A reader responds:
Your letter from the “longtime reader” seems a little Mobyish to me.
I could try to answer it in detail, but it hardly seems worth the effort. Long story short, there are gay people who let their secual orientation define them, i.e. “I am gay therefore…” and finish it with: I have to vote Democrat, I have to watch crappy movies if they have a gay theme in them, I have to drive a Miata and have a rainbow sticker on the bumper… These guys will vote left because they’re supposed to. They are lost.
There are others who see it as “I am…” a businessman, a Rangers fan, a Christian, a nice guy, a conservative … and somewhere down the list, “I happen to be gay also.” These guys will vote base on what they think will be best overall for the country and for them. The GOP will pick up some of these, and the sonks will pick up the rest.
It basically comes down to identity and priorities. I am probably more conservative than Bush in all the ways that count. I also think the specter of the “Christian Right” is more a left wing boogey-man used to keep the children in line than a political force, but that’s another dissertation.