Arizona sheriff and Republican congressional candidate Paul Babeau has resigned from his post in Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign after allegations that he threatened his gay lover. The thing I find the most disturbing about this is that Babeau is a gay man and a Republican. I’m just not open-minded enough to grasp that. I think that most, if not all, gay Republicans are self-loathers with internalized homophobia. How can you be a part of a political party that treats people with your sexual orientation like second-class citizens?
So here’s the story: Babeau, a respected police chief (and major campaigner against illegal immigrants), has been accused by his ex-lover, who goes by the name Jose, of threatening to have him deported if he revealed their relationship to the press.
“What I do in my personal and private life is my personal and private life with those individuals,” Babeau said in a press conference Saturday, adding that he never thought Jose was illegal. “Everything that I understand is that he’s absolutely in legal status.”
The Phoenix New Times was the first to report that Babeau’s lawyer tried to get Jose to sign a confidentiality agreement so that he would stay silent about their affair. Jose refused, and claims the lawyer then tried to intimidate him by threatening to have him deported (because, but of course, the conservative sheriff who hates illegal immigrants was butt-fucking one).
As a result of all the drama, Babeau has stepped down from Romney’s campaign; it appears to be the first sane thing he has ever done.
“Sheriff Babeau has stepped down from his volunteer position with the campaign so he can focus on the allegations against him. We support his decision,” Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said.
I’m sure they do! And I love how they made sure to say “volunteer position,” because God forbid they were paying the sleazy faggot. Oh, the wonders of PR.
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