Cross-Dressing Heats Up Republican Race

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2004-04-08 03:03pm

yahoo

DALLAS (Reuters) - What started as a dull runoff race to field a Republican candidate for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives has heated up due to a controversy over cross-dressing.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on Tuesday photographs of candidate Sam Walls dressed in women's clothes have circulated among political leaders in Johnson County, south of Fort Worth. Local Republican leaders confirmed separately that they had seen the photographs of Walls in a wig, dress and high heels.

Walls, who has the endorsement of several leading Republicans in the state and was expected to win the run-off, was not available for comment. He said in comments printed in the Star-Telegram that he will not drop out of the race due to a campaign of blackmail.

"Through intermediaries, my opponent told me to drop out of the campaign or the private information would be released," Walls told the paper. "Now my opponent is using the information in an attempt to intimate that I am a homosexual, which I am not."

Walls, 64, who describes himself as a fervent Baptist, told the paper his family had "dealt with" the issue of his cross-dressing and that he asked for forgiveness.

The opponent in question is Rob Orr and his campaign officials said they have not distributed the photos.

Jeff Judd, the county chairman of the Republican party, said it was too late for Walls to drop out of the April 13 runoff.

"It would have been much better judgment for him not to have run," he said.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2004-04-08 03:06pm

Another case of someones personal life becoming an issue when it shouldn't -_-

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-08 03:09pm

you'd think he could bring up blackmail charges against the moron trying to pull this shit, since that's what this technically amounts to.

Fire Fly · Post by **Fire Fly** » 2004-04-08 03:10pm

That's politics for you. Hopefully it won't affect the outcome, given that many thought he was going to win. But then again, this is Texas.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-04-08 04:04pm

That should tell voters not to vote for the asshole who dig in his opponent's personnal life just to win the fucking election.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2004-04-08 04:25pm

These things are funnest when they happen to Republicans

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-04-08 05:27pm

Wicked Pilot wrote:These things are funnest when they happen to Republicans

Baptist Republicans, no less. Hoist by his own petard, I would say. The chance of this guy having ranted at length about the evils of "alternate lifestyles" no doubt approaches 100%.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2004-04-08 05:28pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Wicked Pilot wrote:These things are funnest when they happen to Republicans
Baptist Republicans, no less. Hoist by his own petard, I would say. The chance of this guy having ranted at length about the evils of "alternate lifestyles" no doubt approaches 100%.

I think this line says it all...

Walls, 64, who describes himself as a fervent Baptist, told the paper his family had "dealt with" the issue of his cross-dressing and that he asked for forgiveness.

If he needs to ask for forgivness over it, he's clearly of the "this is wrong" crowd.

Plekhanov · Post by **Plekhanov** » 2004-04-08 09:46pm

Sharp-kun wrote:Another case of someones personal life becoming an issue when it shouldn't -_-

I agree that politicians private lives should be as a rule irrelevant, on the condition that they respect other peoples privacy. However if they are moralistic busy bodies who attempt to pass laws to control the general populations private lives we have every right to hold them to the same standards they espouse.
If this guy has made political capital in the past condemning cross dressing and other "deviant" sexual practices and hasn't withdrawn those comments his private life is fair game and he can have no complaints.

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2004-04-09 02:47am

Why is this sort of thing an issue in the US? NZ has atransexual MP and no one gives a damn..letalone homosexual MP's..who cares??.

Sometimes I think its fundimentalist brainwashing..but then I think its simply stifled sexuality..but more probably its a lot of people who just havent grown up.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2004-04-09 09:53am

Stuart Mackey wrote:Why is this sort of thing an issue in the US? NZ has atransexual MP and no one gives a damn..letalone homosexual MP's..who cares??.

Sometimes I think its fundimentalist brainwashing..but then I think its simply stifled sexuality..but more probably its a lot of people who just havent grown up.

I think us europeans are to blame...shipping all those puritans over there...we should have realised it would result in vast numbers of religiously motivated sexually prudish idiots...but hey...we werent going to keep them!

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-04-09 10:02am

Keevan_Colton wrote:
Stuart Mackey wrote:Why is this sort of thing an issue in the US? NZ has atransexual MP and no one gives a damn..letalone homosexual MP's..who cares??.

Sometimes I think its fundimentalist brainwashing..but then I think its simply stifled sexuality..but more probably its a lot of people who just havent grown up.
I think us europeans are to blame...shipping all those puritans over there...we should have realised it would result in vast numbers of religiously motivated sexually prudish idiots...but hey...we werent going to keep them!

Bastards

All in all Stuart, you're not far off...it is the general undertone of fundamentalist brainwashing and this inherent love of the 50's that generates this sort of controversy.

Oni Koneko Damien · Post by **Oni Koneko Damien** » 2004-04-12 11:48am

Keevan_Colton wrote:I think us europeans are to blame...shipping all those puritans over there...we should have realised it would result in vast numbers of religiously motivated sexually prudish idiots...but hey...we werent going to keep them!

Well, even though I get to live with the consequences of your ancestors' decision (and technically, my ancestors' decisions as well), I have to admit, that was some damned clever thinking. Perhaps we should ship all our fundies over to Brazil and let them play there. It could be a grand experiment in natural selection, as those that are certain that gawd will bail them out will die in droves, and those fundies that show some hope of recovery will come to their senses and do what is necessary to survive.

-Damien

Plekhanov · Post by **Plekhanov** » 2004-04-12 11:58am

Oni Koneko Damien wrote:Well, even though I get to live with the consequences of your ancestors' decision (and technically, my ancestors' decisions as well), I have to admit, that was some damned clever thinking. Perhaps we should ship all our fundies over to Brazil and let them play there. It could be a grand experiment in natural selection, as those that are certain that gawd will bail them out will die in droves, and those fundies that show some hope of recovery will come to their senses and do what is necessary to survive.

-Damien

That seems very tough on Brazil, what have the Brazillians done to deserve a plague of fundies?

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-12 12:09pm

we could always create a penal colony the way Britain shipped its criminals to Australia. find some remote islands that nobody has interest in maybe?

Sir Sirius · Post by **Sir Sirius** » 2004-04-12 12:17pm

Darth_Zod wrote:we could always create a penal colony the way Britain shipped its criminals to Australia. find some remote islands that nobody has interest in maybe?

Like Antarctica?

Oni Koneko Damien · Post by **Oni Koneko Damien** » 2004-04-12 02:22pm

Plekhanov wrote:That seems very tough on Brazil, what have the Brazillians done to deserve a plague of fundies?

They could eat the fundies, thus providing a stable food supply and easing some of the tensions in the region. See, I knew we could find a use for fundies if we tried!

-Damien

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2004-04-12 04:04pm

Darth Wong wrote:Baptist Republicans, no less. Hoist by his own petard, I would say. The chance of this guy having ranted at length about the evils of "alternate lifestyles" no doubt approaches 100%.

Well, on the one hand it's underhanded and dirty politics, which I hate...
and on the other hand, there's that petard-hoisting that you're talking about. Fundies getting hit with their hypocrisy is gratifying.