Congressional candidate proud to be a vampire
Florida House Republican congressional candidate Jacob A. Rush, a lawyer, presents himself in costume in one of the many fantasy guises he enjoys. And what's wrong with that?
Some people prefer to hide who they really are.
It helps them achieve power, influence, love, and control.
Others, however, are more take it or leave it. Even if they know that some will take the "leave it" option.
Jacob A. Rush, a lawyer and Republican candidate for the House in Florida's Third District, is perfectly happy for you to give him the third degree. He is happy for you to question him on some of his extracurricular activities.
For Jacob A. Rush is a player.
No, not that sort of player. That's spelled "playah," anyway. Rush enjoys fantasy games in which he dresses up as all sorts of characters and plays games that reportedly include vampires and other fantasy figures.
The St. Petersburg blog calls this a "bizarre double life." It describes the Mind's Eye (MES) community of "gothic-punk role-players" as "a highly regimented association of like-minded people, similar to a church (or cult) complete with its own rituals and performances."
It seems that the gaming enacted in this society may extend to the more disturbing side of the video games that you might generally partake in.
Moreover, Rush's own fantasy postings allegedly range from the childish to an image of a succubus and the line "put on my rape face."
As the Miami Herald reports, Rush has issued a statement in which he says: "All my life, I've been blessed with a vivid imagination from playing George Washington in elementary school to dressing up as a super hero last Halloween for trick or treaters. Any cursory review of the Internet will show that I have played heroes and villains."
It will surely help his experience as a politician to have an instinctive feeling about the mind of both a hero and a villain.
Rush, though, continued to explain that there is nothing wrong with his fantasy life.
He said: "I have never hid nor shied away from disclosing my hobby activities. When I was hired at the Sheriff's office, I fully disclosed my gaming and theatre (sic) background on the application, and these hobbies posed absolutely no problem or raised any flags. In fact, when applying for undercover work, these hobbies were considered an advantage, so much so my shift lieutenant nicknamed me 'Shakespeare'."
It seems he would hate for his love and labor to be lost on the altar of campaigning from opponents. Political opponents are, indeed, like gamers. Or vampires. They seek to draw blood. They want to watch you expire. They score points that way.
Rush further said that he was offended "as a practicing Christian."
So is it really impossible for a "law and order" candidate to participate in possibly sick, perverted fantasy games that might appall some and enthrall others? Should constitutional conservatives not be involved in things that might upset some people's constitutions?
I see a hand raised to mention that Darth Vader is standing to be president of Ukraine. I see another suggesting that one party is more likely to uphold private behavior than another.
In my head, however, I remembered those words "a bizarre double life" with respect to another politician. They were aimed by the Maine Republican Party at a rival state senate candidate Colleen Lachowicz.
Her crime? She was Santiaga, the orc assassination rogue with a penchant for nasty behavior in World Of Warcraft. Indeed, her rivals disinterred a Lachowicz quote that read: "I stab things a lot. Who would have thought a peace-lovin' social worker and democrat would enjoy that?"
She still won.
I will, therefore, pass the baton over to the moral guardians in the balcony. At what point does the fantasy life of a politician become a judgment on their real worth? At what point does cosplay, gaming, posting on a fantasy forum -- or whatever other fine modern activity -- become subject to public scrutiny?
When do "hobby activities" become unbecoming?