Writing in a Dec. 5 article about an interview Hillary Clinton did with Howard Stern in which she “denied that she had ever had a lesbian affair and stressed that she really likes men,” CNSNews.com managing editor Michael W. Chapman stated that “Over the years there have been several unfounded claims, mostly in the tabloid media, that Hillary Clinton is a homosexual.”
Well, that’s not exactly true: those claims were largely pushed by Chapman’s fellow conservatives.
Conservative Clinton-haters — not the tabloids — have pushed this never-substantiated rumor for as long as Hillary has been in the national public eye. Former Bill Clinton campaign aide turned conservative Clinton-hater Dick Morris has long promoted the idea that Hillary is a closet lesbian, as has Clinton-hating conservative author Edward Klein. Roger Stone, Larry Klayman and Matt Drudge have pushed it. As recently as 2013, radio host and Fox News contributor Sandy Rios — who signed a letter pushed by CNS’ owner, the Media Research Center, alleging that Facebook was censoring conservative content — argued that Clinton’s expressed support for same-sex marriage hinted at her sexual identity. Conservative websites were pushing these rumors during the 2016 presidential campaign.
These people are not working for the tabloids; they made their money in the conservative movement.
As Raw Story explained, right-wingers insist on portraying Hillary as a secret lesbian because she is a powerful woman who doesn’t conform to the conservative stereotype of a female, despite the fact that she “has been married to the same man for her entire adult life while raising a successful daughter.”
This is not an new story, by the way; Hillary has been denying this since at least 2007. Where was CNS’ story on that then?
There is more reporting on this issue Chapman could have done, but didn’t. He probably thinks Hillary is a secret lesbian too.