As always, I'm grateful to Mike Mazza for sharing his extensive, detailed notes on James Kirchick's Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, which we'll finish discussing on Dec. 17. These notes cover the second half of the Reagan section (Chapters 38-41), as well as the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton presidencies. Enjoy!
Note: The citations (e.g., loc 78, 8%, etc.) below refer to the Kindle edition, not the paperback.
Secret City—Reagan notes, updated.
Chapter 38: “‘Them’ Is ‘Us’”: p 567; loc 10389; 52%.
—Bob Bauman comes out of the closet in a speech.
—CAIR, organization trying to make Republican Party more gay friendly.
—Rock Hudson and the Reagans: 569. Larry Kramer calls out Nancy.
-“the era’s decadence and hypocrisy”: 571.
—impact and stigma of AIDS.
—Rock Hudson’s AIDS diagnosis made public: 573.
—inappropriate jokes about AIDS and homosexual in the Reagan WH: 575.
—Reagan ignores AIDS crisis in his memoir: 577.
—Bill Buckley, his wife Pat, and her gay male companions: 579.
—Bill Buckley’s vile suggestion, in a 1986 column, that all people with AIDS be tattooed as a warning sign.
—John Ford stands up to an attempt to blackmail him with a threatened outing to Secretary of Agriculture John Block: 582.
Chapter 39: “‘Our Sebastian’”: p 583; loc 10693; 54%.
—young death of gay conservative activist Terry Dolan.
—controversy over reporting AIDS as Dolan’s cause of death.
—WH speechwriter Tony Dolan’s problematic eulogy for his brother; Brideshead Revisited reference.
—separate memorial to Dolan held; attended by gay conservatives: 588.
—The Washington Post’s Bradlee decides to pursue the Dolan story: 589.
—Tony Dolan tries to convince Post reporter Elizabeth Kastor to abandon her article about Terry Dolan: 590. He continues his attempts to stop the article.
Chapter 40: “Mr. Green”: p 594; loc 10898; 55%.
—introduces Carl “Spitz” Channell, founder of conservative activist group.
—Channell attends a pro-Contra presentation by Oliver North.
—Channell: a gay man who had started his career working for Terry Dolan’s NCPAC: 595.
—Channell’s anti-Communist zeal: 596.
—He starts his own Channell Corporation. Bauman visits his office.
—Channell’s efforts in the work to raise money to support the Contras in Nicaragua.
—Channell and Oliver North: 597.
—Reagan signs a letter endorsing the work of Channell’s organization: 599.
—Channell’s staff: “‘Those gay boys of Oliver North’s’”: 599.
—gay staffers on Republican campaigns: 600.
—“‘a perverse form of self-esteem’” comment on gay staff of right wing politicians (p 600); my note: cf Bill Maher’s comment to Larry King that “hating yourself can be the greatest love of all.”
—the ugly side of Channell : 601.
—Margaret Scattergood’s activities after the death of her partner Florence Thorne: 602.
—Channell and Fawn Hall: 603.
—Grifting by Channell? He pleads guiltily and fingers Oliver North. Role of “Fruit Loop” in the scandal. Irony of the elitist closeted gay cabal within the Iran-Contra scandal.
Chapter 41: “The Wonderful, the Creative, and the Brave”: p 607; loc 11,137; 56%.
—introduces Republican Congressman Stewart B. McKinney: a married father living a secret gay life in Washington.
—McKinney: 1st Congressman to die of AIDS: 607.
—the Washington Post’s approach to reporting on McKinney’s death and life: 608.
—before his death, McKinney writes a letter in support of a Connecticut state gay rights ordinance: 608.
—After final unsuccessful attempts to get Tony Dolan to speak on the record, the Washington Post publishes Kastor’s article on Terry Dolan and the gay conservative closet: 610.
—Washington Times runs Tony Dolan’s rebuttal of the Kastor article as a lengthy paid advertisement: 612.
—in his diatribe, Tony Dolan claims Terry rejected homosexuality in a deathbed conversion.
—Drama behind Reagan’s speech at an amfAR benefit dinner: 613+.
—Tony Dolan’s rage against WaPo continues: 615.
—Bob Bauman pops up again: 616.
—Openly gay Dr. Frank Lilly appointed by Reagan to new AIDS commission: 617.
—Gary Bauer in the Reagan administration.
—the 2nd March on Washington for lesbian and gay rights: 619.
—unveiling of AIDS quilt.
—1989 death of Chasen Gav er: 621.
Secret City—Bush, Clinton, conclusion—updated.
George H. W. Bush
Chapter 42: “Naming Names”: p 625; loc 11,448; 58%.
—decline of Craig Spence.
—Washington Times reporter Paul M. Rodriguez uncovers gay prostitution business operating from a DC-area funeral home chain.
—The Times’ many articles about Spence: 629.
—The Washington Times’ “institutional bias against homosexuality”: 632.
—the 1989 “White House callboy story” eventually fizzles out.
—failed homophobic smear campaign against Representative Tom Foley: 634.
—The Frank Rule on closeted gay hypocrisy.
—Spence dies of an overdose in a hotel room: 636.
—Washington as “simultaneously the gayest and most antigay city in America”: 637.
—Andrew Sullivan introduced: 638. His 1989 article making a conservative argument in favor of gay marriage.
—term “outing” coined in 1990: 638.
—Queer Nation’s outing of DoD spokesman Pete Williams: 639.
—continued paranoia among closeted gays.
Bill Clinton
Chapter 43: “A Profoundly Important Strength”: p 643; loc 11,752; 59%.
—Candidate Clinton makes history by explicitly appealing to gay voters for their support.
—in Clinton administration, Roberta Achtenberg becomes the first openly gay person to receive Senate confirmation for a cabinet department position: Assistant HUD Secretary: 645.
—1993 LGB March on Washington.
—“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: 645.
—DOMA: 646.
—1990s AIDS toll.
—Leonard Matlovich’s tombstone: 648. Its cultural significance; his military service.
Conclusion: “The Gay Century”: p 651; loc 11,890; 60%.
—the Sumner Welles scandal recalled.
—Assessing the damage caused by homophobia: 652.
Photographs: p 654+.
Acknowledgements: p 655
—author’s work with Larry Kramer’s papers as part of a Yale College seminar. His interviewing of Kramer.
—author’s friendship with Frank Kameny.
—OPM’s formal apology to Kameny; First Lady Michelle Obama presided over ceremony.
—archival research.
—Rainbow History Project: 659.
—thanks to Christopher Hitchens: 660.
—his debt to those affected by anti-gay bigotry: “Even when it seemed that America had given up on them, they never gave up on America.” 660.
Photography Credits: p 662.
Sources: p 664.
Books: 670
—Balcerski, Bosom Friends (Buchanan and King): 670.
—Beachy, Gay Berlin: 671.
—John Boswell
—John Horne Burns, The Gallery: 672.
—Chauncey, Gay New York.
—D’Emilio, Lost Prophet (Bayard Rustin): 673.
—Doris Faber, Life of Lorena Hickok: 674.
—James Fisher, Dr. America (Thomas Dooley).
—Barney Frank, Frank: A Life in Politics.
—Griffin, All that Heaven Allows (Rock Hudson): 675.
—Alan Helms, Young Man from the Provinces.
—Andrew Hodges, Alan Turing.
—David Leavitt, The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing: 676.
—Ian Lumsden, Machos, Maricones, and Gays (Cuba): 677.
—William Mann, Wisecracker (bio of William Haines).
—Gordon Merrick.
—Jay Parini, Empire of Self (Gore Vidal bio): 678.
—George Plimpton, Truman Capote
—Susan Quinn, Eleanor and Hick: 679.
—Gary Schmidgall, Walt Whitman: A Gay Life.
—Craig Seymour, All I Could Bare: 680.
—Michael Sherry, Gay Artists.
—Justin Spring, Secret Historian (Samuel Steward bio).
—Tim Teeman, In Bed with Gore Vidal: 681.
—Nicholas von Hoffman, Citizen Cohn.
—Gregory Woods, Homintern: 682.
Notes: p 683
—Complete Prose Works of Walt Whitman.
—John Ibson, Men Without Maps: 688.
—Richard Plant, The Pink Triangle.
—Claud Cockburn, 697.
—author interview of Bob Bauman: 725.
—Oliver Stone’s JFK: 741.
—the Brideshead Revisited teddy bear phenomenon as experienced by Christopher Hitchens: 782.
—Larry Craig scandal: 783.
—Mark Robert Schneider, Gerry Studds (bio): 787.
—Saint Sebastian and gay culture: 791.
—“a perverse kind of self-esteem”: 794.
—The wordy Tony Dolan strikes again: 796.
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