[Last week] we learned that an anti-gay legislator in California likes to frequent gay bars. In news that should surprise no one, State Sen. Roy Ashburn has admitted he's gay, and in the meantime come up with the lamest excuse ever for his virulent anti-gay voting record:
Ashburn, a divorced father of four, said that his many votes against gay rights were efforts to represent the conservative views of his constituents.
There's nothing wrong with being a gay man, or having the courage to finally come out of the closet. There's something seriously wrong with being a gay man who hides what he is, constantly attempts to rip the rights of LGBT people away, and then sanctimoniously claims it's all because his constituents want him to.
Dumbfuckery du Jour
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In one sense, I don't have a problem with her conclusion. Why would someone vote so consistently to curtail the rights of people like himself? Seems like he could have split the difference, or taken a page from Mr. Present's book and simply abstained from voting for particularly troublesome measures.
The other thought that occurs to me, though, is that at least Rep. Ashburn was honest about this issue where it counted - his record was unequivocally clear, and people from his district kept sending him back to office. You won't have to search very much to find what I think of politicians who promise they'll do one thing, and then do another, particularly if they have a habit of doing this in a number of areas. It's likely that Ashburn really was doing what his constituents wanted him to do. I've certainly argued for that behavior from my representatives, too. So in one sense at least, he did what a representative should have.
I don't like what Ashburn has done, but I'd rather have a politician honestly explain what he intends to do when he's elected, and then do it the best he can when elected, than the ones who promise to do the things we want, but then think better of it. Despite his personal dishonesty about his sexuality, I'd rather have a representative like him than progressives like Lynn Woolsey. At least with Ashburn, I know what I'm up against. Mostly.
How about you?
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