Cave Man

Cory Booker’s GOP Opponent Makes It Clear He’s Really, Really Straight (And Homophobic)

In an interview with the Washington Post this week, Newark mayor Cory Booker, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey, made it clear that he doesn’t really care if people thinks he’s gay. Booker’s opponent, however, cares. A lot. In an epic straight-man’s rant to the right-wing newsite Newsmax, GOP Senate nominee Steve Lonegan went out of his way to trash Booker’s interview, question his masculinity and trumpet his own “fetish” for cigars and Scotch.

After talking about what he terms Booker’s failures as a mayor, Lonergan then turned to the Post interview, and specifically the part where Booker says, “People who think I’m gay, some part of me thinks it’s wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia.”

Lonegan first suggests that this is a campaign strategy: “Maybe that helps to get him the gay vote by acting ambiguous.”

But he quickly launches into speculation about Booker’s orientation. “I don’t know if you saw the stories [about Booker] last year,” Lonegan tells his interviewer. “They’ve been out for quite a bit about how he likes to go out at three o’clock in the morning for a manicure and a pedicure.

Just to let you know how manly he is, Lonegan made it clear:  “I don’t like going out in the middle of the night, or any time of the day, for a manicure and pedicure. It was described as his peculiar fetish . . .I have a more peculiar fetish. I like a good Scotch and a cigar. That’s my fetish but we’ll just compare the two.”

We doubt this particularly fetish means that Lonegan will be turning up at the International Mr. Leather finals, but then again, stranger things have happened when Republicans are involved.

Photo credit: Nick Step

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