Peter Theil, “Openly Gay” Republican is Baffling

Raddow Rambles For Three Minutes on “Incredibly Radical” “Openly Gay” Republican Peter Thiel

In any other election, the idea of an openly gay, avowed libertarian member of Silicon Valley’s elite addressing the Republican National Convention on the same night as the nominee would seem, well, unconventional, to say the least. At this point, however, it’s well understood that most things about this election — and the speaker in question, Peter Thiel — are just that.

Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, made history Thursday night when he became the first person to publicly announce to the GOP convention that he is gay.

“Every American has a unique identity,” said Thiel. “I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American.”

The remarks were greeted with applause — a somewhat shocking turn of events considering the fact that the party had just approved one of the most anti-LGBT platforms imaginable, complete with opposition to marriage equality and bathroom choice for transgender people, as well as an endorsement of the medically discredited practice of “conversion therapy.” Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump’s pick for vice president, is also a controversial figure within LGBT advocacy circles; last year, he signed a so-called “religious freedom” bill that was widely perceived to be a veiled attempt at enshrining anti-LGBT discrimination into law.

But Thiel seems utterly unconcerned with legislation like that. Nor does he seem to care about newer measures, like North Carolina’s House Bill 2, that are specifically designed to keep transgender people out of the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identities.

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