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Koch: White House Should Denounce Kagan Gay Speculation
By
John Del Signore
Published May 18, 2010
Modified May 18, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 18, 2010
Modified May 18, 2010
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In his Huffington Post column, former mayor Ed Koch has blasted the White House for responding to inquiries about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's sexual orientation. According to Koch, the White House should never have dignified such questions with an answer, and instead ought to have denounced the speculation. "By denying she is lesbian instead of denouncing the inquiry, the White House is implicitly stating sexual orientation is a legitimate issue of discussion in the confirmation process," writes Koch.
Bloggers like Andrew Sullivan have drawn fire for asking whether Kagan is gay (her friends insist she's straight), and Koch says such questions bear no relevance on her nomination process.
Koch himself has been known to respond indignantly to inquires about his orientation, which inspired a nasty poster in the 1977 mayoral campaign; here's how he handled Time Out New York's Alison Rosen:
TONY: Are you gay?
Koch: When was the last time you performed oral sex on your boyfriend?
TONY: Well, I'm single now so it was a long time ago.
Koch: See, I don't think you should answer that question. It's an improper question, and so is yours. My sexual orientation is none of your business and whether or not you performed oral sex on your boyfriend is none of my business.
Come on, Ed, she showed you hers!
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Elena Kagan
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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