This Week in the Mercury

Geek Out

Film

Geek Out

3D Done Right


Up & Coming

Music

Up & Coming

Highlights in Music the Week of February 9-15



  |  

Friday, January 23, 2009

Politics Sam Adams: The Other Shoe? Or the Worst Lawyer in the Long, Sordid History of Lawyers?

Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 3:39 PM

So... I'm sitting on a train heading to PDX because I wanna 1. write about a rally being held in support of Sam Adams, Portland's embattled mayor, and 2. attend that rally in support of Sam Adams, Portland's embattled mayor, and 3. spend the rest of the weekend hanging out with the boyfriend at the Ace Hotel. (The kid has a weekend-long sleepover.) I am con 40+ men having sex with 18-year-olds—gay or straight—but I'm also con people being hounded out of office for private, legal, adult consensual sexual conduct. (And it's the sex, not the lies about the sex, that are prompting the calls for Adams to resign.) There was a a press conference today at noon at Portland's city hall featuring "community leaders" speaking out in support of Adams that I missed. But check out this quote from "civil rights attorney" Charles Hinkle in the Oregonian's write-up of the presser (which was also noted in Matt's post earlier):

Hinkle called Adams, "a good and decent man" dedicated to public service. "He has the potential to be a great mayor and I say to you, Sam, don't resign."

Hinkle and others said the media focuses too much on the personal lives of leaders and downplayed the impact of Adams' actions.

"There are crimes and there are crimes," Hinkle said. "If this was a crime, if he committed a crime by having a sexual relationship with a young man who was a couple of months shy of his 18th birthday, that is not a crime that looms large in the history of mankind."

What? WHAT?!? Adams met Beau Breedlove when Breedlove was 17, but Adams insists that nothing happened until after Breedlove turned 18. The age of consent in Oregon is 18; if something happened before Breedlove turned 18, then Adams broke the law and it's over. If Adams and Breedlove waited, no laws were broken, and Adams should refuse to resign. (Fun fact: the age of consent in Washington is 16. So if Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels banged Beau's 16-year-old sister, Bovina Breedlove, Greg could continue to be Seattle's mayor-for-life.) Now Hinkle seems to be addressing a possible worst-case-scenario here—what if the mayor of Portland were guilty of statutory rape?—and saying even then it's not so bad in the, you know, grand scheme of things (or in Washington state). But if Hinkle thinks he's helping Adams with that line of argument... he's a fucking moron.

(And it really is the sex, not the lies, that people have an issue with here—please read this brilliant blog post by Alex Blaze at the Bilerico Project.)

 

Comments (8) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Maybe it's about the sex for you, Dan.

Don't try to lecture Portlanders who actually do think it's about the lies. It's certainly not about the lies for the jesus freaks and people who actually think Sam should resign. But a lot of people are genuinely pissed off about the lying and the most important part of the lying? The cover up efforts. A lot of people suspect there is more to it and that fear and suspicion and potential for more lies to be revealed all adds up to a hysteria.

However, everyone has his own agenda, so I guess you're allowed yours, too.
Posted by LL on January 23, 2009 at 5:03 PM · Report
2
It's not the sex for me, Dan. Just because you can't imagine not thinking about sex doesn't mean that we aren't capable of it.

What is this arrogant prick doing coming down here anyway? As if we can't survive without knowing Dan Savage's take on this situation. "What will Dan say? We need our marching orders."

God, I hope he doesn't decide to stay.
Posted by Blabby on January 23, 2009 at 6:43 PM · Report
3
"(Fun fact: the age of consent in Washington is 16. So if Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels banged Beau's 16-year-old sister, Bovina Breedlove, Greg could continue to be Seattle's mayor-for-life.)"

No, because he would be forced to RESIGN, dipshit.
Posted by Blabby on January 23, 2009 at 6:45 PM · Report
4
Sorry, Dan, you're wrong. It is all about the lie. A lie that Adams campaigned on, misled voters with, and defeated/maligned another gay candidate with. Even worse, Adams called his self-described "inappropriate" relationship "mentoring", claimed he was a victim of homophobia, and rallied the gay community for support.

If Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels banged a consenting 16-year-old and lied during a campaign about it, then you can be certain Seattle voters would be just as furious.

(BTW, I'm a fan of your column, but not of your analysis of Portland's politics or off-base assumptions about Portlanders. Are you still sore about your column being dropped by Willamette Week eons ago?)
Posted by Norm! on January 23, 2009 at 7:30 PM · Report
5
Chime me in for it's about the lie. I could care less about the sex, hence why I voted for him and ignored the rumors initially.
Posted by NIG GER on January 23, 2009 at 9:20 PM · Report
6
Okay, "3.SrIZgXIn-94wlXob+TM*mLQxO?qXv^53.CJPq8&n&9TxsQWuEHZC:YlqeLUD&S ", I believe you.
Posted by Bob R. on January 23, 2009 at 9:26 PM · Report
7
Its nice to see that Dan Savage's understanding of the PDX body politik runs deep.
You don't have to be a suburban Jesus freak to have grown tired of Adams.
You don't have to care about a sex scandal either.
Posted by Uncle Joe on January 23, 2009 at 9:43 PM · Report
8
I'm 41 (DWM), and just got some recreational Viagra from my Doc. If Bovina is as hot as Beau I would be willing to buy her oyster shots and shirley temples and then bang her until she walks like a rodeo clown.

All in the name of providing a legal test case of course.
Posted by bruce123456 on January 24, 2009 at 5:18 AM · Report

Add a comment

Our Friends

Our Enemies

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use