Another anti-gay Republican .... is gay

I lived in Bakersfield (CA) for almost a decade.  A highly socially and politically conservative place that was. Here is an example: the local college invited to campus a well known poet, Frank Bidart, for, well, poetry reading and Q/A.  There was a great deal of protest because ...he was gay!  And the icing on this crazy cake?  He was a local guy--was born and brought up in town before he moved to the East Coast, and he still had family in town.  Yet the protests ....

One of the local politicians was Roy Ashburn, who systematically contested and won election after election.  At one time there was even speculation that he might head to the Congress.  The guy was typical of the local pols who were highly successful--ultra conservative Republican talk.  (Not "Conservative" but Republican.)  Ashburn was also, as one can then imagine, anti-gay.

So, there I was checking with the newspaper from Bakersfield and I almost fell off the chair when I read a series of reports on Ashburn and his homosexuality:

“I am gay. Those are the words that have been difficult for me for so long,” a sometimes emotional Ashburn told local talk radio show host Inga Barks 

So, why was he vehemently anti-gay, and why did he support anti-gay policies?

Ashburn has taken heat in the last week for having been both closeted and a consistent voter against gay-rights related legislation. In the interview, Ashburn repeatedly argued he voted the will of his constituents in his conservative 18th Senate District, which includes much of Bakersfield.

“I took a position based on what I believed was the will of my constituents, not mine, necessarily,” Ashburn said. “We have a representative form of government ... where citizens select people to cast votes on their behalf.”

Bah!  It was strictly a game he played in order to win re-elections?  How awful! The Fresno Bee editorial has the best line on this:

For Ashburn, being part of the club of elected officials apparently was more important than voting his conscience. That's disturbing. It's also extremely hypocritical, no matter how Ashburn tries to spin it.

But times are changing. Most younger voters don't care about sexual orientation. Ashburn could have shown leadership by trying to change the minds of others. He never gave his constituents the chance.

I wish Ashburn well .... but, I also hope he will understand how much his anti-gay politics caused pain and hardship to gays. I look forward to reading his apology in a future issue of the Bakersfield Californian.