GANNONGATE

Okay, Gannon-gate may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it sounded good. This isn't a big news story and there doesn't seem to be anything that could include the Administration, but Jeff Gannon, aka James Dale Guckert, reporter for Talon News and GOPUSA being exposed and subsequently quitting, has created quite a little diversion for those in the media, especially considering it's a blog-initiated story. I find it only vaguely intriguing, because of the seeming hypocrisy of this so called journalist.

So Gannon is, or rarely was since he 'left' yesterday, a conservative reporter who wore his politics on his sleeve. That in itself is no big deal. Inserting partisan opinion into reporting is growing in popularity on both sides. It's disappointing, but hey, that's why we have C-Span.

Speaking of C-Span, if you've watched any of the White House Press Conferences, you'll hear the most ridiculously biased questions on both the left and right. It's humorous at times and embarrassing at others. I had heard Gannon's questions and found them too obvious to be taken seriously. The way he would jump in after McCllelan got a hard left, or sometimes just a hard, question was laughable.

"Scott, why is President Bush such a great guy?"
"Scott, how does the President get anything done with evil Democrats trying to thwart him at every corner?"

My questions of course, but you get the point. I didn't hear the question that made him the target of the left bloggers, but it was played on The Daily Show the day after it came out and I was embarrassed for him and all the other reporters there. Considering all of the recent news about the Administration paying columnists and reporters, I thought at first this was sketchy. But no, that question was so weak and unprofessional that it was clear the administration had nothing to do with it. They aren't idiots.

So the left bloggers went to work and I have to say I have mixed feelings about it. I read Daily Kos and Eschaton pretty regularly and respect, although often disagree with, their passion and perseverance, but this was about destruction. It makes me wince a bit, but then I see Gannon's question again as they play it on the news for the five millionth time and the truth is, the guy offered it to them on a platter.

So it turns out he was denied a press pass and had to request a daily pass. I didn't even know you could do that, but I have a feeling it's going to be very hard to do from now on. So that pretty much set the stage. We find out he is using a fake name, which is really weird because why? What is even weirder is how in the hell does someone get a press pass getting into The White House to ask the President questions under a fake name?

Here is where the hypocrisy comes in. They guy's websites are connected to a lot of "would be" male escort/hook up websites for military men. He also had an AOL website with a sexy picture of him in his drawers with his dog tags hanging around his neck.

The picture can be found here at AMERICAblog.org.

So, I'm assuming he's gay and I don't think it's a stretch but have to admit I don't know if it's fact either. However, I live in D.C. and have established quite a reliable gaydar. I'm getting this guy is gay.

The gay thing isn't as relevant as the left bloggers would suggest. There are plenty of gay republicans. There are plenty, well some, ultra-conservative gay Republicans who are against gay marraige and all that, but it does seem like an uncomfortable position to be in. Hence, the fake name?

The websites Gannon wrote for have erased all traces of him and for good reason. He's written quite a few articles that could be seen as critical of his own lifestyle in the sense that he seems to use the "gay" issue as a negative for Democrats such as pointing out former Senator Dashle's 100% pro-gay rating.

The articles have been removed from the major sites, but remain at many of the sites that picked it up. Even those articles removed can be retrieved view cached pages. One article, written by Gannon on October 12, 2004 titled, Kerry Could Become First Gay President, compares Kerry's connection to gays with Clinton's connection to African Americans. It wasn't meant as a compliment.

This has bloodied the waters on both sides. Lefties are eager to see who else they can destroy and Righties are looking for payback. Isn't politics wonderful?

Washington Post: Online Reporter Quits After Liberals' Expose (washingtonpost.com)
Mens News Daily: The Leftwing Media Gets Their Scalp: Jeff Gannon Resigns from Talon News
Chicago Tribune:His ID exposed, reporter quits
New York Daily News: Bush press pal quits over gay prostie link