While public attitudes have become far more open, the insinuation that someone is gay - whether true or not - remains a potent weapon (as elements of the campaign against North Carolina Republican Rep. David Walsh in 1942, was perpetrated by interventionist allies of fellow Democrat, President Franklin D. The first outing in American politics, of the isolationist Massachusetts Sen. The mere insinuation of homosexuality was sufficient to destroy a political career, and things could get particularly vicious between intraparty adversaries.
What people don’t know is that nearly two decades before this bit part in the Clinton impeachment drama riveted the nation, Livingston was at the center of another scandal involving politicians and illicit sex, one that, in his own words, had the potential to be “world-shaking.” Most explosive about this whole terrible intrigue, and what tied it all together, was the nature of the sexual activity involved.įor most of the 20th century, the worst thing one could possibly be in American politics was gay. Bob Livingston (R-La.) announced his resignation, admitting to adultery, just hours before the House voted to impeach President Bill Clinton on Dec.
