Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Ever the victim

After a series of scandals including handing out a plum assignment to his lover, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey finally resigned yesterday, but not before delivering a shameless, self-serving, speech:

"I am sorry that I have disappointed the citizens of the state of New Jersey, who gave me this enormous trust," he said. "I am not apologizing for being a gay American, but rather, for having let personal feelings impact my decision-making and for not having had the courage to be open about whom I was."
Who’s asking you to? Please, just go.

ExtraFrom the Gay Patriot: “Jim McGreevey may rank at the top of my list as one of the most slimy politicians to be elected in my lifetime. He and Bill Clinton certainly should get self-loathing awards by the Human Rights Campaign for their disgusting use and abuse of the gay community for their own personal gains.”

2 comments:

MaxedOutMama said...

What's amazing is what isn't in the NY Times article. McGreevey wasn't forced to resign because he was gay. McGreevey's administration has been haunted by various scandals. When you are listed in an indictment as having given the code word for an influence-buy (just accident, you know - the word Machievelli is a normal part of McGreevey's day-to-day vocabulary), you might fear indictment yourself.

You know what? I left NJ more than a decade ago, and I knew the man was gay. An awful lot of people did. That wasn't the problem - the problem was an exceptional level of corruption. Having a lover is one thing, (I heard about Golan Cipel on radio long ago, when he pretty much outed himself to the real estate agent), but appointing your unqualified lover to the state's head of security position is another.

McGreevey should not be allowed to pass as the symbol of a person hounded from office because of his sexual preference, because it just isn't the truth.

Fausta said...

The worst thing about it is that, count my words, after a nice round-robin of talk shows, a book and book tour, and carefully selected speaking engagements, McGreevey's going to be back on the political scene, probably nationally, faster than you can say "Machiavelli"