Republican Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu Has Had Quite A Gay Outing

Most would-be politicians have a hard time getting publicity.  They try to entice a camera or journalist to cover them, and then hope for at least a little something on page C3 in the morning paper.  Most times it is hard to even land there!

But Arizona’s Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has had more press coverage than he ever imagined possible.

On Saturday Paul Babeu admitted to being gay, resigned from presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s Arizona committee, and tried to downplay the scandal that he created concerning his love affair with a Mexican immigrant who he threatened with deportation if their past relationship was made public.

That will surely set Babeu heads and shoulders over other men in the dating world when he again seeks companionship!

What a cad!

Make that a self-loathing cad.

Now to be objective I should allow for Babeu, a first-term sheriff who has gained widespread attention with his strong opposition to illegal immigration and smuggling, stating the accusations are an attempt to hurt his political career.

My Almanac Of American Politics places his congressional district in an area populated with heavy Republican and conservative voters. I am just betting that they will not cotton to  a cellphone self-portrait of a smiling Babeu rubbing a man’s chest, or in his underwear  in a bathroom posting on a gay dating website.

While these matters are private for most people, there is no room for those who live a double life seeking to then speak for others in a political office.  Live your life honestly as a gay man–no problem.  Play the fake straight card to get elected and you get the wrath of everyone–and rightly so.  On top of that you get slapped hard by the very conservatives that were being schnoockered in the first place.

Let me be the first then, in case no one else has yet done so, to alert the immigrant basher that he no longer has a political career.

That ended when hypocrisy became Paul Babeu’s middle name.

I have great difficulty with people in the public eye, be they politicians, sports figures, or entertainers who can not stand up and be authentic about who they are.  When forced out of the closet due to stories such as the one playing out in Arizona only serves to underscores the role that a lack of personal foundation plays in a public scandal.  Had Babeu been honest and open years ago I strongly suggest this scandal would have never occurred.

Then Babeu would be like every other politician searching for a way to make the papers.