Richard Tisei Could Become First Openly Gay Republican in Congress With Tierney Loss

One of the more interesting outcomes of a John Tierney loss in Massachusetts could be that the first ever openly gay Republican gets elected to Congress.  And Tierney’s job is far from secure following ongoing allegations he knew of his two brother-in-laws “illegal” gambling business based in Antigua. 

“Overall, I consider myself a ‘live and let live Republican’ — the government should get out of your bedroom, off your back and out of your wallet,” Tierney’s opponent, Richard Tisei, told The Hill when asked about the historic nature of his campaign. “That’s a pretty traditional Northeastern Republican philosophy. We’ve always had a pretty strong libertarian flavor in our politics up here.”

The 6th congressional district, just north of Boston, gave President Obama 57 percent of its vote in 2008 but broke for Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in 2010.

Teirney has been lambasted in the press of late, most recently in the Boston Globe this past weekend, regarding questions of what he knew (or didn’t know) of his extended family’s Antiguan bookmaking business that reportedly took in massive sums of money for nearly two decades. 

The Globe featured an in-depth piece on Tierney’s extravagant dinner at his brother-in-law, Robert Eremian’s, home in Antigua, the very home where the bookmaking business has operated from since 1996.  Tierney now claims he believed the business was legal, although previously he had suggested not having knowledge of the operation.  Prosecutors were closing in on a 442-count federal indictment against Eremian, his brother, Daniel, at the time.  Tierney’s wife, Patrice, has since been convicted of aiding and abetting the gambling business.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com