Twink + Politician + Dinner in Public = Political Scandal Brewing
By Aaron LawrenceWednesday June 16, 2010 at 7:56 am PDT
Let it be a lesson, folks. If you are a politician holding elected office and plan on taking a porn star/escort to dinner, make sure he doesn't have his own Twitter feed.
That's exactly what happened last Sunday when Minnesota State Senator Paul Koering (R-MN12) took porn twink Brandon Wilde to dinner. Their evening had not yet begun when Wilde took to Twitter announcing his impending dinner with Koering, "lol so funny !! in 45 min's im going 2 dinner with the senator :)"
Brandon Wilde and State Sen. Paul Koering
For those of you who don't know him, Paul Koering is something of an anomaly -- an openly gay conservative Republican who actually managed to get voted into office. Not an easy task in a conservative district, and so it is not surprising he votes anti-abortion and pro-gun.
Brandon Wilde, on the other hand, is a porn star with website credits including Suite 703 and Cruiser Boys.
While it is a bit surprising the two should meet up, it's not completely unexpected. Wilde splits his time between West Hollywood and Brainerd, Minnesota. Brainerd is part of Koering's district, and the two met at a gay pride event there recently.
What is surprising is that Koering was willing to be seen in public with him. True, it's a free country and he's welcome to do what he pleases. He's also an elected official though, and that means the public holds him to a higher standard of behavior and decorum.
Trevor Knight and Brandon Wilde
Fortunately for Koering, Wilde acknowledged that they did not have sex (although he thought Koering wanted to get into his pants). So the ensuing scandal may be limited, especially if his district is mature enough to consider this a private matter.
What is so fascinating to me is not that Koering and Wilde went to dinner. I really don't care about that. What I find interesting is that Wilde said that Koering stated that he will work towards recognizing gay marriage in the state after he is reelected this fall. Koering, for his part, denies supporting gay marriage and claims he does not remember speaking to Wilde about the subject.
Like so many other Republicans, Koering runs away from from gay issues unless the issue is going to pass with our without his support. In 2009 he voted against a gay marriage bill in Minnesota. At the time his legislative director said he voted against the bill because it was a "pointless issue" that did not affect his district.
My take is that Koering voted against the bill because he is up for reelection in 2010. Knowing any vote for gay marriage would almost certainly launch a Republican primary bid against him, he voted with the sole intention of depriving opponents of ammunition. Koering's strategy is simple -- if the bill is likely to pass, he'll vote for it. Otherwise he'll vote against it in the name of political convenience.
The problem with this strategy is that it is often self-defeating. Voting in politics involves herding cowards into battle. The moment they see any chance of being defeated, they break and run the other way. Only if they are assured of a victory that requires little or no political capital of their own will they stay and fight. Because no one wants to take a stand on an issue it fails not for lack of votes, but for a lack of political will and backbone on the part of elected officials.
Frankly, what Koering is guilty of is a aggravated sense of his own value. Yes, his district cares about jobs and the economy -- we all do. But the fact that gay and lesbian couples in his district are not a vocal majority does not mean that gay marriage is not an important issue. Voting against marriage equality while impressing naive twinks with vague promises of future equality does not a leader make.
(Hat tip to The Sword for breaking the story)
That's exactly what happened last Sunday when Minnesota State Senator Paul Koering (R-MN12) took porn twink Brandon Wilde to dinner. Their evening had not yet begun when Wilde took to Twitter announcing his impending dinner with Koering, "lol so funny !! in 45 min's im going 2 dinner with the senator :)"
For those of you who don't know him, Paul Koering is something of an anomaly -- an openly gay conservative Republican who actually managed to get voted into office. Not an easy task in a conservative district, and so it is not surprising he votes anti-abortion and pro-gun.
Brandon Wilde, on the other hand, is a porn star with website credits including Suite 703 and Cruiser Boys.
While it is a bit surprising the two should meet up, it's not completely unexpected. Wilde splits his time between West Hollywood and Brainerd, Minnesota. Brainerd is part of Koering's district, and the two met at a gay pride event there recently.
What is surprising is that Koering was willing to be seen in public with him. True, it's a free country and he's welcome to do what he pleases. He's also an elected official though, and that means the public holds him to a higher standard of behavior and decorum.
Fortunately for Koering, Wilde acknowledged that they did not have sex (although he thought Koering wanted to get into his pants). So the ensuing scandal may be limited, especially if his district is mature enough to consider this a private matter.
What is so fascinating to me is not that Koering and Wilde went to dinner. I really don't care about that. What I find interesting is that Wilde said that Koering stated that he will work towards recognizing gay marriage in the state after he is reelected this fall. Koering, for his part, denies supporting gay marriage and claims he does not remember speaking to Wilde about the subject.
Like so many other Republicans, Koering runs away from from gay issues unless the issue is going to pass with our without his support. In 2009 he voted against a gay marriage bill in Minnesota. At the time his legislative director said he voted against the bill because it was a "pointless issue" that did not affect his district.
My take is that Koering voted against the bill because he is up for reelection in 2010. Knowing any vote for gay marriage would almost certainly launch a Republican primary bid against him, he voted with the sole intention of depriving opponents of ammunition. Koering's strategy is simple -- if the bill is likely to pass, he'll vote for it. Otherwise he'll vote against it in the name of political convenience.
The problem with this strategy is that it is often self-defeating. Voting in politics involves herding cowards into battle. The moment they see any chance of being defeated, they break and run the other way. Only if they are assured of a victory that requires little or no political capital of their own will they stay and fight. Because no one wants to take a stand on an issue it fails not for lack of votes, but for a lack of political will and backbone on the part of elected officials.
Frankly, what Koering is guilty of is a aggravated sense of his own value. Yes, his district cares about jobs and the economy -- we all do. But the fact that gay and lesbian couples in his district are not a vocal majority does not mean that gay marriage is not an important issue. Voting against marriage equality while impressing naive twinks with vague promises of future equality does not a leader make.
(Hat tip to The Sword for breaking the story)
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