When a Koch Becomes a Dick

Quincy Candidate for Mayor, Tom Koch, Tells Us Why It's Okay to Be Anti-Gay

Who would have believed it?  In Quincy, the home of John Adams, the drafter of the Massachusetts Constitution which protects "everyone" (including LGBT) and the city on the South Shore with the most registered same-sex marriages to date, there is actually a mayoral candidate, Tom Koch, who would dare suggest that his "personal belief" (otherwise known as bigotry, homophobia, ignorance, prejudice or political opportunism) somehow trumps Constitutionally protected rights of his fellow citizens and their families.

In his letter which can be found on the Quincy for Marriage Equality website, Koch begins with what could be seen as a hollow threat to voters or organizations who would question his name's appearance on KnowThyNeighbor's list of signers of the VoteOnMarriage petition.  Here Tom Koch writes:

"The teachings of my upbringing and faith frame my belief that marriage exists between a man and a woman, and I will not try to spin that belief for political purposes. But the fact is, it has nothing to do with being mayor, and I will fight any attempt at character assassination that stretches this position any further than what it is: My personal belief. "

But in his second paragraph Tom Koch begins his spin, which he promised we would not see in his candidacy for mayor.  A spin that LGBT people know all to well.  A spin which tries to persuade voters and citizens and even LGBT people that Equality and Legally Protected Constitutional Rights are really just opinions, purely subjective, open for interpretation and are governed by the majority's belief of the day.  And allegedly, in Tom Koch's mind, may not really exist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

But what I find most priceless and evident of how truly ignorant Tom Koch is and on many levels is this statement. "As mayor, I will swear to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth, and that is exactly what I intend to do.  I believe strongly that we have many issues that we need to address as neighbors and as a community- from taxes, to public safety, to traffic and over-development.  None of them are related in any way to marriage." Priceless, just priceless...

Tom Koch's campaign website, A Dick for Quincy, I mean Koch for Quincy provides an active blog (however, I challenge KnowThyNeighbor bloggers to try to comment) and Tom Koch's "vision" for a better Quincy.  But based on Tom Koch and his service to VoteOnMarriage in the very least, lending them his endorsement in signature form, I think that fair-minded, intelligent Quincy voters will see that Koch's "vision" probably does not include Equal Rights for All nor does it include a genuine understanding of what Mr. Koch so quickly put to pen that "every person should be treated equally, with respect and dignity." 

To Email Tom Koch  staff@kochforquincy.com

To Call Tom Koch  617-773-KOCH (5624)

Tom Lang, Director of KnowThyNeighbor 

WAVE GOODBYE, Mr. Koch

Comments

[John Hosty-Grinnell]

What a lame ass bigot. I am running this story everywhere I can.

[Tom Lang]

Thanks John. It is amazing isn't it. You can sell an old sponge to people and tell them it's a hamburger and unfortunately, they will buy it.

[musclehippy]

Does this asshole think he's living in Mississippi?!? What a piece of shit!

[Tom Lang]

Letter to Editor from Today's Boston Globe

JACOBY'S MOST preposterous statement was that "opposing same-sex marriage doesn't make someone a 'foe of gay rights' or of gay people." But of course it does.
Would one's opposition to Catholics being able to marry each other make that person a foe of religious rights and anti-Catholic? Of course it would. The notion would be considered outrageous - so outrageous that few could seriously imagine it. But gay people can imagine it.
JAMES FREDRICKSEN
Charlotte, N.C.

[Lula]

Well, you're kiddin yourself, Tom:

"We’re a city of many different people with many different backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives, and we need a mayor who stands up for everybody. That is the leader I believe I am and will be in the future."

Your bumpersticker and your signing the VOM petition contribute to society at-large anti-gay sentiment. Period.

FU, Tom.

[John]

"We’re a city of many different people with many different backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives, and we need a mayor who stands up for everybody. That is the leader I believe I am and will be in the future."

Translation:

"I will stand up for the powerful and the popular"

Courage!

[Lula]

Absolutely, John.

Absolute bull.

[ryan charisma]

Now, does this 'candidate' and I use the term loosely, actually think there will be no re-procussions because of this "double-talk?"

[Fitz]

http://www.motherjones.com/cgi-bin/print_article.pl?url=http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/gay-by-choice-2.html

[Jane Know]

Fitz,
why did you post the link to the Mother Jones article? I read it a couple days ago. The point actually isn't to dissuade people from protecting gay rights. It merely shows that sexuality is fluid, that "causes" of sexuality are still unproven, that some people who were gay have sought "treatment," and that some people who were straight are now gay.

and to quote the last sentence of the article "that it is time to find reasons other than medical science to insist that people ought to be able to love whom they love."

This does nothing for your case. But I'm sure you will find a way to twist and turn it into something you believe strengthens your argument. Whatever your argument is this time.

[Genghis Cohen]

Hello Jane. How long have you been hanging out here?

-Christian

[Genghis Cohen]

Tom: "JACOBY'S MOST preposterous statement was that "opposing same-sex marriage doesn't make someone a 'foe of gay rights' or of gay people." But of course it does."

Of course, Tom. Anyone who doesn't support your new war, must be against you.

SSM has as much to do with gay rights as the invasion of Iraq was about 9/11. And even George Bush Junior did not claim that anyone who opposed the Iraqi invasion was anti-America.

Do you realize how extreme you're becoming?

Good hell, John Hosty-Gimmel just popped up on Jane's board, "outing" me as Christian (my real name) even though everyone here and on the other boards know that my name is Christian and that I go by the mock sig Genghis Cohen on KTN. John was shrieking that the fact that I use this silly sig is some proof that I'm a liar.

What the hell did Aaron do to the poor shmuck? JHG used to be a reasonable guy. Please cool down with the violent allusions and cult rhetoric, or your little site, which started out with ideals that I could respect -- is going down like Jonestown.

[John Hosty-Grinnell]

Well, so much for the ideals "Christian" posts by on Opine Editorials;

"Defending marriage on the firm ground of reason and respect for human dignity."

You've fallen quite far from your path Ghengis. Your obvious deliberate mispelling of my last name is as sophemoric as any of Paul Jamieson's prattle.

Your presence here is nothing more than a sad, weak minded attempt to retaliate for the fact I called you out on posting under multiple names over at Jane Know's site.

Judging by your responses here tonight I have obviously overestimated your intellect.

[Genghis Cohen]

"You've fallen quite far from your path Ghengis."

You hypocrite! For at least two years, ever since I started posting here, you knew my name was Christian and you knew why I used the sig Genghis, and you never, ever suggested that the use was deceptive, until your master Aaron told you to screw me.

I am not angry that you "outed" me, which you didn't. I'd already told them that I'd posted here under the name Genghis Cohen.

I am angry because someone that used to be an honest friend has sold his soul for hatred, and now tells lies to try to hurt me. You lie when you pretend that I'd concealed my identity here, when in fact I've had my real name, Christian, known on this forum for months. And that I'd told you that my name was Christian by email the first week I visited this site, and explained to you that the only reason that I used the GC sig was to keep Jesus-hating idiots like Cherie from seeing my name and assuming that I was making a religious argument.

"Christian" is the actual name on my driver's license, and you KNOW it. If you think that what I did was "dishonest" then why did you promise to not tell it, and then keep it a secret for months until I spilled it on this site?

You have lied in order to paint me as a liar, just because Massa Aaron told you to. You used to be a Christian and a man of conscience, and now you're just an angry lackey.

[Genghis Cohen]

"Your obvious deliberate mispelling of my last name ."

[checks]

John Hosty-Grinnell --> John Hosty-Gimmel

My bad for the misspelling. It's a small font and my eyes aren't what they used to be, John. But if you think that's one of my purposeful misspellings, then you are wildly unestimating my capacity for sophmorism. And if I were to mangle a name, it would be your name, not your spouse's name; he's not the one who betrayed my trust and lied about me. How does Mr. Grinnel feel about Aaron having his hand up your arse and using you as his puppet to do his dirty work?

[Genghis Cohen]

Here's what John Hosty-whatever said over on Jane's blog. John pretends that I'm mad at being "unmasked," but I'm going to post this to you to show you what a dripping hypocrite he's become, after being my friend here for years and knowing about my sig and my real name and never saying until today that he thought that it was dishonest.

I'll let this shiny piece of hypocrisy speak for itself:

I'm here to add my two cents to this argument, and that is all this is. I discussion would be where we can have a conversation with our intellectual opponents and have both sides walk away with a higher understanding of the truth. Our opponents are not interested in the truth however, and to prove that I am "outing" Christian as being Ghengis Cohen on the knowthyneighbor.org blogs. Posting under multiple names is the hallmark of dishonesty, and of the opponents of equality here in Massachusetts. Time and time again we catch them posting under multiple names and call out such dishonesty so that people know not to trust them. If you catch a lie, all else said by the same person is suspect, is it not Christian?

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2556721977124180569&postID=4510808412155439217

John, don't be fooled by the fact that none of your friends here will tell you to your face that you've disgraced yourself. It's like Khomeini says, you can do whatever the fuck you want -- you're in a holy war, right? But in that shred of conscience you have left, you know you did wrong by trying to slur a friend and an honest man, and now your friends are on warning too.

John lies and pretends that he "caught" me in a "lie." Well he's admitted on this site a few months ago in an argument with Lula that I'd told him from the beginning that my name is Christian. And I've said repeatedly here that Genghis Cohen is a pseudonym -- just explained to Tom last time I was here that no, I'm not Jewish, just a big fan. So John's lied twice, first by saying there was a lie, and second by pretending that he'd "caught" it.

[Genghis Cohen]

"I called you out on posting under multiple names over at Jane Know's site."

That's another lie. I've never used any sig on Jane's other than my real name. I just told them that I'd used the name Genghis on KTN. I didn't sign by it.

What happened to you, man?

"Judging by your responses here tonight I have obviously overestimated your intellect."

If you think that insulting my intelligence is going to hurt my feelings you've obviously overestimated my vanity. Betrayal by a friend and a lie to smear my character -- that hurts.

So what -- you going to dig my address and the names of my children out of your email archives, and post them on the KTN hit list, even though I live in Vegas and have never even visited Massachussetts? I won't say bring it on, because I got rid of my gun when my first boy started crawling around. I've already seen a church burnt down by your political thugs, and I'm ready with cameras. If you put my name and address up and anyone in my family gets hurt, you, Aaron, KTN, and everybody that helps you is going to get served with legal papers, and all that propaganda you've spun out about you being the victims is going to come crashing down on your hypocritical heads.

[Genghis Cohen]

One last warning:

I've told you that one of my kids are disabled, but what I didn't tell you is that they are cute and photogenic and we have many many pictures and clips of them. If you put my information up on your site, and one of of my children gets hurt, and I promise you, you will look like the devil, Warren Jeffs will personally thank you for taking the media attention from him, and everyone will remember you as the violent extremists that discredited the whole ssm movement.

[Paul Jamieson]

Classic Hosty

He has pissed off half the gay community of Oregon as well

But believe me, Toleos and Lang will stand behind him because they love this.

It is what the want

[Paul Jamieson]

Even the liberal Blue Mass Group blog can't stand him here in Massachusetts

[musclehippy]

"I've already seen a church burnt down by your political thugs"

___________________________________

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Heh,heh,heh! About fuckin' time methinks!! Cheers Ghengishole! here's to you and yours! next time though try to be INSIDE the place when it burns down, kay!

[QuincyJerry]

Can we please get back to the topic of the Koch campaign... It is NOT well known within the city of Quincy that he has such a bigoted background. THIS IS VERY ALARMING

I have seen gay households with Koch signs out front! YIKES!

I'd like to send out to this community, a special request that as many people as possible write into the most popular newspaper in Quincy... The Patriot Ledger... They seem to be willing to print Letters-To-The-Editor from others even outside of their immediate distribution... The email address to send letters is... editpage@ledger.com Please help "out" Tom Koch on his history of prejudice

THANKS in advance to all that can help us out in Quincy!

[Tom Lang]

QuincyJerry is right. Let's try to address the blog psts at hand. Both sides seem to take this too much to the personalities of our commenters.

But QuincyJerry, I need to ask you this...By your website link to the QuincyforMarriageEquality website, one would think you are affiliated with that great group. However, if the LGBT people in Quincy do have Koch lawn signs up, then at least three things need to happen 1) of course letters to the editor at the Patriot Ledger 2) you need to call these people or knock on their doors and educate them and 3) MassEquality who "organized such great grassroots" needs to get off its ass and do something with its millions of dollars that we all gave to them!!!!

I cannot believe that MEQ is that stupid that it doesn't realize that all focus is not always on the Legislature. Matt McTighe, MEQ's political director is a Republican and he knows his parties strategy--put people of common thought in other areas of gov't including school committee, selectmen, and yes mayoral races. That is the GOP's goal and I am sure it is the bigot's goal too!

Quincy is not the only city in the Commonwealth facing an extremely bigoted candidate for Mayor...Fitchburg and Ted Desalvatore (another signer) and known anti-gay is making a shot for that city's high position.

MassEquality needs to get off its butt, put its "awards on the mantle," and focus on maintaining the status quo of Equality in our state!!!

[QuincyJerry]

Thanks for the response Tom! Sorry about the incorrect URL link; this was my first ever blog on the site and I incorrectly assumed we could just insert a related-topic link..

MassEquality DID call my house once asking if I would man a phonebank night for the current Mayor (Phelan) who has demonstrated his support to our community... But that is about all they have done. I would love to see a story similar to your on their site, and more communications out to the Quincy community too...

Next up - knocking on doors... It is VERY scary to see SO MANY Koch signs up in this city.

I am SO appreciative of KnowThyNeighbor for bringing this to public attention.. Hopefully this will result in some angry letters to editor, and a louder buzz around Quincy.

[John Hosty-Grinnell]

"You hypocrite! For at least two years, ever since I started posting here, you knew my name was Christian and you knew why I used the sig Genghis, and you never, ever suggested that the use was deceptive, until your master Aaron told you to screw me."

Main Entry: hyp·o·crite
Pronunciation: 'hi-p&-"krit
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritEs actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthai
1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
- hypocrite adjective

I have done nothing that constitutes either of the definitions of hypocrite. I post under my own name ONLY no matter where I post so that people can understand who is saying what. You have chosen to post under one name here, then go elsewhere and post under another name (names?). Me pointing that out is fair when considering you are associated with others that have openly and blatantly tried to appear as multiple people, and were caught doing so. If you want my respect, pick a name and stick to it as I do. I never mentioned this in the past because I was unaware of your practices. Now that they are noticed you should do something about it as I have said, otherwise your motives are suspect.

"'Christian' is the actual name on my driver's license, and you KNOW it."

I do NOT know that sir, we have never met, nor do I have any way to verify anything you say. For all I know I could be talking to one of Paul Jamieson's multiple personalities. I suspect your name is Christian, and I never told anyone because I made a promise to do so. That promise is moot now that you told people. Over on Jane's blog you were posting as Anonymous and signing things as Christian. Why not simply use your signed in blogger name like everyone else, or is there a valid reason for that?

"You have lied in order to paint me as a liar, just because Massa Aaron told you to. You used to be a Christian and a man of conscience, and now you're just an angry lackey."

You lack civility and dignity. Aaron does not need to ask me to question you on a number of things you do, like posting under different names in order to limit your liability. You sir are full of sound and fury, yet signifying nothing in it all. Me thinks you dost protest too much.

""Your obvious deliberate mispelling of my last name ."

[checks]

John Hosty-Grinnell --> John Hosty-Gimmel

My bad for the misspelling. It's a small font and my eyes aren't what they used to be, John. But if you think that's one of my purposeful misspellings, then you are wildly unestimating my capacity for sophmorism. And if I were to mangle a name, it would be your name, not your spouse's name; he's not the one who betrayed my trust and lied about me. How does Mr. Grinnel feel about Aaron having his hand up your arse and using you as his puppet to do his dirty work?"

Funny how you posted the correct spelling several times before your tirade, which by the way was just as childish. Why the hard on for Aaron all of the sudden? Is Tom too busy to be my "Puppet master"? Like you I think for myself, and I have no problem telling those off who are wrong, like you.

"Here's what John Hosty-whatever said over on Jane's blog. John pretends that I'm mad at being "unmasked," but I'm going to post this to you to show you what a dripping hypocrite he's become, after being my friend here for years and knowing about my sig and my real name and never saying until today that he thought that it was dishonest."

No, you're right, you're not mad. That's why you've gone on and on about this. ;)

"If you think that insulting my intelligence is going to hurt my feelings you've obviously overestimated my vanity."

Your email starts off with the name "logicblackbelt" how have I overestimated your vanity again?

"So what -- you going to dig my address and the names of my children out of your email archives, and post them on the KTN hit list, even though I live in Vegas and have never even visited Massachussetts? I won't say bring it on, because I got rid of my gun when my first boy started crawling around. I've already seen a church burnt down by your political thugs, and I'm ready with cameras. If you put my name and address up and anyone in my family gets hurt, you, Aaron, KTN, and everybody that helps you is going to get served with legal papers, and all that propaganda you've spun out about you being the victims is going to come crashing down on your hypocritical heads."

Is this seriously the best you could come up with?! I call you out on using different names to post under, and you somehow segway that into an attack on your children?! I don't even know you, you freak! I have been civil to you when civility allowed, and I have harshly questioned you when needed as well. You and I have never been friends, you are delusional.

You were the one person we had as oppostion on this blog that had the credibility built up for people listen to your words, but you have thrown that all away in this little temper tantrum. You can never take back what is said here, and it will always be here for people to read for themselves when trying to understand just how misleading and radical your side can be. You should be ashamed of yourself for the things you have said, I am very disappointed in you, and what little friendliness we once shared is over. I see you for the villian you are.