The Gist

Standing by their anus-obsessed crackpot

The White House is so far standing by Holsinger, and the spin strategy now seems to be: a) try to make him seem "fair and balanced" even if he is a homo-hater; b) just lie and contradict reports about his background and the church he founded.

The Rev. David Calhoun, pastor of the church Holsinger and his wife founded, Hopes Springs Community Church in Lexington, Kentucky, now seems to be telling The New York Times that the church does not in fact run an "ex-gay" program. They say he denies it. But he in fact was quoted quite clearly just last week saying they do "minister" to gays who want to leave that "lifestyle." So which is it Rev. Calhoun?

Holsinger's backers also have brought forth a lesbian who says Holsinger's a good guy even though he's a homo-hater -- in other words, he'll be fair to the gays even if he disapproves. I don't accept that kind of crap, and nor should any of us. It's hard to tell if the White House is leaving it to Holsinger and his backers to now defend him, or if they're orchestrating all of this and plan to stick by him to the end. Either way, the Dems should use this to their advantage and further debilitate a weak president. And we should use it to have national discussion about the damage done by "conversion therapy."