Marcus Bachmann Worries About Looking 'Gay'

By Igor Volsky http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/

Another day and two more gay-related stories about Michele and Marcus Bachmann who, after years of condemning gay people and the homosexual “lifestyle,” are now tight-lipped about their views of the LGBT community. First, this tidbit from the Concord Monitor, in which Michele “cut off an interview last week as she was being asked a question about gay marriage,” saying, “I’m not involved in light, frivolous matters,” she said. “I’m not involved in fringe or side issues. I’m involved in serious issues.” This, from a woman who has called gay marriage “probably the biggest issuethat will impact our state and our nation in the last, at least, 30 years” and rose to prominence in the Minnesota Senate by sponsoring a failed constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.

But as hard as they try to avoid it, the Bachmanns still can’t help but talk about the gays. As the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza reports, Marcus Bachmann — who has called gay people “barbarians” who need to be “disciplined” — is particularly concerned about being perceived as such:

Marcus Bachmann plopped down on the seat next to me, in the back of the plane. He pointed at my laptop and asked if he could take a look. “All I want to know is what they’re saying about me,” he said. “Newsweek came up with the word ‘silver fox.’ Tell me what ‘silver fox’ means.”

“Do you want me to tell you honestly?” I asked.

“Oh, don’t tell me it’s something gay!” he said. “Because I’ve been called that before.” [...]

I explained that “silver fox” probably had more to do with the color of his hair.

“O.K., I can handle that,” he said. Tera, the assistant, assured him that it was a positive term.

“It’s better than Porky Pig,” Marcus said, with a laugh. [...]

Suddenly, his face appeared on Fox. “Look, you’re on TV,” I said.

“It’s the Silver Fox!” he exclaimed as we descended into Manchester.