Andrew Sullivan has let slip that he's preparing to unleash an assault on Marilyn Musgrave, whose name has become attached to the Federal Marriage Amendment. By way of answering the question of his post, "Who Is Marilyn Musgrave?," Sullivan declares:
Her record is almost entirely devoted to an obsession with homosexuality.
Somehow consistent with her being "almost entirely devoted" to a different issue, Musgrave's "other obsession is the reintroduction of the military draft, and virulent opposition to any legal abortions." Then Sullivan continues with a litany of social matters, providing narrow (linkless) effects of her voting record, that makes him somewhat less balanced than Musgrave's 2002 campaign opponent, Stan Matsunaka.
This is in marked contrast to the absolute lack of evident research in an earlier post in which he compares the rejection of a homosexual candidate for state school board in Iowa with the premeditated murder of a gay man. Apparently, the concern in the former case isn't just that Jonathan Wilson is gay, it's that, as a member of the school board, he would consider promotion of gay issues central to his job. And indeed, a little research about the circumstances of his being voted off of the Des Moines school board reveals this concern not unreasonable:
Right now, the coalition is concentrating on defeating veteran Des Moines school boardmember Jonathan Wilson, who earlier this year confirmed widespread rumors that he is gay. Wilson took that step in the midst of a heated dispute over a proposal - since shelved by the school administration - to ensure "issues related to gay/lesbian/bisexual people are thoughtfully infused in the educational programs and activities."
Oh yes, the desire not to have homosexuality "infused" into the educational life of one's children only differs in degree from luring a homosexual to his death.
Posted by Justin Katz at April 16, 2004 7:25 AMI think it's more than a little rich for Sullivan to criticize someone else's advocacy work because it reflects an "obsession with homosexuality." Since Sully never lets the issue get the best of him, right?
And yes, Sullivan is literally deluded anough to believe in all seriousness that any parent or school administrator who objects to the "infusion" of a homosexual agenda into the school curriculum is a half-step from taking a baseball bat and murdering them some queers. I never thought I'd say something like this, but over the last year Sullivan's steady devolution into sexual narcissistic mania has actually given me more incentive than ever to resist his agenda.
His total inability to extend the barest assumption of good faith to his adversaries, his reckless and stupid tendency to conflate the war on terror with the war on heterosexuality norms, his willigness to adopt or abadnon entire political philosophies at the drop of a hat should it serve the present day's argument--the whole ugly display has left me even less sympathetic to his position.
Frankly, if he's the "reasonable" gay advocate, the one with which reasonable and compassionate people can supposedly do business, then we're in real trouble. Consider that he's persona non grata among his co-sexualists precisely because he isn't radical enough, and I think we can be forgiven for being more than a touch wary.
Posted by: Sage at April 16, 2004 8:43 AMSage,
Yes, Andrew Sullivan seems to be making the transition from advocate for one side to case study for the other.
Posted by: Justin Katz at April 16, 2004 10:03 AM
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