Politics is a mean, nasty business. Allegations that Illinois State Treasurer and Republican Governor Candidate Dan Rutherford engaged in "official misconduct" have lead to revelations about Rutherford's relationship with a male employee of the Treasury Department.
The Chicago Suntimes is reporting that Dan Rutherford has taken multiple overseas trips with his 28 old year male personal assistant, Josh Lanning. Dan and the young Josh have taken trips to Australia, Israel, China and South Korea.
During each trip, Rutherford received his taxpayer-funded salary, as did his executive assistant, Josh Lanning. The Chinese People’s Institute for Foreign Affairs paid for Rutherford’s trip to China. The Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago paid for the trip to Israel, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, paid for Rutherford’s trip to Korea.
The previous Treasury Secretary Republican Judy Baar Topinka, who served 12 years as claims she never travelled overseas, nor has she as Illinois State Comptroller.
Rutherford denied the trips were vacations saying they served educational purposes.
There are numerous photos of Rutherford and Lanning relaxing and taking interesting day trips and the two repeatedly shared a room on all of these unusual overseas excursions.
Personally, I hate this. Dan Rutherford has always denied being gay. I hate that Dan Rutherford is going to go down because of his personal life choices. If he is or is not gay shouldn't matter. But, being gay is a terrible sin to conservatives. To me the only way that Rutherford's sex life is at all relevant is if he made political decisions against equality or used his political offices to support homophobic positions.
Rutherford is opposed to gay marriage on religious grounds, although he was the only Illinois Republican to vote for civil unions. So, I could understand people whom Rutherford has harmed by virtue of his office being okay with his outing.
Of importance is what kind of quid pro quo Rutherford promised these foreign governments, who paid for these trips, if he became the next Governor of Illinois? Sweetheart trade deals? Taxpayer assistance and infrastructure to any foreign business which moves an operation here? Passage of Right-to-Work-for-Less Legislation?
Whatever the outcome, Rutherford's gubernatorial aspirations are most likely done.
5 comments:
This crap is never ending a they get by with it for long periods of time because people care about their dumb ass football team or some other stupid ass shit.
Everyone knows that Gene has no problems with the idea of one of our representatives being gay. What Gene is concerned with is this news will have a negative effect on the conservative community.
Thanks for looking out for us Gene but we're okay with it. We hope it doesn't bother you.
I don't give a rats hind tit what happens to the "conservative community" whatever that is. As for your claim conservatives are fine with Rutherford being gay, we'll see come the primary.
If I lived in Illinois, it would bother me a lot that Rutherford apparently wasted taxpayer money on foreign junkets. Further, if he's creating a hostile work environment through favoritism toward his assistant, that's another reason for his career to end. His preferences in the bedroom are irrelevant. It is definitely not a good thing that it's the perceived gayness that might kill his career instead of the real abuses of his position.
Then again, it is Illinois. Isn't some petty corruption in office pretty much part of the job description for politicians there?
He has already officially declared he is running for governor, so he could have made QPQ promises in order to secure funding for his vacations that "served educational purposes". If that is the case he may be well suited to be governor of IL. Apparently being corrupt is a requirement, or at least a tradition.
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