Manhunt Responds to Account Cancelation Over McCain Donation
I've updated yesterday's Manhunt/McCain post with an email from one of our readers who canceled his Manhunt account received from them. It reads:
***
Dear Sir, We are always happy to hear from our members, thank you for taking the time to express your concerns. The subject that you have brought to our attention is a personal matter and is not representative of MANHUNT. We thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely, Team MANHUNT
***
It's not representative of Manhunt the company, of course. Only Manhunt's owner Jonathan Crutchley, who is raking in millions of dollars from gay men around the world and donating some of it to help elect a presidential candidate who opposes same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, supports "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," and opposes ENDA. He has also also said he doesn't know whether or not condoms prevent the spread of HIV.
(banner via the gist)
Posted Aug. 14,2008 at 11:24 AM EST by Andy Towle in Adult, John McCain, News, Republican Party | Permalink
i'm sending emails to advertisers now and urging them to pull advertising from manhunt with a ling to the original towleroad post. sent to folsom street fair, fort troff, hothouse video and others.
Posted by: habitat67 | Aug 14, 2008 1:36:21 PM
I'll be cancelling tonight. Had to work late yesterday and didn't log on last night. There are other sites to choose from who don't funnel your money to homophobes.
Posted by: Jersey | Aug 14, 2008 1:39:46 PM
Yup, my account is cancelled.
Oh... and Aaron wins the prize for the funniest line in any comment today:
"I cancelled. And i'm a VVGL twenty something stud."
Pure gold.
Posted by: The Milkman | Aug 14, 2008 1:43:30 PM
VVGL is someone who thinks they are better looking than you think they are :)
I kid Aaron!
Posted by: DJSauvage | Aug 14, 2008 1:49:30 PM
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK ANDY!! And pay no attention to idiots criticizing you ...
Posted by: mike | Aug 14, 2008 1:52:49 PM
You should all go digg this article, spread the word.
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/McCain_Takes_2300_Contribution_from_Owner_of_Gay_Sex_Site
Posted by: DJSauvage | Aug 14, 2008 1:54:12 PM
The concept of "diversity" is based on who people *are*, not what they asserting to be true. Republicans and McCain supporters want to be free from anyone challenging their "facts" and they do so by claiming that stupidity and a bullheaded attachment to ideology should be free from criticism.
That's not diversity.
And the whole "thought police" thing, as though when people think and research and pay attention and come to similar conclusions, pointing out to people who appear to be getting it wrong it is a form of oppression. Being disagreed with is not oppression. Not being able to defend your assertions means you lose the argument.
Posted by: Gordo | Aug 14, 2008 1:55:30 PM
Gay Republicans are self-serving morons. Yes, there are more issues than just the "gay agenda" however, Republicans are equally horrible on those issues. (War, economy, tax breaks for the rich, corporate rule)
One of the biggest problems we have is a Federal judiciary that is overflowing with Republican appointees. The Supreme Court has tilted so far right that the former right-wingers are now cast as middle of the road.
The gay marriages in California are occurring because the state supreme court was not packed by Republican politicians.
People generally do not realize the significance of who gets to make judicial appointments. If we end up with Bush III (McCain) then the current administration's ploy to have birth control labeled as abortion will not be struck down by a Supreme Court that will continue its reactionary tilt .
Posted by: Rob | Aug 14, 2008 2:10:05 PM
@derick from philly
The problem with your comment is that judges should not be responsible for the very items you mention. They are the purview of the legislative branches. And we are winning. The democratic system in our country is not fast - but it eventually figures things out.
People - get educated. What you are also forgetting is that companies and their investors give money to all sorts of various causes. A company that may be GLBT friendly is also giving to causes that damage our freedoms and the economy in other ways (say a financial company trying to keep mortgage requirements loose). If you are voting solely on GLBT issues then you are shooting yourself in the foot since Obama has stated his opposition to gay marriage.
Posted by: yoshi | Aug 14, 2008 2:21:52 PM
@derick from philly
The problem with your comment is that judges should not be responsible for the very items you mention. They are the purview of the legislative branches. And we are winning. The democratic system in our country is not fast - but it eventually figures things out.
People - get educated. What you are also forgetting is that companies and their investors give money to all sorts of various causes. A company that may be GLBT friendly is also giving to causes that damage our freedoms and the economy in other ways (say a financial company trying to keep mortgage requirements loose). If you are voting solely on GLBT issues then you are shooting yourself in the foot since Obama has stated his opposition to gay marriage.
Posted by: yoshi | Aug 14, 2008 2:22:52 PM
Welcome to the HomoApathy clinic. The Doctor will see you now...
Posted by: Mr. E | Aug 14, 2008 2:26:41 PM
IT's time that white trash like the owners of "manhunt" be exposed for the lowlives that they are,they make money off gay people and funnel that money right back to people who would take every right away from gay people,thats disgusting and should never be rewarded period. And for the gays that use rightwing buzz words like "thought police"screw you. This isnt about policing thoughts or sex or morality as the gop that you vote for does. This is about gays having some morality and saying we arent going to pay for hypocritical fat asses who make their money of gays back period, And like ive said before most of the wealthy and educated in this country now vote dem because of social issues,so this tax or keep us safe bs is wearing thin as an agrument to justify your vote for people that want you dead,dont vote,vote green ,of course vote dem,but if you are gay and vote republican,you deserve what the gop wants for all gays,they want to see you dead.
Posted by: CHAD | Aug 14, 2008 2:27:41 PM
Paul, unlike so many Faggots cheering for Massa from his Porch today, I trust you mean well, but here's what wrong with your sentence, "I don't think McCain is a bad man; however, it is scary the people who he may bring with him."
1. If actively working to ban marriage equality in his home state; if denouncing not just "gay marriage" but also domestic partnerships; if suddenly shifting his earlier position and saying he now could support a US Constitutional amemdment [see below]; if opposing gay adoption; if opposing ENDA; if opposing including gays in hate crime protections; if supporting DADT doesn't make McCain "bad" what would?
2. There is no "may" but rather WILL "bring with him" the homohating psychos whom he is trying to attract with the ever-more fascistic positions above. The McCain running today is not the same McCain who denounced Jerry Falwell and his tribe in 2000 as "agents of intolerance." It's the McCain who later said he "spoke in haste" and was the Official Rimmer er Commencement Speaker at Falwell's School for Future Fascists in 2006, the transparency of his motives noted, among other places, in this cartoon:
bp0.blogger.com/.../s400/mccain-op-falwell.jpg
Or would you prefer this "How Did He Humiliate Himself, Let Me Count the Ways" photo of him with Bush:
http://dragonballyee.blogs.com/philly/images/mccain_hugs_bush_500.jpg
In 2004, McCain said that an amendment to the US Constitution banning marriage equality is "antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans." In 2006, McCain "'reconfirmed' to Falwell that he would support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman if a federal court were to strike down state constitutional bans on gay marriage." - ABC News, 3/28/06.
Yes, there ARE other issues besides gay-specific ones in this, as every, election. McCain could have the identical, if imperfect, positions as Obama on all of them and I would still oppose him because:
McCain is still trying to "win" the Vietnam War in his idiotic "happiness is a warm gun" support for the invasion of Iraq which is no more defensible than it was when it started simply because fewer American soldiers and innocent Iraqis are dying every week.
McCain had repeatedly demonstrated not just ignorance about the economy but indifference.
Falsely claims that "the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation." First read the Constitution, Senator. Then some books on economics.
Is against universal health care; voted NO on including prescription drugs under Medicare.
Now says he wouldn't vote for his own 2006 immigration proposal. Pander much?
Thinks it's OK to hold even US citizens as enemy combatants [which means they would have no access to civilian due process].
Voted NO on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. Voted NO on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods.
Supports Bush doctrine of "pre-emptive war."
Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act
and extending its wiretap provision.
Voted NO on investigating contract awards in Iraq & Afghanistan.
Opposes ABM treaty and Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; wants more and bigger missles.
Against Bush tax cuts in 2003; for them in 2006. Now says NO tax increases despite cost of war and stratospheric deficit.
Voted NO on restricting employer interference in union organizing.
Voted YES on repealing Clinton's ergonomic rules on repetitive stress.
He would overturn Roe v. Wade but voted NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives.
Supports display of Confederate flag on state property.
He would increase use of the death penalty.
Voted YES on limiting product liability punitive damage awards.
Supports schools teaching creationism, while voting NO on $52M for "21st century community learning centers", and NO on $5B for grants to local educational agencies, and NO on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education, but YES on $75M for abstinence education.
Voted YES on DE-funding renewable and solar energy, while voting NO $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas, and
NO on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025.
Opposes restrictions on assault weapons and ammunition types; voted against Brady Bill & assault weapon ban and voted NO on background checks at gun shows.
Etc., ad infinitum.
While not totally as bad as Bush, he is enough like him in the worst ways, particularly in his recantation of HIS OWN prior positions in order to attract the votes of the American Taliban, that anyone who cares about civil liberties [of everyone not just gays], the economy, the environment, health care, education, personal safety, and the REAL ultimate control of the country—the Supreme Court—should run from even considering voting for him.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Aug 14, 2008 2:29:23 PM
IT's time that white trash like the owners of "manhunt" be exposed for the lowlives that they are,they make money off gay people and funnel that money right back to people who would take every right away from gay people,thats disgusting and should never be rewarded period. And for the gays that use rightwing buzz words like "thought police"screw you. This isnt about policing thoughts or sex or morality as the gop that you vote for does. This is about gays having some morality and saying we arent going to pay for hypocritical fat asses who make their money of gays back period, And like ive said before most of the wealthy and educated in this country now vote dem because of social issues,so this tax or keep us safe bs is wearing thin as an agrument to justify your vote for people that want you dead,dont vote,vote green ,of course vote dem,but if you are gay and vote republican,you deserve what the gop wants for all gays,they want to see you dead.
Posted by: CHAD | Aug 14, 2008 2:30:13 PM
So sad to see so many gay people supporting hate like this.
And I don't mean the ones subscribing to Manhunt. I mean people who try to punish anyone with a differing viewpoint. If every straight person withheld their custom from all gay people because they don't like our "lifestyle," then we'd be screwed. Good thing the meanest straight people aren't half as intolerant as some of the posters here.
Posted by: Bakeley | Aug 14, 2008 2:30:33 PM
It is a slap in the face to gay men and I like many others am canceling my membership to manhunt.
Posted by: Terry | Aug 14, 2008 2:32:02 PM
Thank you, MICHAEL BEDWELL for pointing out some of the facts regarding McCain!
And for those of you who think we won't cancel our Manhunt accounts over this, I cancelled all three of my Manhunt accounts (yes, 3...I'm a whore) and I will *never* have another account there again!
Posted by: peterparker | Aug 14, 2008 2:43:55 PM
YOSHI,
maybe judges "should not be responsible" for guaranteeing civil rights for gay people and other minorities in this country, but too often they have--or atleast the courts often begin the process of giving full citizenship to a marginalized group.
Lord, if we had to depend on state legislators (or governors) to be fair, and provide justice...hell, half of us might be on a chain gang now--not just for having homosex, but for interracial sex too.
For gay people, Democrats are best for picking federal judges. On a state/local level, I have to depend on gay organizations to tell me which judges to vote for.
The judiciary is too impportant to allow Republicans to deliver it as a political gift to our enemies.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Aug 14, 2008 2:44:33 PM
The logic that the gay community should accept the owners' personal views is the same suppresive argument that kept segregation in existence for so long. Some things, like free speech, sometimes go beyond the pale of personal choices.
Posted by: Philbert | Aug 14, 2008 2:46:46 PM
Thank you, ANDY..You are doing amazing work. These self-hating republican gays are making all of us sick to our stomachs. Isn't it time we all banded together and give them all a nasty kick in the place where it hurts them most--their fat wallets. THey remind me of all of those nasty, self-hating republicans from the past like Roy Cohn--they caused so much pain for their fellow gay men and women. I hope they all die MISERABLE deaths, Andy.
Posted by: Die-Gay-Republians | Aug 14, 2008 2:47:58 PM
Wonkette.com offers the best comment on this to date:
Oh look a gay person named Jonathan Crutchley, founder of some gay thing called Manhunt.net, has, er, maxed out a $2,300 donation to John McCain against Barack Obama. People have been sending us this tip like crazy, but whatever? Everyone knows that all gay people not named “Andrew Sullivan” hate Barack Obama for stealing the election from Queen Hillary.
Lighten up boys.
Posted by: craig | Aug 14, 2008 2:49:11 PM
CRAIG,
I will *never* lighten up until my GLBT brothers and sisters and I have the SAME civil rights and basic opportunities as the rest of the population. Until then, I'm kicking ass and taking names.
xo,
peterparker
Posted by: peterparker | Aug 14, 2008 2:56:39 PM
"Kicking ass and taking names." Hm. I can't think of many social revolutions that successfully used that method. Gandhi? No. Can you imagine Martin Luther King, Jr standing up and saying we should "kick ass and take names"? No. In fact, the anti-segregationists most famously struck blows against intolerance by actually *patronizing* segregated establishments. That proved their point louder than any petulant outbursts. Rosa Parks wouldn't have changed anything if she'd just decided to walk instead of paying her fare on the bus.
Our personal fury at being excluded is misdirected in this particular fight. Manhunt isn't excluding us. In fact, many of its staff are gay, liberal, and financially support traditionally gay causes. This "kicking ass and taking names" business isn't much of a sensible strategy, anyway. It supposes the world is made of black-and-white issues, when in reality everything is grey and persuasion is much more powerful. "Kicking ass and taking names" is using the nuclear option to snuff out a few rats. It's beneath us. We have to practice what we preach and support equal tolerance and free speech because we claim to demand it for ourselves.
If you really want to oppose McCain, articulate why he's wrong on an everyday basis, as some posters here have done.
Posted by: Bakeley | Aug 14, 2008 3:17:29 PM
HOORAY FOR PETERPARKER ... "kicking ass and taking names" needs to be the GLBT rally cry for until the election.
Posted by: mike | Aug 14, 2008 3:19:45 PM
peterparker - are you really... spiderman? thanks for kicking ass - particularly gay republican ass!
these gay republican goons need to wake up to the fact that just because they're think they're not stereotypically gay doesn't mean they're not: if you like men, you're the same as any other fag, butch or sissy. some may tan, others may spend an inordinate time looking 'masculine' - but we are ultimate one entity, and the sooner we accept that we can cause real and tangible change in this country.
that we have to even fight for the little we get from our elected leaders & judiciary is insane to me: we're not asking for Cadillacs here - we're asking for basics like the right to marry and not be discriminated against/killed/fired because of our sexuality.
And that is so controversial?
Posted by: echovic | Aug 14, 2008 3:46:43 PM