Monday, October 30, 2006

Hayhurst Shock Ad: Suggests Homosexuality Is Crime Against Man And Nature

A new attack ad Dr. Tom Hayhurst (D) is running against Rep. Mark Souder (R) in Indiana's 3rd congressional district uses homophobic rhetoric in reference to the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley (R) which should not sit well with gay rights advocates, or one of his fellow Democratic candidates on the ballot in next week's election. The ad scrolls through the photos and names of disgraced Republicans, including former Rep. Randall Cunningham, Rep. Tom DeLay and Rep. Bob Ney. When the ad reaches the name and photo of former Rep. Mark Foley, it says these men "broke the laws of man and nature", with added emphasis, an obvious reference to Foley's admission that he is gay. The full text of the ad, which you can view by clicking here, reads:

They sold us out, lined their pockets, broke the laws of man and nature. Now, that same Washington gang is fighting to protect Mark Souder who says he's proud of their vicious attacks on Tom Hayhurst. Our congressman . . . Proud of distorting the facts? Proud of twisting the truth? If Mark Souder believes these are Hoosier values, he's definitely been in Washington too long. I'm Dr. Tom Hayhurst, and I approved this message.

In case Dr. Hayhurst isn't familiar with the Supreme Court's ruling in Lawrence v. Texas striking down sodomy laws, it says that private, consensual sex between adults of the same or opposite sex is legal. By perpetuating the religious right's argument that same-sex relationships are against the "laws of man and nature," he isn't only advancing bigotry towards gays and lesbians. In case Hayhurst hasn't noticed it, the Democratic candidate for Sheriff in Allen County, Tina Taviano, is an openly lesbian woman. She has been endorsed by the Victory Fund, a gay rights political action group. Taviano's Republican opponent, Ken Fries, has been very careful not to make her sexual orientation an issue in this year's race. It's too bad that Hayhurst, a prominent Fort Wayne city councilman and community leader, thinks it should be an issue.

The attempt by the ad itself to connect Souder to the persons named is tenuous at best. Souder has long earned a reputation for being independent within the House Republican caucus. The ad implies that Souder endorsed the acts of these other men because he has accepted financial support from the National Republican Congressional Committee and other Republican leaders. Although Hayhurst has outspent Souder considerably in this campaign, dipping into his own pocket, a new poll released by the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel poll shows Souder ahead by 12 points. According to the new poll of 400 likely voters, Souder leads Hayhurst by a 52%-40% margin. With less than a week left in the election, those numbers don't appear to portend any upset in the making.

Gay rights advocates have been blasting Republicans for making gay marriage a divisive wedge issue in this and recent elections. Let's see how quick they are to condemn a liberal Democrat like Tom Hayhurst for playing off people's prejudices against gays and lesbians. I wouldn't hold my breath. A big hat tip to Fort Wayne Observed's Mitch Harper for bringing the Hayhurst ad and the new poll numbers to AI's attention.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Or maybe, just maybe, Hayhurst is talking about the seduction of underage boys. I'm going to at least say there's a possibility that that is the case. Plus, is Souder really a proponent of gay rights? You're grasping for straws on this one.

Gary R. Welsh said...

The pages who have alleged inappropriate communications to date from Foley were all of the age of consent. The issue here is not what Souder's position on gay rights is. It's a double-standard whereby liberal Democrats have been given a pass to use the Foley issue to foment anti-gay bigotry for the benefit of their campaigns against their Republican opponents--at the same time they condemn Republican candidates for using gay marriage as a wedge issue.

Anonymous said...

Gary is right.

I'm stunned that Hayhurst would do this.

But, in this strange politicval cliamte, it'll probably work.

Wilson46201 said...

Considering that Souder is one of the top anti-gay nutcases of the GOP, the ad wont fly - nor should it. Democrats have two openly gay House candidates who are likely to win re-election: Baldwin and Frank. None whatsoever for the GOP - closet cases all. Most GOP candidates are fulminating against same-sex marriage hoping to use homophobia to return to the Bush Rubber Stamp Congress. Rotten platform plank!

Souder's prize voters are probably unhappy to have learned about all the Sodomites working in top positions for Republicans in DC. Coddling the catamites?

Considering the massive official Republican Party expenditures hammering against "gay marriage", any Log Cabin Republicans should be ashamed to even try to suggest parity of homophobia. Last week, the Indiana House GOP candidates had a big press conference promsing action against "gay marriage". Pitiful ...

Wilson46201 said...

Gay Republicans are like battered spouses - their Party repeatedly campaigns against gay issues - spends massive amounts of money trying to win elections using "gay marriage" as a wedge issue - but gay Republicans keep saying "It's really a good party - they dont really mean it - it'll change - it used to be so gay-friendly - maybe if gays arent so prominent, they wont talk bad about us again - maybe if we show how much money we raise, the GOP will reform - maybe if we hammer Democrats, the GOP will love us."

Battered-spouse syndrome par excellance.

Get a divorce - dump the chump - get self-respect - vote Democratic!

Dave Sanders said...

I'm more upset that Hayhurst went negative at all, than what he said... Especially since I just wrote an editorial about how his campaign had been more upstanding and positive than Souders.

I also can't believe he said this - this really doesn't sound like Hayhurst at all.

Sigh. I guess its back to the lesser of two evils for yet another election. When are real LEADERS going to start stepping up to govern us?

Anonymous said...

Totally offensive and I already emailed him about it. Pathetic.

Wilson46201 said...

perhaps AI could find and publicize all the Indiana Republican ads hollering against "gay marriage"? Email addresses of these multitudinous GOP campaigns would be useful too. Or would calling out Republicans on homophobia be like pissing in the wind?

Anonymous said...

That ad clearly refers to the page scandal- not homosexuality.

Makes me wonder what you are all so sensitive about???

Anonymous said...

Then you are clearly out of touch with the legal history of the words "crimes against nature."

backtalker said...

Legally..perhaps over the age of consent. But I will be the first to tell you... had Rep Foley approached my 17-year-old child, I would have personally ripped his nuts from his body and fed them to him.

This is not about homosexuality. It's about a 50-something man who can't keep his pedophillic fantasy life out of the halls of Congress.

Anonymous said...

This ad had nothing to do with homosexuality. It had to do with a man who we thought was fighting to protect our children from online predators, only we discovered that he was the person they needed protection from!

If Mr. Foley had prayed on a bunch of young girls it would be the same situation. You've twisted this into something that it isn't.

Anonymous said...

This ad had nothing to do with homosexuality. It had to do with a man who we thought was fighting to protect our children from online predators, only we discovered that he was the person they needed protection from!

If Mr. Foley had prayed on a bunch of young girls it would be the same situation. You've twisted this into something that it isn't.