House & Home

I read this book a few years ago and was particularly interested because I had lived for years in Steve Gunderson's congressional district, had met him several times and had voted for him. He was first elected as I recall in 1980 as part of the Reagan Revolution. He was a decent enough fellow, did his job conscientiously and probably with his background in agricultural issues might've ended up as a Secretary of Agriculture perhaps. Whatever his rise was in the Republican Party it pretty much was ended after he was "outed" although I was impressed in the book about his friendship with Newt Gingrich and Gingrich's acceptance of his homosexuality (then again, one of Newt's sisters, I believe, is gay). Say what you want about his personal lifestyle, if it had a bearing on his political future (and how could it not have) then it was the public's loss in the long-run to have a conscientious congressman like Gunderson take himself out of the political arena. Being the only gay GOP congressman, Gunderson's book is worth reading if only for that fact. I had moved out of his district by the time he was "outed" by "B-1" Bob Dornan but I recall having heard years earlier about his being gay and knew that one of his Democratic challengers during his tenure had struggled with the idea of outing Steve himself in order to try and win the election; this was long before Dornan decided to do what he did. In the end the Democratic candidate decided to keep the news to himself, so to speak, and not make an issue of it. He was soundly defeated in any event, by Gunderson.

As a liberal Democratic activist, I was suprised how much I liked this book. While I had known Representative Gunderson was hardly one of Ginrich's drones, his independence impressed me in some cases. Throughout the book, Gunderson and his partner are frank in exploring the balancing act between being gay and Republican. It also makes no bones about the dislike for former Representative Robert Dornan (who was thankfuly replaced by Democrat Loretta Sanchez)Yet, at the same time Dornan was responsible for Gunderson's outing, the congressional conservative unwittingly freed his colleauge from a long standing dilema. Myself included, some allies and GLBT people might forget there are Gay Republicans and they are just as deserving of equal rights as the more typical members of the community. In a non-judgemental tone, this book shows the skeptical reader just how difficult it can be to maintain those two identies. Ultimately, honesty is the best policy. In a day and age when politicans from both sides of the aisle are caught up with imagery instead of truth, reading this book is a thought provoking and humbiling experience for any individual regardless of party or sexuality. Although I might disagree with some of Gunderson's decisions, I at least know that he has character depth.

Rob Morris and Rep. Steve Gunderson tell their story very well. The layout is very well done with Rob and Steve each having their own section in each chapter. I couldn't recommend a better book to politicaly motivated gay men and women. Oh, and yes, a great cover design too!

This is a story once again that shows how religion damages gay people, but how individual integrity can win out. Gunderson seems at times naive and is often trapped by his homophobia. His struggle to accept himself is painful. I wished for more House and less Home, but it is his story to tell and it was very interesting and complelling.