David Brock, a former gay Republican,
has called gay members of the GOP “self-loathing.”
The journalist behind progressive
watchdog Media Matters for America and the nascent gay rights
watchdog Equality Matters defected from the conservative movement
after coming out gay.
Brock and Richard Socarides, president
of Equality Matters, appeared Wednesday on MSNBC's Hardball to
discuss the recent repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the
Clinton-era law that bans gay and bisexual troops from serving
openly.
During
the roundtable discussion, host Chris Matthews asked his guests,
“Why do gay Republicans put up with their party being so
homophobic?”
“I used to be one,” Brock
announced.
“Why did you put up with it?”
Matthews asked.
“I'll tell you. Self-loathing. I
wasn't confident enough in myself to come out.”
“So you joined a party that hated
you?”
“That's exactly right,” Brock
responded.
Brock also suggested that many in the
GOP don't agree with their party's anti-gay rhetoric.
“It's a phony wedge cultural war
issue,” Brock said. “They exploit gay people and they exploit
the fear of gay people to gin up their base. That's what they do.
It's a totally cynical thing. Half of them don't even believe in it.
I know, I was in the right-wing.”