It was revealed last week that Jonathan Crutchley, chairman of popular gay hookup site Manhunt, had donated $2300 to not-so-gay-friendly John McCain's campaign fund. And now, amid a a furor of hurt feelings and un-nursed booboos, he has resigned. Site founder Larry Basile issued a statement today, decrying Crutchley's hoodwinkery and affirming his and the site's (but most importantly his) devoted slobbering for Obama:
I was arrested at the Supreme Court and FDA in Act-Up actions, and was the founder of the Grass Roots Gay Rights Fund, which over the years has raised more than $800K. I was the Treasurer of Out Week magazine, which was a powerful force in its time. I began giving Obama donations in March 2007, and I have sent several checks that have yet to be reported. The hat and t-shirt I wear say 'Obama for President', as does the sign in front of my house. I refuse to live in a country that is so marred by war and hate. To me, Barak (sic) is by far the best candidate, probably better than we deserve.
(Oho! "Better than we deserve"!) Comments on sites like Towleroad have ranged from "who cares?" to "how dare he do this to us, omg!"-the latter being shrill to the point of ninnery. I mean, the obvious joke here is that it shouldn't be surprising that a man who makes a living off of gays anonymously fucking doesn't want gays to get married. Because, you know, it might kill all the fun (read: revenue.) But really the important thing is that business is business is business and I'm terribly sorry that some customers felt so slighted and that the board felt so deceived that they had to demand his resignation, but, um, republicans probably have something to do with home decor and Broadway and the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce and publishers that put out gay magazines. This is like finding out, after all these years, that your favorite waiter at the little vegan place near your house actually eats meat in his spare time and then wailing and demanding apologies and caterwauling for his resignation. And that is what happens when politics shift from being about issues of governance that are complicated and never perfect to being all about me and my feelings and what I want above all else, ignoring nearly every nuance and sad compromise that must inevitably exist for this country to reasonably function. Or maybe it's just that dudes don't want to think about McCain while they're doing it.