Anti-LGBTQ GOP Lawmaker Resigns After Grindr Messages Reveal 'Burning Desire' for 'Down and Dirty...

[Qutzupalotl]

Source: Towleroad

Anti-LGBTQ GOP Lawmaker Resigns After Grindr Messages Reveal ‘Burning Desire’ for ‘Down and Dirty Guy’
JULY 25, 2019 BY ANDY TOWLE 7

Conservative GOP Christian Tennessee state Rep. Bill Sanderson resigned on Wednesday, citing a son-in-law in poor health and the demands of his business, the Tennessean reported.

But most believe it was for another reason reported elsewhere: that Grindr messages and nude photos uncovered by journalists have exposed the fact that he’s a closeted hypocrite with a gay son who has voted against every LGBTQ issue that has come before him.

Writes political reporter Cari Wade Gervin: ‘His (now-deleted) campaign Facebook page describes Sanderson as a “Family Man, Small Business Man, Farmer, Public Servant” whose favorite activities include running, working in the yard and “spending time with my dear wife, Marjie (the person with the best heart of anyone I have ever, ever met).” (Sanderson has been married to Marjie since the fall of 2012. He has three grown children with his first wife, Valerie; they divorced in 2011.) His voting record during his four and a half sessions on the hill back up his conservative bonafides. Sanderson introduced legislation to mandate “In God We Trust” on state license plates. He has been a co-sponsor of some of the most extreme anti-abortion legislation, including this year’s heartbill bill (which passed the House but was delayed in the Senate until next year). In 2018, Sanderson, then the chair of the State Government Subcommittee, was widely criticized for helping kill a resolution denouncing Neo-Nazis and opposing a bill to outlaw chain gangs, saying such work was not dehumanizing to prisoners. And Sanderson has voted in support of almost every anti-LGBT bill that has made it to the House floor. Despite having a gay son with a longterm partner. Despite sending sexually explicit messages and pictures to men almost 40 years his junior.’


Read more: https://www.towleroad.com/2019/07/bill-sanderson/

[pandr32]

1. Good riddance to rubbish

How the party of "family values" has so many gay-bashing closeted, perverted, pedophile, and/or rapist members is beyond me. "Family values" must carry the same weight as "fair and balanced" does.
:face palm:

[keithbvadu2]

2. Another Ed Schrock 'family man', republican values.

Another Ed Schrock 'family man', republican values.

[leftieNanner]

13. Yeah.

Thanks for remembering that one.

[Hortensis]

17. He fits a pattern, but it's hardly Republican values.

And now that you've caused me to actually defend people I generally avoid these days because what they've genuinely become, I'm off.

[erronis]

22. I defend your right to defend; but repuglicon values?

Zero divided by zero? Totally indeterminate?

Fortunately I have very few friends or acquaintances or relatives that would paint themselves with that (R) value. I'm glad to be rid of them until we might see each other in somebody's version of heaven or hell. If so, that would be true purgatory.

[Hortensis]

23. None of us want to be clueless.

Here's something, not the only or last word but recent -- and a clue, though only one when many are needed.

Republicans Don’t Understand Democrats—And Democrats Don’t Understand Republicans: A new study shows Americans have little understanding of their political adversaries—and education doesn’t help.

... America’s political divisions are driven by hatred of an out-group rather than love of the in-group. The question is: Why? ... Researchers asked Democrats to guess how Republicans would answer a range of political questions—and vice versa. What they found is fascinating: Americans’ mental image of the “other side” is a caricature.

According to the Democratic caricature, most Republicans stridently oppose immigration, hold deeply prejudiced views about religious minorities, and are blind to the existence of racism or sexism. Asked to guess what share of Republicans believe that immigration can strengthen America so long as it is “properly controlled,” for example, Democrats estimated about half; actually, nearly nine in 10 agreed with this sentiment. ... Unsurprisingly, Republicans are also prone to caricature Democrats. ...

Unfortunately, the “Perception Gap” study suggests that neither the media nor the universities are likely to remedy Americans’ inability to hear one another: It found that the best educated and most politically interested Americans are more likely to vilify their political adversaries than their less educated, less tuned-in peers. ...

Americans who rarely or never follow the news are surprisingly good at estimating the views of people with whom they disagree. On average, they misjudge the preferences of political adversaries by less than 10 percent. Those who follow the news most of the time, by contrast, are terrible at understanding their adversaries. On average, they believe that the share of their political adversaries who endorse extreme views is about 30 percent higher than it is in reality. ...

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/republicans-and-democrats-dont-understand-each-other/592324/

[erronis]

29. Thanks for that counter-point. The Atlantic has become such a good source

of perspective. Maybe it has always been so but in these times I enjoy their viewpoints.

[Hortensis]

30. Me too. I notice I've let it slide lately, when usually I'm

frustrated by running through my free articles way too early in the month. Definitely worth a subscription, but...

[oldsoftie]

32. Thank you This article illustrates what i've known; no, they're NOT "all racists".

But you really cant get into a discussion on things like that here because you'll get slammed & insulted.
And we also forget that the largest segment of people do not identify with EITHER party. And those are the people that win elections.

[Hortensis]

35. Yes. I'm not sure though that I agree completely with the

dismissal of "partisanship" just because some people shed political party-san labels. Pew and others say vast majority of those who reject a party label actually vote every election for either the liberal or the conservative party, just not quite as unquestioningly or loyally, especially for conservatives these days. Our hope for the future.

This article isn't the first I've read to note how extremely toxic to understanding today's "pop-culture" politics and the media that create and serve them up are.

[poli-junkie]

3. Just another repressed anti-gay gay Republican.

[nycbos]

4. Why do stories like this bring laughter?

[Qutzupalotl]

24. It is kind of sad that he's so repressed

but if he makes life difficult for LGBTQ folks all day, screw him.

[CTyankee]

46. You might like to revisit the Swaggart confession...

[Botany]

5. I thought he quit because he had some fruit trees die on his farm.

"It requires a full time (work)," he said, noting he lost the fruit of 135 peach trees while serving as a lawmaker this year. "I'm going to have to be at home more."

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/23/tennessee-legislature-representative-bill-sanderson-resignation-kenton/1811312001/

********

BTW as old boring straight guy I have learned the more some man is really anti gay
and Christian the more likely it is that they are gay and or "closet cases."

from the link in the O.P.

so his pictures and writing were all faked?
Whatever the private reality of Sanderson’s marriage, his public face is extremely at odds with the Grindr and text messages I reviewed. They all include pictures of Sanderson, including one of his naked torso and genitals. That very explicit picture has his face cropped out of it, but Sanderson is wearing the same watch in other photos. (He says the nude photo is faked, and the other pictures were stolen from his Facebook account.)

snip

Those texts, in addition to including the nude photo, are frequently explicit in terms of discussing sexual activity. I’m not going to quote from the explicit parts, as Sanderson (allegedly) exchanged them with a reasonable expectation of privacy. But I will note that in his 2013 Grindr profile, which could be seen by anyone using the app, he writes, “I’ve seen a lot and done a lot, but I really haven’t had a connection with a guy and I have a burning desire to have that relationship. I like down and dirty guy to guy play too! So, I guess you might say, nothing will be held back …” (Sanderson says he did not write this.)

[Blue_Tires]

7. LOL

[Botany]

11. But what about his peach trees?

[dalton99a]

18. Insecticide didn't work, so he had to quit his job

[dalton99a]

8. +1

[Botany]

10. "I like down and dirty guy to guy play too!"

I wonder what he was trying to say?

The older I get and the more I hear or read about some guy worrying about
"the gays" the more I think that person is gay. BTW if you are worried about
that "gay sex thing" and you are a man then don't have sex w/another man.

[dalton99a]

12. The pattern is unmistakable.

We have seen case after case after case after case - and almost always a loudly religious, family-values Republican

[skypilot]

41. As a gay man...

...I used to get offended when someone at DU would suggest that some virulently homophobic politician might be gay but with case after case like these I can't bring myself to take offense anymore. I know that there are straight people who are just anti-gay but this thing with ostensibly anti-gay pols who turn out to be gay themselves is an undeniable phenomenon.

[NurseJackie]

6. Oh dear! ROFL!

[dalton99a]

9. Screenshots:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140130063916/http://www.thedirty.com/2014/01/1580216/

[yardwork]

15. He identified himself as the state rep for specific counties and used his official cell phone number

[klook]

20. Obviously another very stable genius!

Would be sad, but for all the evil he’s wrought through his destructive political career.

[yardwork]

21. He's been taking advantage of the taboo against outing people.

He felt safe. He thought gay people would protect him while he sponsored hateful legislation.

[oldsoftie]

34. Actually, that DOES make it look suspicious. Why would he ID himself that explicitly?

His REAL phone number? Wouldnt a guy doing this type of activity on the down low use a burner? And i'm telling you, this stuff is only going to get worse with "deep fakes" and the like out there. This very well COULD have been faked, but there also should be someone out there who can prove it one way or another.

[Sapient Donkey]

36. That made me raise an eyebrow too

But at the same time I know that there are a lot of really really really stupid people out there. In the nudes they say even though the face is not shown, the person has the same watch. I'm sure some clever people would think to do that, but ehnn.

I would say it's probable that's it is him, but I wouldn't bet my life on it without more evidence.

[oldsoftie]

39. Same here. And the watch is a big point

[yardwork]

44. No, this is him. See my comment upthread. He took advantage of the taboo.

There is a very, very strong taboo among gay people about not outing other gay people. This guy used that to his advantage. Apparently his behavior has been known for years but he was protected and knew it.

[yardwork]

16. He sounds drunk.

[volstork]

14. Of course.

Repression is a pretty awful thing...

[zentrum]

19. I feel sorry for his son.

[Grokenstein]

25. "Sick son-in-law" is a new one!

Hypocritical coward didn't have the guts to pull a Jimmy Swaggart and whine for forgiveness.

[Moostache]

26. Another victim of the "wide stance"? (n/t)

[MontanaMama]

27. bwaaaahaaaaa!

[ChubbyStar]

45. A good ole Larry Craig crack is always good for a hoot!

[aggiesal]

28. I have just one thing to say to this guy ...

[riversedge]

31. It is clear that Texas has some awful bills............

that he approved of!!


.......Sanderson has voted against transgender bathroom bills that would have given access to bathrooms to trans students, blasted the SCOTUS marriage ruling, voted to support allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples, supported a bill allowing therapists to discriminate against gay people, and voted agaisnt allowing municipalities in Tennessee to enact LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances.

Gervin adds:

Whatever the private reality of Sanderson’s marriage, his public face is extremely at odds with the Grindr and text messages I reviewed. They all include pictures of Sanderson, including one of his naked torso and genitals. That very explicit picture has his face cropped out of it, but Sanderson is wearing the same watch in other photos. (He says the nude photo is faked, and the other pictures were stolen from his Facebook account.)

[Lunabell]

33. Sad

I'm glad he's outed since he worked against the community. But sad to self hate so much.

[Collimator]

37. Very true.

I honestly believe that self-hatred and inner--unacknowledged pain--are the source of much of what we call "evil" in our world.

It's okay to want to be happy. Happy people do less damage in this world than unhappy people.

[Odoreida]

38. Happens like this a lot, doesn't it? n/t

[bucolic_frolic]

40. Hypocrisy as a way of life, and a strategy

[Crowman2009]

42. "Burning Desire" and "Down & Dirty Guy" would make great song titles.

But who or which group would sing them?

[colsohlibgal]

43. Another Self Loathing Hypocrite

My guess is that a solid percentage of the most staunch anti Gay types are closet cases afflicted with self hate.