I assume there may be other reasons that this PA state House member is expected to lose in the primary there Tuesday, but obviously deciding to come out didn't help him. It's a shame that out gay people still aren't welcomed in the GOP. Yet another reason why they're on the losing path electorally. There aren't enough rich/conservative/fundamentalist white people to keep them winning with their current formula.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/26/mike-fle … lp00000592
Hopefully he will go ahead and switch parties while he's at it.
Your statement, "A person's sexuality is not the "least interesting" part of them." is subjective, and maybe you don't feel that way, or feel that people should think that way, but I don't think there's anything wrong with him putting his sexuality in the backseat. At the end of the day, my sexuality is the last thing that defines me in my working relationships and day-to-day interactions; while I might know my elected official's sexuality, my determination on how I view them will be by the job they do and what they accomplish, not their sexuality. I think that's what Fleck is trying to convey in his statement.
And I still think it's cool as hell that he's going to run on the Democratic ticket.
A person's sexuality is not the "least interesting" part of them. Basically, he is still apologizing for being gay and I can understand that since he is a part of the Republican Party.
Still, he's an incumbent and he should have the edge; I can't help but feel when reading further that he's losing to a write-in candidate that there's something more going on.
I should not generalize with politics, but when the former Republican mayor here in San Diego came out in favor of gay marriage and supporting his lesbian daughter it lost him a lot of conservative votes, but what he lost in conservative votes he made up in overwhelming numbers by people who voted if only to support him and his decision. You would think that Fleck would pick up some votes, too. And it looks like he did, here's an odd twist: he lost the Republican primary to a write-in candidate, but won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate! Too great! Good on those in his district!
"...According to the unofficial totals, Irvin was the recipient of 3,600 write-in votes in the GOP primary while Fleck picked up 3,396. In the Democratic primary, though, Fleck outpaced Irvin by a 901 to 886 margin in the write-in votes.
Rep. Fleck seems ready to embrace this reality and campaign against Irvin in the fall.
“Rep. Mike Fleck (D) Three Springs. How’s that for an oxymoron,” the State Rep. wrote on his Facebook page. “Thank you to the 15 democrats who put me over the top on the democratic write-in, with a final tally of 901-886. And thank you to the three thousand plus republicans who voted based on my job performance. While a lot can still happen legally, today is a new day and if we are ultimately successful in our bid to continue thru the fall, rest assured, I will give it my all.”"
http://www.politicspa.com/hd-81-fleck-appears-to- … ion/58311/