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Mayor Exposed

By TChris, Section Other Politics
Posted on Thu May 05, 2005 at 09:23:25 PM EST
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by TChris

Hypocrisy, anyone?

Mayor James E. West of Spokane, a Republican opponent of gay rights, was accused in a newspaper on Thursday of molesting two boys decades ago and the paper also says it caught him using the trappings of his office to try to court a young man online.

Mr. West, a conservative, rose to become majority leader of the State Senate during a two-decade legislative career. He consistently opposed efforts to expand civil rights protections for gay men and lesbians and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, a ban on same-sex marriage, in 1998.

Whether or not the molestation allegations are true, the anti-gay mayor acknowledged he "had relations with adult men."

He admitted offering autographed sports memorabilia and a possible City Hall internship to what he thought was an 18-year-old man on the Web site Gay.com. The man was actually a computer expert hired by the newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, as part of a sting operation.

The double-life hypocrisy brings back memories of Jeff Gannon.

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    Mayor Exposed | 13 comments (13 topical)
    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#12)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:57:34 PM EST
    Mayor today, Governor tomorrow. But then he may not wany to move to NJ.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#13)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:57:39 PM EST
    A closeted conflicted gay man in a homophobic society? No you say; lets crucify this SOB. After all, above gay he is republican.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    Isn't it possible that despite his own homosexual tendencies that he still feels that homosexuality is wrong? I think most of us would admit that there have been times when we were tempted to do something that we felt was wrong, but then did it anyway. That may be hypcricy, but it doesn't change whether he thinks homosexuality is wrong.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    I think this kind of self-hatred drives a significant amount of the gay bashing that goes on in the country. Some folks get therapy to sort out their issues, others go into politics I guess.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#3)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    Isn't it possible that despite his own homosexual tendencies that he still feels that homosexuality is wrong?
    Yes, but it's also possible that he so adamantly feels homosexuality is wrong because he himself is homosexual and he can't deal with it. Severe self-loathing.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    He is probably hoping he gets sent to prison.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    Self-Loathing gay men... Another pillar of the GOP. As my happily married gay cousin (thanks to our neighbor to the north) told me, "it never ceases to amaze me what self-hatred will drive some people to."

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    Here is a bisexual philanderer talking about the sanctity of marriage. That's not hypocritical? I'd bet there are gay marriages with more sanctity than this loon's marriage.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#8)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    kdog, He's not married. I'm not defending the guy, it's just that the word "hypcrite" gets thrown around so much on this site as the ultimate put-down, and it's almost always misused by the thrower. He, apparently, believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and supports that postition in public and when he votes. That's not hypocritical. Perhaps a more accurate headline might be "Schmuck, anyone?"

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#9)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:47 PM EST
    He was married for 5 years. He has sponsored legislation against gay and abortion rights and teenage sex. He was a boyscout leader. He has propositioned what he thought were teenagers online and bribed them with summer internships. Yep, he is, by definition, a hypcrite. And a schmuck.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#6)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:48 PM EST
    Wow, the guy has some issues, thank God they're not mine. As far as we know, he truly believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and he says/votes the same way. Regardless of his sexual orientation, what is hypocritical about that?

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#10)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:48 PM EST
    I'm not going to argue with you sailor. hypocrite n : a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he does not hold. If you would tell us the specific beliefs and opinions that he has professed, but does not hold, I'll happily label him a hypocrite in addition to a schmuck.

    Re: Mayor Exposed (none / 0) (#11)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:49 PM EST
    Oscar Wilde--I think--observed that hypocrisy is the compliment (something like that) vice pays to virtue. Not too certain here, but the point is that the guy thinks the conventional things about marriage although he is not capable of making himself do them. He's no more hypocritical than somebody who weeps for the poor and has two suits--pace Lenny Bruce. If he's a molester, then he's a monster, but still not a hypocrite. I see Demon McQuay is getting some more ink again in Texas. It was a big deal when I was visiting in 1996, too. I don't know what he's been doing since they let him out, but he said at the time he would kill the next boy he molested, apparently not having killed any of the two hundred plus victims to that date. He claims, through his lawyer, to be desperate to not want to offend again but is absolutely certain he will. He's reportedly undergone castration (in 1996 there were lots of volunteers, including a couple of physicians)in order to "fix" his problem. If you take his words at face value, he's a monster but not a hypocrite. Is a hypocrite somebody who can't help himself but knows better? I don't think so.

    Mayor Exposed | 13 comments (13 topical)