Stan Lee

The campaign of Democrat Matthew Vanderpool for the State House 45th has more drama than a episode of Real Housewives.

First, he bizarrely trashed the Victory Fund without provocation, calling out “the gay agenda“. Then, he gave the most awkward quotes ever to a national gay blog, saying how he won’t “prance around” like those gay-and-not-ashamed-of-it candidates do. Then, the “brains” behind his operation, Jordan Palmer, took a dip into crazytown with his good buddy and colleague “Michael J. Thomas”. And yesterday, his entire volunteer staff, Palmer included, sent out out bizarre and cryptic resignation letters.

And guess who Matthew Vanderpool is blaming for all of this drama? Dirty bloggers!

From his campaign’s Facebook page:

As you can see, somebody found some humor in Matthew quoting the Great Harvey Milk, as Vanderpool is acting very un-Milk-like. But it’s the dirty bloggers’ fault!

Casey you are entitled to your opinion of me, that’s the beauty of this country. But where I have to disagree is your comments based on Internet blogs, that I assure you were taken completely out of context. I have spend hours reading the… blogs and comments amazed at how some conclusions were made. I’m proud to be a gay man. But there is far more to this man than that. Harvey Milk is a hero of mine and Cleve Jones has advised me in the past. Your opinion may never change of me, Im ok with that. Because I know the person I am, I wake up every morning thinking about the people I hope to represent. All of them, gay, straight, black, white it doesn’t matter we are all in this together. So before you go thinking I’m a self hating gay, get to know me first. It might surprise you.

*****

I generally let my staff handle this facebook page but Ive seen a couple of your comments and wanted to know how exactly you see me. I took the comments as a dislike I apologize for assuming otherwise. I’m simply angry with the bloggers for taking a sentence and making a national anti gay blog post. I value peoples thoughts and opinions and you can’t please everyone. But I work everyday trying, that’s the best I can offer. Thanks for being engaged on this page.

My God. It burns.

Let this be a lesson for all young newbie political candidates: if you say something stupid, people will write about it. And it will not be their fault, it will be your own. The end.

Can someone please steer this campaign back towards the sane so we can focus on Stan Lee and lose by 30 instead of 50, please? Jeebus…

Matthew Vanderpool just pressed the pedal to the metal on his Strategery Pinto.

Listen to him expand on why he’s “refusing” the Victory Fund “endorsement” and “money”:

InterstateQ.com: It sounds like to me that you are trying to, in your campaigning and if you are successfully elected, that you’re really going to try to be an elected official who actually represents the voice of your constituents and not necessarily yourself. Am I getting the right impression?

Matthew Vanderpool: Exactly. That’s the whole reason of what a representative should be. You should be representing the voice of the people who you represent and not yourself. They are electing me to lead them, but there are 35,000 people in the district. You have to listen to what they have to say and what their concerns are.

Among Vanderpool’s biggest concerns are what he says are the Victory Fund’s requirements for endorsed candidates. He said he was told a candidate must be open in campaign literature, on a website or elsewhere, about his or her sexual orientation and commitment to protecting privacy and reproductive rights. Although he is openly gay — he’s never shied away from it and addressed it in media reports — and is personally pro-choice, Vanderpool said taking too much of a public stand on such issues would be “political suicide.”

You see? The Victory Fund demands that candidates put asterisks by their name in all campaign literature, which at the bottom says: * Total GAYBOY. And their commercials must have gay dance music in the background. And they can only canvas door-to-door if they “prance” the entire time. That’s the whole reason of what a gay candidate should be. No really, ask Matthew:

“Excuse me for putting it this way, but if I prance around my district saying ‘gay this’ or ‘gay that,’ it will destroy me. The guy I’m running against is so conservative and anti-gay he will make it look like that is the only reason I’m running.”

Don’t play chess with Matthew Vanderpool, kids.

Predictably, the Victory Fund is in total damage control after getting “turned down” by Kentucky’s new Strategery Child. Here’s what they have to say:

Dison (VP of communications for the VF) added, “It is an interesting tactic to contact the press and say you will not accept an endorsement from an organization from which you’ve not applied for an endorsement.”

Interesting? Try brilliant. Just ask Stan Lee:

Vanderpool explained: “We’ve had several meet and greets talking to the community and the question has come up. I’ve been asked a couple times. We came to the conclusion just to address it before my opponent does because he is so anti-gay he will make it his number one issue against me. We just nipped it in the bud before he gets a hold of it.”

Nipped in the bud. Dead Issue. Take that, Stan Lee!

Lex Vegas odds remain steady on this race.

HEAD. DESK.

FRANKFORT – Matthew Vanderpool, an openly gay candidate for a state House seat in Fayette County, has decided not to accept or pursue about $15,000 in campaign funds from a national group that provides financial and campaign support to gay and lesbian political candidates.

The campaign of Vanderpool, a 25-year-old Democrat who is trying to oust Republican incumbent Stan Lee in the 45th House District in the Nov. 2 general election, said Monday that the Victory Fund requires candidates it supports to state on their Web site that they are gay.

“If you accept money from them, you will be in their back pocket,” Vanderpool said.

Vanderpool said in a statement that the “price attached to accepted money from the Victory Fund were incompatible with my beliefs.

“I am gay but that does not define my entire life or the things I stand for, which are explained in detail on my Web site.

“I have no ‘gay agenda.’

Quite a shrewd move to not “accept” this money. After all, he won his primary by raising and spending $290, so I’m sure he’ll be able to beat 5-term incumbent homophobe Stan Lee in this conservative district with no money as well. Plus, this gay 25-year old college drop out part-time J.Peterman employee has now totally neutralized the whole “gay” issue in his district. It is now dead. I declare it so. Brilliant.

On a related note, Lex Vegas odds have Stan Lee’s over/under at 80. Odds of much more comedy from this race are steady at 1:500.