Flashback: Rudy Said He Would Personally Marry His Gay Roommates

From the New York Times, 8/4/01:

For the past two months Rudolph Giuliani has been coming home at night to one of the happiest marriages in New York.

That's how long the mayor, in flight from his own marital wreckage at Gracie Mansion, has been a frequent sleepover guest at the home of Howard Koeppel and his partner, Mark Hsiao. Mr. Koeppel, who is 64, is a Queens car dealer who has been both a close friend and prodigious fund-raiser of Mr. Giuliani's since 1989. The 41-year-old Mr. Hsiao is a Juilliard-trained pianist who works at the city's Department of Cultural Affairs. They've been together almost 10 years -- are registered with the city as domestic partners -- and in happier times for the Giuliani marriage, double-dated with the mayor and Donna Hanover on New Year's Eve. Now they are doting hosts to Mr. Giuliani as he juggles his raucous divorce, his recovery from prostate cancer treatments, his waning months in office, his romance with Judith Nathan, his post-public-life future and, last but hardly least, his search for an affordable Manhattan apartment rental of his own.

The mayor's progressive record on gay civil rights notwithstanding, he has not endorsed same-sex marriage. But, says Mr. Koeppel, ''He did tell us that if they ever legalized gay marriages, we would be the first one he would do.'' Mr. Koeppel and Mr. Hsiao are in favor of the right to marry -- which, among other things, would give gay couples the same protections as heterosexual couples in legal and fiscal matters ranging from immigration and adoption rights to veterans' and Social Security benefits.

Comments

[Colmore]

Dear God in Heaven. After struggling through Georgie's reign, now comes Rudy. These photos are flashed world wide. Imagine if another country had something like THIS running for office? We would laugh at them, just as they are laughing at us. This country needs someone with BRAINS to help clean up the mess this administration will be leaving behind. Rudy is too distracted, what with numerous wives and dress-up parties.

[transendentilist]

And those annoying phone calls.

[factanonverba]

Faust would be proud. Sell your soul to become President. Or should I paint it as Damn Yankee theme, only it is not winning the pennant but winning the White House. Of course, none of this is true for Mr. Guilani has no soul to sell. Whither will his candidacy.

[cycle3man]

Rudy the Chameleon!
I’ll be whatever you want me to be!
Yes, elect this bimbo!

[gettysburg]

Republicans should be embarrassed by the garbage they have running for President. Even McCain doesn't know from one minute to the next what his positions are. How the hell could anybody trust these guys. Romney and Guliani would sell out their mothers for a vote. But the thing that bothers me the most......­Rudy's wife as First Lady!

[CraigB]

Rudy is frantic because he is certain to get the nomination and the religious right is threatening to run with a third party candidate. Next week he will flip flop on his pro-choice beliefs to get them to settle down. But bottom line is he hasn't really changed his views and would be the most liberal republican presidential nominee we've seen in years.

[gbarton]

Liberal? Someone who would nominate judges like Alito and Roberts are now considered liberal?

[bobsmith]

"But bottom line is he hasn't really changed his views and would be the most liberal republican presidential nominee we've seen in years."

----

I don't think so, CraigB. You're presuming that today's Republican politician is driven by a set of core values; but that's not how it works. Today's Republican politician is nothing more than a sycophant. These are small, weak men who do the bidding of their corporate masters - nothing more. They are puppets on strings. They really do not matter.

The Dems (with a very few notable exceptions) aren't much different.

The oligarchy is running the country, and they ARE driven by a set of core values; values that are destroying this country as we know it.

[monty]

Rudy Guiliani is a hypocritical slimebag. Perfect match for the Republican or Democratic Party.

[soundoff]

RIGHT ON MONTY! Might I
add: and a lying RatBastard. LOL!

[nancytheragingliberal]

Yes, he is a phony and a liar. His own children can't stand him. Mr. "I have affairs, dump one or two or three wives, who's counting? Then marry my mistress. Wow, such values.

[Ginzaman]

How the hell did the people of NYC put up with him for so long?

[NYC07]

We thought just we were just watching a very long Seinfeld episode !!

[SeconLine]

"Helloo...­Rudy."

[starboymikey]

Someone do the country a favor and shoot it. The Republicans are giving it a migrane.

[NYC07]

Rudy would sell is grandmother to get the nomination. This doesn't suprise any of us here in NYC.

[lawyeredup]

You're right NYC07, but looking at Rudy in all those numerous drag dress up, the only person that came to mind is J. Edgar Hoover. And, I couldn't help but think -- the guy is a classic closet case. If he's not on the downlow (being that he's married) then he's bi-sexual in all his mannerities including his being on his tird marriage. Hey; not that I want to know what goes on in his bed room -- it just that, if it dresses like gays, double dates with gays and bunk with gays -- it is most possible he is gay.

[SmellyOne]

What a douche. He flip flops over to the incorrect answer.

Gay people should have every right to marry, call it marriage, and enjoy every aspect of it.

No one has ever explained to me why a state-sanctioned marriage between same-sex partners is a bad idea, and made any sense doing so.

[prolifeprogressive]

well for one, sanctioning 2 men or two women to raise a child, is objectionable to alot, alot of middle america.

And why not? it is basic natural yin/yang stuff.

Kids, should under ideal circumstances have a male and female role model/parental figure. That is so plainly commonsensicle, that of course people who do not have any qualms about partial birth abortions, have no qualms about the psychology of child-raising.

The fact that it is the way our society, not mention civilization has done it oh...2.5k years or so, also seems dastardly and irrelevant to the nay-sayers.

Civil Unions? sure.
Gay marriage? Well you better go for States rights with Paul, cause I doubt it will ever be federally ok'd across the board for a long time.

Just like modernists want to co-op the Catholics and have the Episcopalians, certain types of liberals take great delight in wrecking institutions they do not understand much less agree with.

[btw, not catholic or Epis either, just watchin']

There is no party of common sense or repsonsibility any more.

REpublicans have gone crazy over a garbled version of Christianity and blind faith in an evolutionary rejct of a 'president'. And Democrats have no spine.

So now we get to have a populaity contest where the united sheeple of america get to choose from Hillary and whoever the republicans dredge up.

[serialcoma]

Quit imposing religious bullshit on the government­.. if you people could make ethical decisions instead of moral judgements the entire world would improve dramatical­ly... but nooooo... gotta inject the sky fairies and a whole load of crap into every discussion.

There is no such thing as religious tolerance.­. within religions that is.

Gays and lesbians should be accorded the same rights and privileges straight couples enjoy.

Anyone who wants to inject religious beliefs into teh equation needs to STFU.

[bilabong8]

How are the liberals wrecking marriage? If you look at the stats, liberal states like Massachusetts have the lowest divorce rates while the Bible belt states have the highest divorce rate.
How will gays ruin your tradition of trading in for a new wife and kids every couple years. What a terrific parenting role model, Guilliani will make for this country!

[RedWhiteandBrooklyn]

"well for one, sanctioning 2 men or two women to raise a child, is objectionable to alot, alot of middle america."

So, by your logic, interracial marriage should also be forbidden because "alot" (sic) of people don't like it? How about inter regigious? Or a pagan performing a marriage ceremony?

[barrycourage]

You call yourself "progressive?"

BAHAWAAAAA­AAAHAHAHAH­AHAAAAA!

Progressive? Like in using millenia-old understandings of the human psyche and doctrines on civil rights to support your position?

Progressive? You mean like your 1950s-level understanding of child psychology and development to support your position?

Progressive? Like older than the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution? Like anyone who is a minority or not a seig-heil Aryan should conform or die?

Progressive? Like ignoring that organized religion is man-made and that it has changed much of its dogma over the centuries to support human rights progress?

Progressive? Because you might be against slavery and witch-burning but support a woman's right to vote?

Still having problems with interfaith and interracial marriage, are you?

And of course, whatever is good for you is good for everyone else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exDo2SMdB-0

[BoBoBolinski]

It took a great man in a powdered wig George Washington to found our country and defeat the British and it will take another great man in a powdered wig Rudy Giuliani to defend our country and defeat Islamofascism.

[situationcritical]

If all it takes is a powdered wig, I say fuck the man, and make the wig president.

[NYC07]

"It took a great man in a powdered wig George Washington to found our country and defeat the British and it will take another great man in a powdered wig (corset, bra and panties), Rudy Giuliani to defend our country and defeat Islamofascism"

I have corrected you statement.

[transendentilist]

Powdered wigs were in fashion in those day. Hundreds, if not thousands wore them.
I don't have anything against anbody that dresses in drag at a drag gueen party. What I am against is a bloodthirsty, warmongering, lying, constitution killer. That's what I worry about.

[BWonka]

" Rudy Said He Would Personally Marry His Gay Roommates"

Is that after he divorces Judith? Or would they all just live together?

Rudina is a joke -

[LeaderofMen]

My money is on Huckabee. He's the ONLY GOP candidate that is even remotely qualified to lead evangelicals. I mean, the evangelical voters.

This article proves that Rudy will say and do anything to get votes.

"The GOP. It's not just for hypocrites anymore."

[transendentilist]

Huckabee, who recently inferred that all the women in America who had abortions since it became legal in 73 were committing a holocaust?? That friggin psycho?? He is pro death penalty, and pro war, and pro NRA. Yeah huck, that's a real reverence of life huh?
He compares over a million of his fellow Americans with Adolf Hitler, who systematically murdered 11 million people. Full grown live human beings, not a cluster of microscopic cells scraped from the uterine wall, in a LEGAL medical procedure.
Slime is slime, and huckleberry is slime.

[barrycourage]

Psychotic and calculated.

He wants to grow as many people as possible to feed an interminable WWIII death machine.

Grow them, birth them, raise them, and use them as cannon fodder.

Never changes:

"War is Good Business. Invest Your Sons [and Daughters]­."

[WilliamWallace]

Thus begins Rudy's quest to appear less "flawed" to the Righteous Right.

[studlyguy]

Rudy a cross dresser so what is surprising here aren't all the repukes CLOSET cases,wasn't J EDGAR HOOVER one who hated gay's and targeted them all the while he was A MAJOR GAY CLOSET CASE ,so it seems all these repukes who preach hate towards a certain minority , to give Rudy credit at least he doesn't preach hate towads gay population ,so this doesn't apply to him but to the others who have preached hate then been caught with their meth/hustler buds or bathroom actions ,let me what is that called , let me think , ahhhhh yes SELF HATRED,seems so many many things going on in america in our government is like history repeating itself VERY INTERESTING only exception is this time THESE REPUKES ARE FASCIST

[barrycourage]

Good ole J. Edgar had more dresses than Nancy Reagan and Jackie O. combined.

People in J. Edgar's circle who are still around say Linda Tripp is the spittin' image of him at cocktail parties.