EDGE Los Angeles

The mainstream media have picked up on a blog report from Michael Rogers claiming that after interviewing multiple individuals, Rogers has concluded that the lieutenant governor of South Carolina is a closeted gay man.

Rogers, who created BlogActive.com, reported at that site on Aug. 31 that he had become convinced that South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is secretly gay.

Though Rogers relied on multiple accounts that Bauer had met with younger men, and that those men were sexual partners, he also cited his own track record of having reported on politicians who later became embroiled in gay sex scandals.

"On October 17, 2006, I reported that Senator Larry Craig was a closet case who bashed gays while engaging in oral sex in public bathrooms," Rogers wrote.

Rogers noted that skeptics left messages at the site in response to that posting, asking for proof of the allegation about Craig.

"I have a 100% record and I don’t screw cases up," Rogers wrote, going on to recall that he also reported on Florida Rep. Mark Foley in March of 2005.

"Then, On September 28, 2006, Mark Foley was exposed for inappropriate emails with young pages and eventually instant messages came to light as additional proof of who Mark Foley really was," continued Rogers.

"In other words... I’m a reporter," Rogers wrote. "I meet with people and I talk to them. Then based on a review of all of the facts, I report closet cases that hurt the gay community.

"You may not like my style, but I have a track record of 100%."

Indeed, Rogers was featured in "Outrage," a documentary about supposedly closeted politicians who champion anti-gay laws.

Rogers went on to say that he could "confirm a rumor that has circulated in South Carolina for years," namely, that "South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer is a closeted anti-gay politician who stands to replace Mark Sanford should Sanford resign or be impeached (a real possibility as Sanford is caught in his own sex scandal.)"

Rumors of Bauer’s alleged closet homosexuality generated headlines earlier this year, when Linda Ketner, an openly lesbian candidate who had lost a congressional race, named Bauer and others in South Carolina politics as being closeted gays, saying, "We have more gay people serving in South Carolina than probably in anyplace in the United States; they’re just not out of the closet."

Ketner later said that she did not know for a fact that any of the individuals she had mentioned were secretly gay.

Said Ketner, "I let myself and others down in a recent off-the-record chat with a reporter.

"I obviously don’t have knowledge of the sexual orientation of any individuals mentioned.

"What I do have is respect and appreciation for their service to this state."

After South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford became embroiled in the sex scandal that now potentially will unseat him, the media began to buzz with speculation that Bauer’s alleged closet homosexuality was acting to protect Sanford, given that his impeachment or resignation would lead to Bauer assuming the post of governor.

Wrote Rogers, "So, what is the deal with Bauer? I have confirmed and spoken to four individuals who I have no doubt are telling me the truth.

"These men have been hit on by Bauer, with one of them telling me it happened at least five times since Bauer’s election in 2003."

Rogers went on to add, "Then another call came in and I met with the source while he was visiting DC recently. ’He’s gay,’ the source told me.

’How do you know?’ I asked.

’Because I’ve had sex with him on two separate occasions,’" Rogers quoted the source as replying.

From there, Rogers wrote, he went on to speak "with acquaintances of the source and two former employees of Bauer who served on his staff between 2004 and 2007.

"They reported to me that on a total of three occasions Bauer spent hours alone with men in hotel rooms," Rogers continued.

"Each of them explained that the visits were with younger men who were not on the staff of the Lt. Governor nor had any official reason to be with him.

"The two men each confirmed that they had not known each other and each described similar circumstances under which these interactions occurred," Rogers wrote.

"One of them confirmed that he was told by the Lt. Governor’s visitor he had a sexual encounter with Bauer."

Rogers asserted that these conversations with a variety of sources gave the story credibility. "The combination of the reports and the first hand experiences were what I need to maintain my 100% record of being right in my reporting on this site," he wrote at the blog.

Rogers went on to address Bauer’s record. "The bachelor is a right wing Christian conservative," Rogers noted.

Vowed Rogers, "Over the next week or so, I’ll be providing a variety of take action activities to make sure the right people in SC know the truth (and not the rumors) about Bauer.

"After all, what good is an outing if the right people don’t know about it? Ask Mark Foley... Ask Larry Craig... Ask Ed Schrock. Ask them all."

But others have decried the blog’s claims, reported a Sept. 1 WIS Channel 10 story.

The WIS report quoted Frank Adams, who serves as communication director for Bauer’s office, "Rumors, gossip, lies, innuendo....a bunch of scurrilous crap."

An unnamed consultant called the report a "hatchet job," the article said.

The article quoted Dr. Robert Oldendick of the University of South Carolina, who said that bloggers exercise "really almost unlimited power or license that they have now on the web or on the blogs where they can pretty much say anything.

"And you can either choose to ignore it or, if it gets enough momentum, to say, ’well this is really something we need to deal with,’ then just address it," Oldendick added.

The article reported that Bauer had denied being gay several months ago, around the time of the Ketner interview.

Columbia newspaper the Free Times said that Rogers had been interviewed by the Free Times in June following Ketner’s comments, and that Rogers had indicated that there was a growing awareness about the possibility that some anti-gay politicians might be gay themselves.

That is the theme of "Outrage," the Kirby Dick film in which Rogers appears. The film also features former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, who spoke about the psychological stress of being gay, but being required to live and present himself as though he were heterosexual.

After media reports surfaced that Gov. Sanford had flown to Argentina to meet with a woman other than his wife, Bauer allegedly looked into making a deal in which he would take over as governor in exchange for not running for the office next year. South Carolina newspaper The State, in a June 30 article, quoted Bauer’s explanation for why he might make such a deal.

"Because somebody has to be the adult here," The State quoted Bauer as saying.

"People are too concerned about the gubernatorial race, and nobody is worried about the people of South Carolina."

The State article went on to quote Bauer as taking the rumors about his sexuality head-on, saying, "Is Andre Bauer gay? That is now the story.

"We’re a long way from where we were a week ago," added Bauer, referring to Sanford’s public confession and apology.

Sanford, however, declined to step down.

Even as the mainstream media carried stories about Rogers’ blog, the GLBT media also reported on the assertions, with Advocate.com posting an Aug. 31 item on the story.