Care to place any bets?
Now we have word that John Roberts once did some legal work for gay rights groups -- not that there's anything wrong with that. It's been pointed out that some of Roberts' written briefs from the Reagan administration, for example, might not be reliable guides to his decision making on the high court, since he was acting as a hired lawyer advocating for a client. That's a valid point, but the legal stuff in this case was pro bono work. It'd be a tough sell to argue that Roberts worked for free for a cause he opposed.
Now I find this story vaguely interesting, but there's nothing there that really impacts my opinion of Roberts one way or the other. My real question is this: How long before lefty bloggers begin slyly insinuating that Roberts himself is gay, to drive a wedge between the nominee and his support on the right?
They will, of course, carefully couch any such insinuation within layers of rhetorical bubble-wrap ("Well, of course, we don't care whether he's gay or not! Our side would never take such a perverse interest in the private sex lives of politicians! But you see, it's about the hypocrisy, not about the homosexuality!")
So let's place bets: How long before it happens?
Tiebreaker question: Which blog will stoop to it first?
Comments
I guess by tonight and AMERICAblog for the tiebreaker.
Posted by: Cool kid | August 4, 2005 12:42 PM
No, no, the lefty blogs only accuse people who work *against* gay rights of being gay, themselves!
Posted by: OTTami | August 4, 2005 04:22 PM
Exactly right about that. I bet they won't try to out someone on "their side" of the issue of the gay. They won't even bring up the fact that he helped the cause.
No, the target is likely his wife and the "shifty" adoption of his children. A more reasonable approach, right?
Posted by: John | August 4, 2005 07:32 PM
shifty? sorry, insert 'shady'
Posted by: John | August 4, 2005 07:33 PM
Today I read on a few of my favorite "lefty" blogs (like Shakespeare's Sister) that the fact that he did this pro-bono work to protect gay rights might be an indicator that perhaps Robert's is more open minded than the initial assumptions. I think it bears investigating.
Sorry to have gone all reasonable on you.
Posted by: OTTami | August 5, 2005 08:40 AM
Pro bono sounds really gay to me.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 5, 2005 10:35 AM
It's not just the hypocrisy, it's the bigotry. The Republican party has become very successful based on the "Southern Strategy" (i.e. appealing to bigotry). So it's amusing, in a morbid way, to see that bigotry applied to one of your own who might fit into one of the categories your institutionalized bigotry hates.
Posted by: nomad | August 5, 2005 12:16 PM
You don't have to wait for the lefties. Some of the bozos on Free Republic have already suggested that Roberts might be gay. Too bad, Judge Roberts. With friends like the Freekies, you don't need enemies.
Posted by: dinkytown | August 5, 2005 04:42 PM
Yeah, let's just act like bigots too, that'll teach 'em.
Bush should've just nominated a cardboard cut-out for us to shoot darts at.
Posted by: John | August 6, 2005 11:30 AM