Superficial Victory in the Manhunt Crusade

Submitted by Aidan, who has previously written for TNG about Happiness and Gayness.

Zack's post last week on Manhunt raised many interesting questions on Manhunt in particular and online cruising in general. As has been pointed out, there is a lot going on here, too much to fully discuss in one post or comment string, and probably even too much to discuss in a lengthy book. I'd repeat Ben's exhortation for people to submit their own posts on this matter because it is important and fun, and (in my view) a big part of what TNG is all about to discuss this sort of issue.

To begin with: Crutchely. His removal from the board of Manhunt's parent corporation is hardly any sort of victory for the crowd who feels that gay rights are best advanced by opposing Republicans at every opportunity. First, the fact that he is no longer a board member probably affects his annual income by something like $0-$20,000 (unless Manhunt's parent corporation is unusually generous in its board member compensation, in which case it will affect his income by maybe $70,000). As a major shareholder in Manhunt, he will still receive millions in dividends every year.

Additionally, all this fuss was raised by his donation of $2,300 to the McCain campaign, which is the maximum allowable amount under current campaign finance law. Okay, at this point I'd just like to remind everyone that this dude is so wildly wealthy that he can donate $2,300 to the Republican presidential candidate every four years for like, eternity. He could set up a trust in his estate to do that very thing for a measly part of his current net worth. Boycotting Manhunt is not going to affect his ability to do that. His removal from the Manhunt board was only a PR move. The fundamental equation remains that a large portion of money from Manhunt subscription revenue will end up as money in Crutchely's wallet. The only thing that will change that is a buyout of his equity stake, and given what was stated in the article about Manhunt's finances, that's probably at least a couple hundred million.

So does the guy just like to give Republicans $2,300 every four years, or does he have a more extensive history of contributing to right wing Political Action Committees, congressional candidates, think tanks, etc.? I don't know.

The larger issue here though is whether all Republicans are evil. My view: the two party system ain't goin' nowhere. Current demographic trends seem to indicate that younger Republicans are taking a more gay friendly stance; if people like Crutchely are helping that along, what of it? I can understand if one wanted to avoid giving Manhunt their business because of other issues like Universal Health Care or Environmentalism - but gay rights? This isn't a battle that's going to be won by the ascendancy of liberal Democrats in American politics. Republicans will be there for a long, long time. Democrats will be there for a long, long time.

Boycotting Manhunt won't change these facts – which is not to say I don't think it's a good idea for a whole host of reasons, but Crutchely's political leanings is not one of them.