Outings

"Gay politicians who keep their sexuality secret but lobby against gay rights should be outed, House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) said explicitly in an interview with GQ published Monday."

I disagree, but I admit that I'm not sure about it.

When I read a while back about a mashup where people could create maps showing where the people lived who gave money against a specific referendum in California lived, I was uneasy about the idea, because I thought that it took away some of the secrecy of the polls. People who liked the idea said that if you supported something privately, you ought to support it publicly. I think that's wrong.

For politicians, I'm not sure. It implies that if a politician has personal views that are contrary to publicly stated positions, there's something evil about it, and that's not the case. Well, not always the case. Sometimes, it is -- they're really in opposition, and they're acting in opposition, but they don't want that known. I think it comes down to what they actually are doing. How they feel in their hearts is something else again.

And then I reread that quote. "...but lobby against..."

Hmm.... I'm not sure. Perhaps the answer is 'lobbying efforts should be public, period' ?