beyond the walls of social conservatism and expand its definition of family values.

CONTINUED »

Long shot Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo called for a federal ban on gay marriage today. Speaking in Iowa, where a judge recently allowed and then stopped gay marriage, Tancredo vowed:

The commitment of a husband and wife to love one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society. Government, by recognizing and protecting marriage, serves the interests of everyone in Iowa. The State Legislature and the people of Iowa need to take their power back from this activist judge by passing a Constitutional amendment which protects traditional marriage.

Can't the Republicans think of something more clever than "activist judges"? What about "renegade judges" or "poopy pants know it alls"?

Former fake reporter and hustler Jeff Gannon recently took a minute from being a charlatan to defend Tyler Whitney.

Of course you all remember Whitney - the 18-year old homophobe/Republican campaigner who works for Tom Tancredo. Speaking out against schmucks like us, Gannon blasted:

The angry gay left continues to practice the politics of personal destruction. These hatemongers are so threatened by an 18-year-old guy who doesn’t want to live his life on the pink plantation that they have to try to destroy him. Kudos to Tancredo and his staff for standing up for him. Maybe Tancredo isn’t as ‘anti-gay’ as the angry gay left wants its sheeple to believe.

Well, we suppose it's how you define "anti-gay," Gannon.

CONTINUED »

An eighteen year old coming out of the closet isn't necessarily newsworthy, but it certainly grabs headlines when it's Tyler Whitney, a campaigner for anti-gay presidential candidate Tom Tancredo.

Whitney, a Michigan native whose father wrote speeches for the virulently anti-gay former Gov. John Engler, has built his nascent political career on anti-gay policy. As head of Michigan's Young Republicans and a leader in the Young Americans for Freedom, Whitney leant his voice to many a gay cause. He even protested gays with a sign reading, "Go Back in The Closet". Too bad the kid can't take it all back, especially now that he's been outed by Behind the Lines.

While Whitney had no comment, Tancredo spokesperson Senior Advisor Bay Buchanan insisted, "A person's sexual preference is a personal matter and has nothing to do with the campaign." It certainly is when said campaign's built on discriminatory policies. But what do we know?

Speaking of knowing, Whitney's MySpace page says he'd like to meet the following: "Any conservative college student in the DC area that is interested in fighting the left."

Read Michelangelo Signorile's take on the matter over at The Gist.