In a South Carolina Senate debate, Democratic candidate Alex Sanders attacked Republican candidate Lindsey Graham for a campaign ad featuring an endorsement by Giuliani. At a time when Giuliani is one of the most popular political figures in the country, this seems like an odd move. More interesting is the wording of the accusation:

"He’s [Giuliani’s] an ultra-liberal," Sanders said. "His wife kicked him out and he moved in with two gay men and a Shih Tzu. Is that South Carolina values? I don’t think so."

This comes on the heals of an ad by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), which opponent Mike Taylor said insinuated that Taylor was homosexual. The ad, which shows Taylor applying makeup to a man in a cosmetology school that Taylor operated, talks about the poor financial management of the school, and concludes with the punchline: "not the way we do business here in Montana"--a phrase that Taylor supporters believe had a double meaning when viewed in the context of the commercial.

I just thought it was worth mentioning the double-standard on this issue. If either of these statements/commercials were made by Republicans, gay rights groups like the Human Rights Campaign would be marching on the state capitals and running ads against the candidates. The Democrats would be denouncing their opposition as homophobic or worse. Yet when the Democrats make such statements, the silence is deafening.