DC Trawler

I had absolutely no idea Ken Mehlman was gay, or existed

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And neither did most other people, as the New York Times‘ Kate Zernike (of “Jason Mattera’s Brooklyn accent makes him a racist” infamy) has discovered:

…when Ken Mehlman, who ran President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004 and then became the party’s chairman, said in an interview in The Atlantic this week that he is gay and is working to support a campaign for same-sex marriage, it was met with little controversy.

Even the commentary accusing him of hypocrisy seemed outweighed by people who wished him well, or merely shrugged.

The muted reaction reflects not only changing values in the country generally, but also, more notably, among many Republicans and conservatives.

It’s now considered news when people who the staff of the NYT don’t like refuse to fit into the appropriate stereotypes. How long will it take Kate and her colleagues to start wondering if maybe we’re not the ones with a problem? And by then, will there still be a New York Times?

Jim Treacher