Out Mag. Names Ken Mehlman as Out 100 } Mehlman Engineered Anti-Gay Initiatives for Bush..He is a role Model? If so then so is Dracula

Out Magazine thinks so. After all, it was revealed today that Ken Mehlman has been named to its "Out 100" list. Yep, the same Ken Mehlman who not so long ago engineered a collection of anti-gay initiatives during his tenure as head of the Republican National Committee. (More, after the jump.)

Joe Jervis (of Joe.My.God notoriety) is outraged.

"The folks at Out Magazine have forgiven his days as the head of the Republican National Committee, where he orchestrated numerous successful statewide campaigns to demonize and make illegal the lives and loves of LGBT people.

"For all those millions of people made miserable by Ken Mehlman? Forgiven. The kids who killed themselves because of relentlessly vicious campaigns spawned by Ken Mehlman? Forgotten. The anti-gay politicians funded last year by Ken Mehlman? Ignored."

Of course, since his days as a homophobic strategist for the GOP, Mehlman has not only publicly come out of the closet, but also helped orchestrate marriage equality in New York.

But is Mehlman's recent restitution already worthy of the title of gay role model (the same crown we've appointed a different crop of the community's strongest allies from the year inthis month's Leading Men issue of Instinct)?

It's not like Out is giving the controversy a cold shoulder. In a website post following the Mehlman announcement, an Out blogger wonders if we shouldn't exalt gay activists who have a troubled past.

"We also announced Tom Duane and Daniel O'Donnell, two politicians essential in the fight for same-sex marriage in New York State. Should we only recognize the steadfastly positive and not the ones who may have a more complicated track record?"