Poor John McCain, he just can’t catch a break.

Two of his biggest supporters now have the stain of the Republican agenda of hating and bashing gays. Republicans are renowned for their intolerance of gays, which is ironic considering the massive volume of gay Republicans that seem to be outted on a daily basis. But the new Republican gay issue affecting McCain is due to the actions of South Carolina.

Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican – South Carolina) has been one of John McCain’s staunchest defenders. Right on the front page of Senator Lindsey Graham’s official website he proudly proclaims, “The South Carolina state dance is The Shag.” Whenever John McCain has one of his frequent senior moments it’s his good pal Lindsey that leads the “what the Senator meant to say” damage control squad. Lindsey, who has never been married, and always appears a bit swishy and swarmey, is from the state that has been spending tons of those Republican tax dollars on an international ad campaign proclaiming “South Carolina is so gay.”

No, they don’t mean “happy”, they mean GAY, as in Gay Pride Parades, Village People, the Republican Senator Larry “Wide Guy” Craig kind of gay.

The official South Carolina ad campaign has been dubbed “the gayest ever mainstream media advertising campaign”. Wow, those South Carolina Republicans really know how to promote themselves. Their ads advertise their “gay beaches”, with the claim, “There’s nowhere quite like South Carolina”.

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, who has been mentioned as a possible running mate for the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said the governor agreed that the posters were “inappropriate.” Yeah, he says that now, after the campaign already went global and his state government already spent their tax dollars on it.

Andrew Roberts, the chief executive of the travel agency, Amro Worldwide, said, “The campaign was designed to send a clear message to everyone who sees this campaign that it is long past time that ‘so gay’ should be used as a negative phrase of disapproval.” “We think it is just great to be so gay,” said Roberts, who called the campaign a success, having reached more than 2 million people in London alone.

State tourism officials said in a statement that “it sends a powerful positive message.” “For our gay visitors, it is actually quite wonderful for them to discover just how much South Carolina has to offer — from stunning plantation homes to miles of wide sandy beaches,” the statement said.

Gay tourism is a $64.5 billion market in the United States, the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association estimates, and more than 75 cities around the world have gay-themed campaigns that create no controversy.

Did you even know there was such a thing as the “International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association”? I’ll bet Lindsey Graham did.

Apparently this is a big issue in South Carolina. One high school even formed a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Irmo High School and locals feared it implies that students joining the club will have chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members of both sexes.

Such attitudes remain prevalent in the state, said Warren Redman-Gress, executive director of the South Carolina Alliance for Full Acceptance, a gay and lesbian advocacy group. He praised the motives behind the campaign. Redman-Gress said. “I get calls regularly, people want to know before I come and spend my hard-earned money, my souvenir dollars in South Carolina, is it a place where it is OK for me to be gay?

“The answer is yes and no,” he said. “You live on the edge with the simple fact that you can come to South Carolina, spend your money getting here, and someone can come in and say, ‘I’m sorry; you can’t stay here because you’re gay.’”

Gee whiz, I guess that would rule out South Carolina from ever hosting the Republican National Convention. Big bummer for Lindsey Graham.

I'm sure this will have lots of steam I don't think McCain is worried about the gay vote.

"I don't think McCain is worried about the gay vote."

Since he's a Republican, a member of the Gay Old Party, you're probably right. He has it all sewed up.

South Carolina is soooo gay.....I saw Ru Paul walking Elton John's poodle to the hairdresser... It's so gay Senator Craig held a press conference to say he was just joking... It's so gay NAMBLA moved their headquarters there...It's so gay the ghosts of Sodom and Gomorra are saying WTF? Why aren't these South Carolinians experiencing God's wrath?
What a sick world (and country) we live in when this is an advertising slogan.

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Behind this mask, there is more than flesh and blood. Behind this mask is an idea. And ideas are bulletproof.

I disagree with the premise. Hypocrisy never stopped the GOP voting base. I don't even think they are aware of it. Maybe McSame won't get all the Log Cabin Republicans, but other than that I don't see it causing him big problems.

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"I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy."
-Sen. John McCain 09/22/2008