GOP Senator Lindsey Graham Targeted by Far-Right Group with Gay Accusations

South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham is the only member of the GOP who has joined Democrats in tackling the latest attempt at immigration reform, which seems to have made him a target for the far-right group Americans for Legal Immigration, or ALIPAC, an anti-illegal immigration political action committee. ALIPAC has accused Graham of being blackmailed into "doing a lot of political dirty work" because he is secretly gay, Salon.com reported on April 20.

The president of ALIPAC, William Gheen, spoke to a Tea Party gathering in Greenville, South Carolina, in a speech phrased as comments addressed to Graham. "Barney Frank is more homes and brave than you," declared Gheen, referring to the openly gay Congressman from Massachusetts. "At least we know about Barney Frank, and nobody's gonna hold it over his head." Gheen continued, "Look, I'm a tolerant person. I don't care about your private life, Lindsey, but as our U.S. senator, I need to try to figure out why you're trying to sell out your own countrymen, and I need to make sure you being gay isn't [the reason]."

Rumors about the senator's private life have swirled for years, but Graham, who is unmarried, maintains that he is not gay. In one video blogger's recording of a short interview with Graham, the senator is asked about his support for then-Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor; the interviewer asks obliquely about rumors regarding Graham's own sexuality, but the senator re-focuses the conversation on Sotomayor's "temperament" and her overcall judicial record.

The interviewer attempts to broach the subject of Graham's sexuality once more, saying, "I'm guessing after a long career in the military, you're not going to dignify any of these rumors with any kind of response?"

Graham, looking unsure about what the interviewer is referencing, replies, "Right."

"Where are you on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' by the way?" the interviewer asks, referring to the military ban on service by open gays and lesbians.

"I want to see what the military says," responds Graham, who served six years' active duty in the 1980s and, later, served as a Judge Advocate in the early 1990s. Graham also served in 2007 as a reservist.

Graham also told conservative news site CNS News.com that he wanted to hear from the military on DADT, reported Rod2.0 in a Feb. 16 article. Telling CNS.com that the anti-gay ban is "working," Graham said, "I've been in the military, in the guard and reserves, and from what I can tell it seems to be well accepted. But if that's wrong, I'd like to know. I mean, if there are outcries within the ranks to change it, if there's a reason to change it, I'd like to hear from our military commanders."

"What about the testimony of an admiral and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? Will that do, Lindsey?" queried Rod2.0, referring to The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, together with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who announced a review of the ban earlier this year.