The mainstream media never misses a chance to accuse a Republican of being racist, sexist, homophobic, or some combination of the three, so it was so surprise to see them go after one of their favorite targets last week: Energy Secretary Rick Perry. According to the news reports, Perry, the former Texas governor, is incensed about Texas A&M – where he graduated – electing a gay student body president. The insinuation to the headlines was that Perry was trying to make waves because the student body president is gay. Perry doesn’t like gays, so he went and made up some story about why it was wrong for his alma mater to allow such a thing to occur. If that seems a bit unbelievable to you, don’t worry, because it only bears a glancing relationship to the truth.
Reality, as it so often is, turns out to be a little more nuanced. In a column for the Houston Chronicle, Perry asked if Texas A&M chose “diversity over the right to due process.” In the column, he said that he initially had no problem whatsoever with Bobby Brooks’s victory. Proud, even.
“The election appeared to demonstrate a commitment to treating every student equally, judging on character rather than on personal characteristics,” he wrote.
Upon learning more about the election process, however, Perry grew concerned. Because as it turns out, Brooks, the gay candidate, did not actually win the election. His opponent (Robert McIntosh, who happens to be the son of a major Republican fundraiser in Texas) won nearly 800 more votes than Brooks. So why did Brooks “win”?
The Houston Chronicle reported that McIntosh was disqualified due to anonymous charges of voter intimidation and, most damningly, because he did not hand in a receipt for glow sticks he used in a campaign video.
“The desire of the electorate is overturned, and thousands of student votes are disqualified because of free glow sticks that appeared for 11 seconds of a months-long campaign,” wrote Perry.
As far as Brooks’s sexual orientation is concerned, Perry’s only problem is that he suspects the “winner” may have gotten special treatment due to his homosexuality.
“What if McIntosh had been a minority student instead of a white male?” Perry asked. “Would the student body have allowed a black student body president to be disqualified on anonymous charges of voter intimidation? The outcome would have been different if the victim was different.”
Of course, that’s a topic that no one in the liberal media wants to touch with a ten foot pole. Much easier to simply accuse Perry of being a homophobe and move on to the next story.
Poster Comment:
Queers in Texas? Maybe in Austin.
