Gay Blogger: Andre Bauer, South Carolina Lt. Governor, A Closeted Homosexual

UPDATE: A South Carolina state senator says none other than Gov. Mark Sanford (R) is behind rumors that Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is gay.

In a letter to South Carolina legislators, a prominent state senator Thursday said Gov. Mark Sanford's supporters were behind recent Internet rumors that Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is gay. And he encouraged the General Assembly to remove the disgraced governor immediately.

"During the last two months, we have discovered plenty of solid reasons to remove our current governor from office; but now there's one more reason: the people trying to keep Sanford in power have stooped to a new low with this week's false character assassination of Bauer," Knotts wrote.

The full letter, via the Palmetto Scoop

* * * * *

Blogger Mike Rogers, a gay activist featured in the movie "Outrage," has written on his blog that he is sure South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is a closeted homosexual.

I have confirmed and spoken to four individuals who I have no doubt are telling me the truth. These men have been hit on by Bauer, with one of them telling me it happened at least five times since Bauer's election in 2003. To a varying degree I have met with and believe the sources. And, as you'll recall, I have that 100% record.

This was still not enough for me to report on him. Then another call came in and I met with the source while he was visiting DC recently. "He's gay," the source told me.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because I've had sex with him on two separate occasions." That too, was not enough for me to report on without confirmation from others. I was led on a path to chatting with acquaintances of the source and two former employees of Bauer who served on his staff between 2004 and 2007. They reported to me that on on a total of three occasions Bauer spent hours alone with men in hotel rooms.

Rogers has previously outed Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.).

Bauer has moved into the national spotlight recently because of the sex scandal surrounding Gov. Mark Sanford (R). Bauer has pressured Sanford to resign, offering not to run in 2010 after finishing the governor's term.

Bauer denied being gay in an interview with The State in June, having brought up the topic himself. A conservative Christian, he supported an amendment to ban gay marriage in the state

During an interview Monday, Bauer, who is a bachelor, voluntarily brought up the subject of his sexual orientation, which he said has been the subject of rumors.

Asked, then, if he's homosexual, Bauer said: "One word, two letters. 'No.' Let's go ahead and dispel that now.

"Is Andre Bauer gay? That is now the story," he said. "We're a long way from where we were a week ago.

Comments

[SILVANUS]

04:08 PM on 09/08/2009

Sad. Republicans would be Ok with an adulterer or a swindler but not a gay (and impressive) man.

That's the state of their party.

[wafuu]

08:22 AM on 09/05/2009

Bauer's script was written in the Deep South: loathing bred of ignorance for all who are in some way different, to include self-loathing. Would that compassion, not fear, could be the stronger of the two emotions.

[wafuu]

08:14 AM on 09/05/2009

"Oh what tangled webs we weave...."

[girlwild]

01:56 PM on 09/04/2009

The modern era of demonizing others to put oneself above them began with Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who had a closeted homosexual man, Roy Cohn on his staff. Nixon learned at his knee and instituted the "Southern Strategy" to usher in white supremacy in the Southern states to counter the Democrats push for civil rights. So we've got the communists covered and the blacks covered. Then most human beings took to heart that discrimination against blacks and others not white is just plain wrong. Then the Berlin Wall came down, and the Soviet Union evolved into the semi-democracy of Russia and other nation states, so no more communists to bash. So attention turned to homosexuals, which the Republican Party didn't know that THEY had so many closeted homosexuals amongst their midst.

Enough! We are all human beings with all our foibles. To put oneself above others when one is no better than others is the highest form of hypocrisy.

[Susan Rhoney]

03:52 PM on 09/04/2009

mark needs to go to the house ,and takes his so called Christian family values with him,

[Nicholas Flint]

01:23 PM on 09/04/2009

I don't care if the Lt. Gov. is gay or not. I do think there is an issue if he's not telling the truth. While he is lying about his sexuality, for me, his sexuality has nothing to do with it. If he was lying about another topic though, I doubt we'd be seeing it on the HuffingtonPost.

If voters have a choice between an adulterous (sp?) liar and a gay liar, I don't think it'll be a stretch that the people will support a cheating liar first. It's awful that politicians can rely on people's fear of gay people, but it works and will probably continue to work for some time.

[MizLiz]

01:10 PM on 09/04/2009

Oh my, here's another fine example of C Street Christianity in action: Get people thinking about someone else's so-called sin so you can resume enjoying your own. When are they going to impeach this turkey?
If the Lt. Guv has been instrumental in depriving gays of their civil right, yes, I''ll enjoy seeing him outed. as a hypocrite...otherwise, leave him alone.

[repugnicansfearme]

01:10 PM on 09/04/2009

The Lt Governor did not disappear from his sworn duties to have sex. He did not fly on publicly financed aircraft to have a good time or get his haircut.

[Nina28]

01:08 PM on 09/04/2009

I'd rather have a Gay Honest Lt. Gov then a Crooked, Lying straight sleaze bag who used tax money for his infidelity any day.

[Pamzy]

12:35 PM on 09/04/2009

I don't get. Why should we care about the Lt Gov's sexuality? And even if he is gay, why would a gay rights organization try to harm one of their own unless he has been denying homosexuals their rights, which he has not? What does being gay or straight have to do with his ability to legislate?

Sanford must go, and it Bauer's right to say so.

[MamaBird62]

12:57 PM on 09/04/2009

Bauer supports anti-gay marriage laws and other laws that favor discrimination against gays.

[MizLiz]

01:12 PM on 09/04/2009

Unfortunately, in the South, being an unfaithful sneaking lying straight is far better than a law-abiding gay.

[ThinkLiberal]

12:18 PM on 09/04/2009

Watching the rethugs cannibalize themselves is just too much fun to have in one short lifetime. Pull up a chair and pass the popcorn - this is great!

[AllShookUp]

11:50 AM on 09/04/2009

When in doubt, deflect, right Sanford? You know the longer you stay in office, the more you prove you're not fit to serve the people of South Carolina. Outing others, especially if the rumor is a falsehood, only makes you look desperate. And it makes you look like an adolescent. If Brauer is a homosexual, so what. The bigger question is, what does that make you?

[den1953]

11:32 AM on 09/04/2009

Perhaps the Gov might consider doing something good for the people of South Carolina and stop making the issue about yourself and if you truly think you can't make any difference step down gracefully and save face!

[paisleyface]

11:11 AM on 09/04/2009

It's worthless to ask a closeted homosexual if he's gay. There are so many ways to reason the answer to "no" to such a question, in the closeted one's mind that it's almost a guarantee that the answer is no. Gay, to many, represents a political statement. Homosexual would be a better descriptor in the case of this question. Still, there are too many ways to justify answering "no" to the question "are you a homosexual" that for so many closeted individuals, the answer is near guaranteed to be "no". "Have you ever had sex with any of the men claiming as much?" would be a much better question.

[rf dude]

10:58 AM on 09/04/2009

I guess rumoring that someone is a "commie"

doesn't get as much traction these days...
--

[Zen0469]

11:12 AM on 09/04/2009

Did you know that the teabaggers are commies?

[pearlx2]

11:37 AM on 09/04/2009

I bet if a rumor was started that teabaggers are gay, they'd all stay home and away from Town Halls.

[RustyPatina]

10:56 AM on 09/04/2009

Sanford is just trying to deflect attention from his own failures. SC deserves better - it's time for Sanford to be removed if he won't leave voluntarily.

[MsLiz]

12:51 PM on 09/04/2009

LOL at your statement South Carolina deserves better. What, Lindsey Graham? Strom Thurmond? Rep. James Clyburn is the only SC official I know of whom I'd like to have dinner with.