It's not about being gay. It's not even about being a prostitute.

[Modem Butterfly]

It's about a gay prostitue with a fake name and no credentials getting into White House press conferences and getting close enough to ask the President questions.

WTF is wrong with the White House's background screening process? They have all the resources of the FBI, the DOJ, and the CIA at their hands and they couldn't find something it took a bunch of amateurs with home computers about three days to uncover? Come on. The White House went easy on this guy because they figured he was one of "theirs". If that's all it takes, then what's to stop a terrorist group from infiltrating? Just get a "reporter" in good with a GOP operative, get said operative to vouch for said "reporter", infect said "reporter" with a deadly airborne virus and voila! Instant American chaos. Or hell, if the WH is that lax, just give the guy a gun. And the next thing you know, Condi Rice will be testifying that "No one could have predicted Al Qaeda would have infiltrated the WHPC in order to get close enough to kill the president," and Michael Moore will have another hit on his hands: "Cheney and Me"

[LynneSin]

1. An angle not explored is Guckert's religion

I thinking this guy found Jebus, became a born-again xtian and figured it some how absolved him of all his sins in the past.

All this research done on Guckert, I'd like to see more about this particular issue.

[Modem Butterfly]

2. Apparently he was still advertising himself on the web until last week

I don't believe in ex-gays anymore than I believe in ex-heteros, and the idea that someone could turn being gay "off" is offensive to me, as I could no more stop being straight than I could spontaneously sprout wings. However, I do believe that institutional homophobia is so ingrained in some versions of Xianity that people like Gannon can become so self-hating that they pervert their own sexuality in an effort to sublimate. Of course, sexuality is far too powerful to ever be totally sublimated...

[Sporadicus]

3. I Beg to Differ on the Prostitute Part

although I should say up front that I *personally* don't have a problem with prostitution - male or female. Consider the status of the individuals involved in this particular prostitution ring, however: power brokers who make themselves vulernable to manipulation and threats of extortion by associating with pimps & prostitutes. I don't want decisions like whether or not our country goes to war based on threats of 'outing' or prostitution patronage.

I think it's worthwhile to look into what influence 'Gannon' may have held over power brokers - inside & outside the beltway.

BTW, it's been suggested that China holds such sway over * right now because it has in its possession proof of his relationship with Victor Ashe.

[Modem Butterfly]

6. There's also the fact that prostitution, gay or otherwise, is illegal

But I get what you're saying.

According to sources, * likes it rough.

[mattclearing]

4. Well said.

I said after the 2004 RNC, "How do people expect them to protect us from terrorists? They can't even keep protesters out of their nominating ceremony!!!"

These people are wholly incompetent. If they let a gay male prostitute into the briefing room (edit: knowing that they hate gays almost as much as they hate the terrorists), who knows who they'll let into our bases, our borders, etc.?

[President Jesus]

5. in practical terms, it IS about sex

You may be 100% right about everything you say, but for a scandal to have effect, it has to have public interest. It's not right, but it's the truth.

Let's look at the ONE issue that causes Republicans to implode: sex. Gingrich, Livingstone, Kerik, (soon-to-be) Giuliani, Schrock, Jack Ryan all went down in scandal due to sex. Of course far more important (and evil) shit has gone down, but their base obviously does not give a shit about those things.

Our side is already united. Scandals are about dividing them.