Bedeviled By The Advocate

The world is a scary place to be today, especially if you are gay: Executions in Iran.  Increasing violence and persecution in Europe.  Naturally, these are topics a publication billing itself as the "national gay and lesbian newsmagazine" could spend at least a full page or two on.

So let's see what The Advocate is covering this week:

Hmmm, the cover talks about liberal actor "George Clooney vs. the far right."  We are teased to read more about George Bush's "antigay agenda." We are also startled by a picture of a dour Mary Cheney.

Inside, Editor Bruce Steele makes a casual comparison between McCarthyism and modern Republicans.  (Liberals always forget that real Communist spies were uncovered during that period.)

There is the aforementioned article about Mary Cheney, apparently taking exception with her having any sort of gainful employment whatsoever.

There is the article that has been written 10,000 times before, appearing vastly more interested in the 18,462 members of the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization that decided not to endorse George W. Bush for president in 2004, than in the 1 million gay Americans who continue to vote for him despite everything.

There is, of course, the story about superhero George Clooney fighting the "far right."  (Clooney's father hasn't fared any better in that fight than George has.)

Then we turn to the article "Conservatives on the Edge," complete with cartoonish, fun-house mirror images of notable figures on the right.  ("Newsmagazines" lampoon; you decide.)  There is a sidebar on "Scalito" that uncritically regurgitates talking points from any generic moonbat blog of your choosing.  (Apparently this more flattering portrayal of Samuel Alito merited only a brief mention, buried far down in the article.)

And finally, gratefully, we reach the last page: the "Final Word."  Here we learn that George W. Bush is not just bad for gays, but he hates blacks as well.  (Am I reading The Advocate, or Essence?)

So to sum up: George Bush is the devil, conservatives are uniformly antagonistic of gays, Democrats and liberals are unalloyed heroes, and the only good Republican is one that opposes the president.  These are the same strawman arguments and knee-jerk tripe we have been hearing for two years or more, yet it somehow still manages to fill page after page in a November 2005 publication.

The real world is not a place where Republicans are in black hats and Democrats are in white.  It is also a place where more is at stake than who said what stupid thing on the Senate floor.  But if you are interested in complexity or challenges to conventional wisdom, don't look for it in The Advocate.  (Come to think of it, you can find more nuance in a part-time, two-man blog.)  It should be ashamed to call itself a "newsmagazine."

Comments

[Downtown Lad]

So which conservatives are NOT antagonistic towards gays?

I can think of two:

1) John McCain
2) George Will

Any others?

You don't have to choose between two parties. There is the Libertarian party after all. But to cover up for an anti-gay bigot - well - I'm certainly not going to demean myself by doing that. I have self-respect.

[The Malcontent]

I'd say you don't get around the blogosphere much, but I know that's not true. (John McCain is conservative? On what planet??!)

[ThatGayConservative]

" (Liberals always forget that real Communist spies were uncovered during that period.)"

Uhmmmmm....No. That's EXACTLY why they're still pissed about it. They were still pissed at Nixon for nailing their buddy Alger Hiss.

[Chad]

DL - I'm wondering when and why you switched your affiliation from gay Republican to gay Libertarian?

[Dan (AKA GayPatriotWest)]

Funny that the Advocate would compare today's Republicans to McCarthyism, given that today's Democrats (and their allies in such media outlets at that magazine) have more in common with McCarthy that do today's Republicans--so eager to level charges without basis in fact.

Many conservatives (even back in the 1950s) reviled McCarthy for discrediting anti-Communism. Where are the liberals today taking issue with Howard Dean, his closest modern incarnation?

[Downtown Lad]

DL - I'm wondering when and why you switched your affiliation from gay Republican to gay Libertarian?

When the Republicans stopped believing in freedom and started spending like Democrats.

[ThatGayConservative]

When the Republicans stopped believing in freedom and started spending like Democrats.

Ahhh. So when you started drinking the liberal Kool-Aid.

[Eva Young]

McCain has come out in support of the Arizona marriage amendment - which is written broadly and could overturn domestic partner benefits. McCain should know better than this.

Here's my list off the top of my head:

Chuck Hagel
Chuck Muth (http://www.lawfullywedded.com)
Craig Westover - St Paul Pioneer Press columnist (http://craigwestover.blogspot.com)
David Brooks
John Danforth
Andy Card
Dick Cheney