Video: Maher “outs” Ken Mehlman on Larry King

Bill Maher Tells Larry King That RNC Chair Ken Mehlman is Gay
As NewsBuster Brad Wilmouth reported , comedian Bill Maher was on with CNNs Larry King Wednesday night saying some rather outrageous things. Beyond his derogatory comments about President Bush, Maher told King: A lot of the chiefs of staff, the people who really run the underpinnings of the Republican Party, are gay. When King pressed Maher for names, Maher said, Ken Mehlman ( video here ). King then questioned Mahers sincerity: I never heard that. I'm walking around...

Mike Signorile, LCR's Clarke Cooper talk Mehlman on John King USA
The debate was Civil and revealing about the media and its handling of the professional self-outing of Ken Mehlman. John King disclosed that he is friends with Mehlman. Clearly he had some inside knowledge about whether Mehlman just recently came to the conclusion he's Gay. Yet as a reporter he failed to engage that topic at all. Here is the video; the transcript is below the fold . King: I want to read you something, I had a phone conversation with Ken today and I should disclose to our...

How Ken Mehlman's 'open secret' stayed hidden (The Upshot)
Ken Mehlman says he only recently concluded that he's Gay. The media seems to have reached that conclusion years ago. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz is one of several Journalists to quickly follow up on Mehlman's announcement Wednesday by saying it's been an "open secret" in Washington for years. "This is no longer really a media climate that tolerates open secrets ," wrote Politico's Ben Smith shortly after the News broke. But just because everyone "knows" something doesn't mean they...

Weekly Reader: North Korea, Ken Mehlman, & the Bearded Lady
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Ken Mehlman is no hero
Former Republican National CommitteeChairman, Ken Mehlman , has come out of the closet. He announced he's Gay. These announcements are, by now, becoming mundane, especially when it concerns someone who appeared a bit feminine anyway. Call it gaydar, but this guy coming out, to me, is no surprise.The additional fact that he presided over a political party which was especially Anti-gay rightsmakes him pretty much a coward. This announcement would've carried more weight if he made his claim at...

Fox News Covered Coming Out Of Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman (Just Barely)
Earlier this week, former RNC chair Ken Mehlman made a bit of News when he acknowledged being Gay . This was covered rather extensively by the Cable News outlets, save one notable exception - Fox News only covered the story once, during the end of Bret Baier ’s show Friday evening. However, this contradicts reports in Think Progress and Politico , that incorrectly claimed that Fox News has completely ignored the story. Writing for Think Progress’ “Wonk...

Ken Mehlman, Do Something Useful: Speak Truth to Power.
( - promoted by Pam Spaulding ) I'm not privy to what Ken Mehlman did or did not do secretly while working for the Republican Party and the White House.  Nor am I privy to his soul.  And I'm not privy to hearts of those he caused agony, suffering, depression and anxiety to, or to those were were fired or beaten up partly as a result of the Campaigns he waged.  And I have no idea what, if anything, he could possibly do for those hearts to forgive him. Still, Mr. Mehlman ...

BUSH AIDE KEN MEHLMAN'S LIFE IN THE CLOSET - IF IT WAS AN OPEN SECRET WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR HIM TO COME OUT?
In October 2009, at the age of 61, I came out. Why I stayed in the closet so long is the same reason Mehlman did: for a job. I had an early calling for the teaching profession. I didnt just play school. I taught an imaginary class from the age of 7 through the age of 13, anywhere from two to four hours at a time, five to six times a week. I had a blackboard on the wall. I made roll sheets, each class having about 30 Students, every Student given a name, and attached to a...

How we should be treating Ken Mehlman
official to eventually come out as gay, plain and simple. Top GOP officials have invited him into their lives, made emotional connections with him, and generally built a solid network with a guy who at one point was the linchpin of the Rove-run GOP strategy. Like him or not, he is an incredible asset for LGBTQ rights, and he's ready to step up and do his part to undo the mess he created in the 2000-2008 Bush era. Even with all the bad blood I think we can agree that Mehlman has unique...

Ken Mehlman's Other Closet
Ken's Other Closet (photo: nolaclutterbusters) In his coming out interview , Ken Mehlman says he spent 43 years “getting comfortable with this part of his life.” That’s something that everyone does — Gay, straight, or anywhere in between — and for most people, it’s full of confusion, delight, doubt, bewilderment, fear and joy. On a personal level, Mehlman will no doubt live with less fear and more joy now that he’s come out — but the...

When Sexuality and the Job Clash
If former RNC chair Ken Mehlman's being gay was an "open secret" in Washington, then why did it take so long to come out? Howard Selekman on his own story of spending his life in the closet—and why.

I had absolutely no idea Ken Mehlman was gay, or existed
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. Bushs re-election campaign in 2004 and then became the partys 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...

In Mehlman Matter, Gay Left Blogger Prefers Principle to Revenge
Twice in blogging about Ken Mehlman’s coming out, I wrote that there would be some “ decent Gay lefties ” who would not go for this good man’s jugular, treating him instead him with decency and “ dignity despite disagreeing . . . on matters political. “ Due to my busy schedule these past few days, I haven’t been able to check the blogs as much as I would like so am grateful for readers like Eva Young of Lloydletta’s Nooz who alerted me to one...

Mehlman: 'I understand people are going to be angry'
Source: CNN Washington (CNN) Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman is responding to criticism of his role in a Bush political operation that called for a Constitutional Amendment banning same sex Marriage. "It was something about my life I was having a hard time accepting then and I can't change that," Mehlman said in a phone interview Thursday with CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, before adding "I understand people who are going to be angry." Mehlman told...

FRC Head Tony Perkins Reacts to Ken Mehlman Coming Out
But there are so many other interesting tid-bits in Perkins’ email. Look at the phrase “unfortunate confirmation” - now what does Perkins mean by that? That he, too, knew that Mehlman’s Sexual Orientation was an “open secret” in Washington DC and Republican circles? If that’s true - why didn’t Perkins reach out to Mehlman, whom he says he “cares about as a person,” and invite him to join an “ex-gay” ministry with...

Declining Ken Mehlman’s Coming Out Party
For Anti-gay Republicans , this represents a huge ruh-roh. Brian Brown, president of a National Organization for Marriage, told a Advocate that Mehlman was abdicating core Republican beliefs in his support for AFERs legal effort in challenging Prop. 8. But its never been about a leaders. Its always been about a people, based on an overwhelming majority of Republican voters — 85, 86 percent — who support marriage as a union between a man & a woman, he said....

In Covering Ken Mehlman Story, MSNBC Anchor Acknowledges He Is Gay (Updated)
Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman’s coming out provided the media with an opportunity to review the GOP’s record on Gay Rights and explore the Mehlman’s role in crafting President Bush’s 2004 re-election strategy. On MSNBC, Mehlman’s revelation engendered an even more honest discussion when, during a segment with GOProud chairman Christopher Barron , daytime anchor Thomas Roberts — who is an Openly Gay anchor — discussed his orientation on air: ...

Fox News Ignores Ken Mehlman's Coming Out, Runs Zero Segments On Story
When Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8, Fox News barely mentioned the story and its most prominent conservative commentators ignored it entirely. Yesterday, after the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder reported that former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman — who had orchestrated President Bush’s gay-bating 2004 re-election campaign — was coming out as gay, Fox News remained similarly mum and as of this posting has yet to run a single segment on the story. A Wonk Room review...

Will the GOP Embrace Gay Rights?
Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman’s acknowledgement that he is Gay jolted Washington. But bringing along the party’s rank-and-file is another story.

Ken Mehlman: Out
That Mehlman was Gay, though he says he "arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently," was long an open secret, as he served as a high-ranking official for the institutionally Anti-gay Republican Party, during the years when the party and its executive in the White House supported and pursued a Constitutional Amendment to ban Same-Sex Marriage. Mehlman says he regrets not coming out sooner. He agreed to answer a reporter's questions, he said, because, now in private life, he...

Lawyerly Lairs: Ken Mehlman Moves to Chelsea
Akin Gump partner Ken Mehlman — a 1991 graduate of Harvard Law School, just like Obama, but more known for his work in politics, also like Obama — has purchased a fabulous new Manhattan apartment. Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, is settling in Chelsea, which has raised some

Jill Lawrence on MSNBC: Tuesday Primaries, John Boehner, Ken Mehlman
Politics Daily Senior Correspondent Jill Lawrence appeared on MSNBC's "Daily Rundown" with host Chuck Todd and Dan Balz of The Washington Post to discuss this week's primaries, John Boehner's audition for House Speaker, and Ken Mehlman's decision to announce he is gay. Click play below to watch the video:

Ken Mehlman gay? Online conservatives don't seem to care much
Ken Mehlman is gay? Most right-leaning political junkies probably responded by asking, ‘Who is Ken Mehlman?’ or ‘Yeah, but who cares?’ Conservative Bloggers either ignored the topic or pointed out that Conservatives aren’t necessarily surprised or outraged by the news. “I had absolutely no idea Ken Mehlman was gay, or existed,” wrote the Daily Caller’s Jim Treacher in response to the New York Times piece that marveled at the “muted...

Why Mehlman Matters, Ctd
by Chris Bodenner Dan Savage pulls no punches : Mehlman would like us to believe that he didn't know he was gay back then. And, I'm sorry, but that doesn't pass the smell-my-finger test. Mehlman rose quickly through the ranks of the GOP, wound up on top, cashed the checks, made the contacts, did real and lasting harm to other gays and Lesbians, and Mehlman knew damn well what he was and what he was doing. However, he agrees with John Aravosis : Ken Mehlman now wants to use...

Mehlman's announcement was no big deal -- and that's a big deal
The reaction to former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlmans announcement that he is Gay has been resoundingly muted. Most Republicans and Conservatives seem neither surprised nor scandalized. The few criticisms that have emerged seem half-hearted and strained. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council sees confirmation that the Republican establishment is ambivalent on conservative Social Issues, which contributed to the GOPs electoral failures in 2006 and 2008. Anyone who believes...