Is America ready for a First Husband?

Image courtesy of Flickr user Gage Skidmore by way of a Creative Commons search. https://www.flickr.com/people/22007612@N05

I’m not sure what to make of the Iowa caucus results.

I’m not even sure the results are valid. After the difficulties the Iowa Democratic Party experienced with the vote-counting app – apparently nobody had the foresight to sufficiently train users and test the software prior to Feb. 3 – we may never know who actually won.

The current result is Pete Buttigieg, who barely edged Bernie Sanders for the lead. I know that among Democratic frontrunners, Buttigieg and Biden are the most moderate, which gives me a bit more peace of mind. Folks like Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would, in my opinion, wreck the economy. The kids who support Free Everything are well-meaning but callow when it comes to understanding the brass-tacks functionality of our way of life.

Obviously many people like Donald Trump, which means if the Democrats want to win in November they must nominate somebody whose reach is even greater, which leads me to ask:

Can an openly gay man win the presidency?

For sure, America has made progress on this issue. In the past, being gay would have meant instant disqualification for any presidential candidate. Now, a gay candidate has won a state primary.

But is America ready to vote for a guy who would bring a First Husband to the White House? Who would be seen in news photos and on TV kissing a man?

Considering the recent uproar over the dissolution of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and the Supreme Court confirmation of gay marriage, I don’t see church-going, blue collar America supporting a gay candidate, man or woman.

Let’s face it: There’s still a lot of intolerance out there, and when it comes to gay men, there’s a LOT of intolerance. I don’t think Americans would follow a Pete Buttigieg. More would than before, but not enough – certainly not enough to beat Trump.

If Buttigieg continues to win primaries he will lay the groundwork for a day when a gay candidate, male or female, CAN win the presidency.

But I don’t think that day is now. I think people will vote with what they’ve been taught, and right now that means four more years of Trump.

About the author:

Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”

Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.

As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.

Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .