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Frenzy erupts when Limbaugh points out that Mayor Pete is married to another man

[DNC leaders] are looking at Mayor Pete, 37-year-old gay guy, mayor of South Bend, loves to kiss his husband on the debate stage. And they're saying, OK, how's this going to look, 37-year-old gay guy kissing his husband on stage next to 'Mr. Man' Donald Trump?" the host said. "What's going to happen there? And they got to be looking at that, and they've got to be saying, that despite all the great progress and despite all the great wokeness, and despite all the great ground that's been covered, America's still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing his husband on the debate stage president."

Joe Biden responded:

"Look, you know, you saw — you just had on what Rush Limbaugh said," the former vice president said Thursday on ABC's  The View. "I mean, my God. But it is part of the depravity of this administration. I mean, the idea that, you know, Pete and I are competitors, but this guy has honor, he has courage, he’s smart as hell."

Buttigeig does indeed seem to have all the qualities Biden describes, and heterosexuality is no prerequisite for running a country, but Limbaugh’s right: someone over at the DNC has to be at least wondering how many votes Democrats will lose if they run a gay candidate. Zero? Unlikely. 5%? 10%? 20%? It’s bound to be some number, and only the rankest hypocrite would deny that it’s at least an issue to consider. But that’s not how the game is played. Bloomberg was savaged earlier this week for citing crime statistics for minorities: everyone knows they’re true, but acknowledging that would mean discussing the issues raised, rather than just pretending there are none. So throw the racist card, or the homophobic card, and end the matter, before things get uncomfortable.

It’s all very much like English Victorian England, when entire topics were skillfully avoided lest any proper lady or gentleman be offended. In fact, we seemed determined to do the Victorians one better.