Another Republican "I'm Not Gay" Speech

I've been following this story for the past couple of days and it had me fascinated. Pam's House Blend was where I first read it (and it moved very quickly). Here's the timeline:

Sunday, October 28th: Spokesman Review Online posted a story about a Washington State Rep who was allegedly being extorted:

An alleged extortion attempt involving a state lawmaker and a reputed male prostitute is under investigation by Spokane police.

Details surrounding the case remained sketchy Sunday, but authorities confirmed that it involves two-term state Rep. Richard Curtis, a Republican from the small southwest Washington town of La Center, and that there was some type of confrontation last week at Davenport Tower. The identity of the alleged extortionist was unavailable, though police confirm he is a reputed prostitute.

Then when word got out, GOP Rep. Curtis stated he wasn't gay:

SPOKANE -- State Representative Richard Curtis says he's not gay, but police reports and court records indicate the Republican lawmaker from southwestern Washington dressed up in women's lingerie and met a Medical Lake man in a local erotic video store which led to consensual sex at a downtown hotel and a threat to expose Curtis' activities publicly.

The GOP legislator was receiving oral sex from a man at the video store before his encounter with the prostitute. BTW, the Republican State Rep has a wife and kids too. Oh but it gets better:

Curtis, during an interview with a Spokane detective, claimed that he gave Castagna $100 for "gas money" and insisted that the money was not payment for sex. During that phone conversation he claimed he only had $200 and left the money in an envelope at the front desk at the Davenport Tower for Castagna in exchange for the return of his wallet.

The "still not gay" Republican State Rep. told the police (via The Stranger):

Curtis stated both he and the male walked into the lobby together. He told the male gain that he would give the male $100 to help him out but he was not paying him to have sex. Curtis and the male went up to Curtis’ room, which was 968. Once in the room Curtis gave the male $100…. Curtis and the male ultimately had anal intercourse on the bed in Curtis’ hotel room. The male performed intercourse on Curtis and the male’s semen and/or DNA would be on the inside of the condom while Curtis’ DNA would be on the exterior. Curtis said he was the person who received the anal sex.

Finally after all those denials, Republican State Rep. Curtis resigns:

"I sincerely apologize for any pain my actions may have caused," he wrote. "This has been damaging to my family, and I don't want to subject them to any additional pain that might result from carrying out this matter under the scrutiny that comes with holding public office."

Three days earlier, Curtis had insisted to his local newspaper that he was not gay and that sex was not involved in what he said was an extortion attempt by a man last week.

And there's so much lurid details. I really recommend check out Pam's site or Dan Savage's site for all the hypocrisy of another "Family Values Politician". I'll leave you with a statement by one of Curtis's peers in the Washington State House:

...Rep. Lynn Schindler, R-Spokane, said she sat next to Curtis during one of the events. She also said she had not heard about the alleged crime.

“It doesn’t fit the profile of the person I know,” she said. “That kind of surprises me from his dealings with me.”