"Foleygate" may derail Republican ticket in Florida
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"FOLEYGATE" MAY DERAIL REPUBLICAN TICKET IN FLORIDA
FALLOUT FROM RESIGNATION OF PEDOPHILE CONGRESSMAN MAY SINK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE CHARLIE CRIST
(MIAMI, FL)(October 1, 2006) The law of unintended and unexpected consequences is about to sweep across Florida politics like a category 5 hurricane.
At the beginning of last week (September 25th) the question of which Florida Republican was "gay" did not involve U. S. Representative Mark Foley. Rather, interest was focused on gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
Both mainstream media (Miami Herald, 8/20/20) and alternative media (Orlando Weekly 9/21/06) had alluded to a 2005 controversy in which Crist was asked point blank if he was gay, responded "no" and later called a radio talk show to deny being a homosexual. Crist stated "No man. No. I love women. I mean, they're wonderful." But no woman has been visible in Crist's life for decades. He denied fathering a child by an emotionally disturbed woman in a Mr. Goodbar encounter in the 1990's.
Then the Foley firestorm ensued.
But Foley is now yesterday's news. Temporarily at least. He has resigned, gone into seclusion and is probably on his way to prison.
Charlie Crist, however, is still a candidate facing a formidable Democratic Party challenger. Crist may have expected that the "gay" issue had dissolved along with the electoral prospects of his primary challenger Tom Gallagher. In a bizarre twist of fate, Foleygate is now likely to focus rapier-sharp attention on Crist's peculiar lifestyle and in particular on the absence of any significant female figure in his life ("mom" doesn't count).
Crist was briefly married decades ago. To date, his former "wife" has never been quoted or even identified. I expect Florida media will be making massive efforts to locate the former spouse and to pose the question: did you divorce Charlie after seven months of "marriage" because you discovered he was gay? What did cause the end of your seven-month marriage?
As I indicated in my earlier column on Foleygate (see PoliticalGateway.com or ContrarianCommentary.com) I knew Mark Foley well in the 1990's. Mark often had female arm candy on display. Crist is peculiar in that he has not even gone to the extent of brandishing a Foley-style female companion.
In the wake of the explosive and embarrassing impact of Foley's resignation, are Florida voters more or less likely to support another Republican with a blank slate on human relationships? The answer is obvious and apodictic.
A simple Google search reflects that Crist's sexuality has been a matter of intense concern for both the right and left. Gay rights groups, moreover, who were burned when Foley's sexuality embarrassingly morphed from homosexuality into pedophilia, may take preemptive action to force Crist's hand, to avoid another "Foley surprise."
My prediction: Crist's "lifestyle" is about to become the focal point of the Florida gubernatorial campaign, and Crist will inevitably be asked questions about his sexuality in campaign debates between Crist and his Democratic opponent. How the issue plays out will decide whether Democrats retake the Florida governorship. Crist's "lifestyle" may fuel the "hypocrisy gap" which has emerged from Foley's anti-gay posturing at a time when he was seeking the company of underage males.
For Democrats, Mark Foley's resignation from Congress, and the inevitable follow-ups, will be the gift that keeps on giving. Today I checked the Miami Herald, where a gay beat reporter has posted 2003 messages from Foley to prospective male lovers. On and on it goes.
It is a given that both the media and gay community knew much more about Foley than ever reached public awareness. The same may be true with Crist. In Crist's case, even if he is not gay, attention focused on his nomadic lifestyle may be sufficient to defeat him and discolor the Republican Party's ticket. Crist lives in a rented apartment, owns virtually nothing, and has ambiguous relationships with women, none of whom have reached any prominence in his life for decades. It is not a pretty picture even if he does not, a la Foley, hang out in bars where men are the primary occupants.
Despite his protestations, Crist is obviously not leading a "normal" lifestyle by either gay or heterosexual standards. In a party where "Family Values" have become a leg iron, Charlie Crist's personal lifestyle reflects the most "anti-family" existence of any major party candidate in America this year.
At the beginning of last week, Charlie's peculiarities were of secondary importance. Today those concerns have become the paramount issue in the gubernatorial race. The terrible swift sword of unintended consequences may have struck a mortal blow at Crist.
Charlie, you've got a problem.
Category 5? Foleygate may yet become a Category 10 hurricane for Florida Republicans and gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
