Romney, a clown who may have been better off if he had been perceived as someone else's puppet, has been conspicuously attempting to position himself for a right-wing run at the Republican primaries. This was his brilliant strategy, as far as I can understand it. A Mormon carpetbagger from Utah, briefly chief executive of what is possibly the most liberal state in the nation, figured why not run for President? I just have to convince the evangelicals that I am their man. Having apparently failed to notice that as strategies go, gay-baiting is not anymore as fruitful as it once was, having not noticed the closet doors torn open on some high profile evangelical pastors; and blissfully ignorant of the polling data that shows a majority of Americans support recognition of same-sex couples (some calling it civil unions, others marriage), he still drones on, vapidly and pathetically. Wait! He must have known that the (non-ecclesiastical) polity was running pretty lukewarm on gay-bashing in the 1990s when he decided to be the most pro-gay Republican, EVER! So what gives? Did he lose his mind?

And the worst part? He is mostly likely lying now about his own feelings on the matter (if he has any) or (say it ain't so, Mitt) he was lying 10 years ago when he went out of his way to portray himself as a big tent loving-the-gays Republican. Since I can't know when he was being his most self-serving and mercenary, I'll content myself sipping mint tea, listening to Bach, and watching him implode. The right can eat one of its own. Tasty meal, that Mitt.

McCain and Guiliani, now looking a lot less insane by comparison, can enjoy this spectacle too. Where are the good-old fashioned crazies on the right willing run a campaign attacking gays over and over? What happened to the skillful use of a wedge issue? Maybe Rick Santorum should announce his candidacy? To my knowledge, there's a Republican who has never had a nice things to say about gay and lesbian Americans.

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