Few things quicken the pulse of political observers like the shining of a spotlight on conservative politicians who have been subjects of speculation that they are gay.

Examples that made national headlines in the past few years include U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, a Republican from Idaho who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after an incident in an airport bathroom, and U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican who resigned amid reports that he sent sexually explicit messages to male teenagers who were congressional pages.

More recently and closer to home in conservative South Carolina, former congressional candidate Linda Ketner was reported as having said that three high-profile Palmetto State elected officials are “in the closet.”

Ketner, an openly gay Democrat, nearly unseated Republican U.S. Rep. Henry Brown in the November elections. Brown represents South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District along the coast.

“We have more gay people serving in South Carolina than probably in anyplace in the United States; they’re just not out of the closet,” Ketner is quoted as saying in a May 30 post on firedoglake.com, a politically oriented web site. “We have an awful lot of people in the closet — Lindsey Graham, Glenn McConnell who’s our [state] Senate president pro tem, our lt. governor ... ”

Graham, the state’s senior U.S. senator, is a Republican as are McConnell and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

Ketner later apologized and clarified that she believed her remarks would not be published.

“I’ve always been resolute about never outing anyone,” says her web site, lindaketner.com.
“I let myself and others down in a recent off-the-record chat with a reporter. I obviously don’t have any knowledge of the sexual orientation of any individuals mentioned.”

Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop said the senator’s office would not comment on the firedoglake.com post. Bauer also opted not to comment. Efforts to reach McConnell, including messages left at his Senate office and his home and an email to his state government account, were unsuccessful.

A message to Ketner on her web site also did not bring a response.

The firedoglake post coincides with a movement to bust the locks off closet doors all over Washington, D.C.

Outrage, a recently released documentary by filmmaker Kirby Dick, looks at the secret lives of allegedly gay national politicians who cheerlead anti-gay legislation.

Outrage debuted in Columbia at the Nickelodeon Theatre on June 10. The film does not mention any South Carolina lawmakers.

Truman Smith, president of the South Carolina Log Cabin Republicans, a group working within the GOP to advance equal rights for gays and lesbians, says he believes that “generally, outing is a bad thing,” even when it comes to politicians.

Coming out of the closet, he says, should be a personal decision.

At the same time, Smith says, “When people act one way in private and another way in public then they’re foolish if they think they’re going to hide their actions for too long.”

Agreed, says Mike Rogers, founding editor of blogactive.com, a popular web site he has used to call out politicians whom he says are gay but vote for anti-gay laws. Rogers appears prominently in Outrage, trolling the halls of Capitol Hill offices.

In an interview with Free Times, Rogers says he believes that bloggers and the alternative media are beginning to force the hands of more traditional news organizations to report on the sexual orientation of politicians. So far, he says, much of the mainstream media have been afraid to do so.

Let us know what you think: Email news@free-times.com.