Cory Booker is the current Mayor of Newark, NJ. He is a candidate for the U.S. Senate. He is a Democrat. But is he gay or straight?
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That is the crazy question on the minds of many these days, as the New Jersey senate race heats up and curious minds become… curiouser.
For years, Cory Booker has successfully flown under the radar, with his heroics as mayor overpowering any thoughts of his personal life. Now that he aspires to a more national stage, the visible absence of a woman on his arm has given his Republican opponent a juicy tidbit to dangle in front of Jersey voters.
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It’s really no ones business if Cory Booker is gay or not. In fact, the huge inquiry into his sexuality is juvenile at best. And that is exactly the position Booker has taken with his rather ambiguous non-answer to a reporter’s recent question:
“Because how unfair is it to a young lady to put them in the spotlight if they haven’t signed up for that yet? And people who think I’m gay, some part of me thinks it’s wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I’m gay, and I say, ‘So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I’m straight.’”
Booker’s response was a textbook example of a non-answer — and good for him. However, Republican Steve Lonegan, who is an extreme long shot to beat Booker in the fall special election, is making sexuality an issue in the hopes of securing the “man’s man” vote.
“I don’t like going out in the middle of the night, or any time of the day, for a manicure and pedicure. It was described as his (Cory Booker’s) peculiar fetish,” Lonegan said. “I have a more peculiar fetish. I like a good Scotch and a cigar. That’s my fetish but we’ll just compare the two.”
Interestingly, Cory Booker has a past history of being homophobic and actually hating gays. However, he has since grown well out of that — and some say it’s because his former “gay hate” was actually directed at himself for being closeted and uncomfortably gay. Is it true? Does it matter?
"Interestingly, Cory Booker has a past history of being homophobic and actually hating gays. However, he has since grown well out of that — and some say it's because his former "gay hate" was actually directed at himself for being closeted and uncomfortably gay. Is it true?" Perhaps.
"Does it matter?" Not to me. And frankly, I really don't think it matters to the majority of NJ voters.
I have to say, I am absolutely amazed at (and proud of) the progress most of America has made over the past 8 yrs not only on the issue of advancing Equal Rights for gays but also viewing being *gay* as more or less a NON-issue.
Regardless of his sexual orientation, If Booker wins that will speak volumes.