Lane Hudson
Encyclopedia
Lane Hudson is a former campaign worker for the United States Democratic Party and a liberal blogger who exposed the Mark Foley scandal
.
Hudson was profiled in Time
magazine's December 13, 2006 issue.
and grew up in neighboring Hartsville
. After high school in Myrtle Beach
, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina
and attended the College of Charleston
. He worked for a number of political campaigns including that of John Kerry
. In 1995, he met Mark Foley
at a Capitol Hill bar, where Foley attempted to pick him up.
expressed skepticism about Hudson's post, and users of the website Daily Kos
suspected the post to be a hoax, but on September 28, ABC News
' Brian Ross
confirmed the existence of the e-mails,ABC News
. "Sixteen-Year-Old Who Worked as Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman". 28 September 2006 which he had received in August but not previously reported on.
When Hudson's identity was revealed, he was fired from his job at Human Rights Campaign
. Hudson joked that despite the fact that he simply told the truth, he was the only person in Washington fired over Mark Foley's exploits. Stop Sex Predators ceased updates after Hudson was fired.
regarding Fred Thompson. The complaint alleged that Thompson had violated the "testing the waters" clause of FEC law, essentially by acting as a de facto candidate without formally declaring himself as one. In response to the complaint the FEC
has issued the following statement. "The FEC
will now give Thompson 15 days to respond to the complaint. Following Thompson's response, election commissioners will decide whether to dismiss the case or investigate further." In Thompson's defense, "[Thompson] has not said definitively that he's a candidate for president. He is expected to make an announcement around Labor Day." Under current regulations he can only use the money to "test the waters".
, Tina Brown wrote in a column lamenting Obama's low key style, noting that she had been "Cruising on YouTube the other day, and caught a clip from Netroots Nation in August in which Bill Clinton was challenged about not doing enough in office for gays with his "don't ask, don't tell" cop-out. The way the former president engaged with his humbled heckler was the ultimate contrast: an astonishing, fact-crammed, passion-fuelled, eye-blazing defense of his own record that was especially startling (and, yes, invigorating) after a year of Obama's judiciously crafted stemwinders."
On 8/14/2009, Lane Hudson wrote a blogpost for Huffington Post about this incident, defending his interruption or the President's keynote speech. Hudson wrote:
" So, at the point that he said, "We need an honest, principled debate", I knew I had to try to stimulate the discussion. So, I stood and said, "Mr. President, will you call for a repeal of DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell? Right now?"
The immediate response shocked me at the time and still does. Those surrounding me yelled at me, booed, and told me to sit down. One elderly lady even told me to leave. While I was among the supposed most progressive audience in the country, they sought to silence someone asking a former President to speak out on behalf of repealing two laws that TOOK AWAY RIGHTS OF A MINORITY. I was shocked."
Most of the comments to the blog were critical of Lane, many referring to his "rudeness" and ill mannered "heckling" of the former President.
On October 25. 2009, Advocate.com reported that Hudson told them that President Clinton had sent him a personal letter.
From the Advocate: "Hudson took some heat for shouting uninvited questions at a former president from the crowd and, accordingly, wrote an apology letter to Clinton that he published on The Huffington Post.
To Hudson’s surprise, he received a handwritten note from Clinton this week. Although he did not want to betray the confidence of the former president by publishing the entirety of its contents, Hudson did share several lines.
“I recently said I had changed my position on gay marriage and will look for more opportunities to advance the repeal of DOMA,” Clinton wrote, adding, “I will be there as you ask on these and other human rights issues.”
Mark Foley scandal
The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006, centers on soliciting e-mails and sexually suggestive instant messages sent by Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, to teenaged boys who had formerly served as congressional pages...
.
Hudson was profiled in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's December 13, 2006 issue.
Early life
A lifelong Democrat, Hudson was born in Darlington, South CarolinaDarlington, South Carolina
Darlington is a city in and the county seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a center for tobacco farming. The population was 6,720 at the 2000 census and is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and grew up in neighboring Hartsville
Hartsville, South Carolina
Hartsville is a small city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hartsville is located at ....
. After high school in Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
and attended the College of Charleston
College of Charleston
The College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States...
. He worked for a number of political campaigns including that of John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
. In 1995, he met Mark Foley
Mark Foley
Mark Adam Foley is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party....
at a Capitol Hill bar, where Foley attempted to pick him up.
Stop Sex Predators
In July 2006, Hudson anonymously launched a blog called "Stop Sex Predators." His intention, as he stated on his blog, was "to serve as a clearing house for the public to report sex predators and as a resource for concerned parents and citizens." Beginning in August, he started posting about Congressmen rumored to have sex affairs with congressional pages, and solicited tips and e-mails. On 24 September 2006 he posted photocopied e-mails from Mark Foley to a 16-year-old page. The political blog WonketteWonkette
Wonkette is a left-leaning American online magazine of topical satire and political gossip, established in 2004 by Gawker Media and founding editor Ana Marie Cox, and edited by Ken Layne from 2006 to 2011...
expressed skepticism about Hudson's post, and users of the website Daily Kos
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
suspected the post to be a hoax, but on September 28, ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' Brian Ross
Brian Ross
Brian Ross is an American racecar driver. He won Rookie of the Year honors in the Auto Racing Club of America in 2000 and won the CRA Kendall Late Model Series in 1999 and 2001...
confirmed the existence of the e-mails,ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
. "Sixteen-Year-Old Who Worked as Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman". 28 September 2006 which he had received in August but not previously reported on.
When Hudson's identity was revealed, he was fired from his job at Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
. Hudson joked that despite the fact that he simply told the truth, he was the only person in Washington fired over Mark Foley's exploits. Stop Sex Predators ceased updates after Hudson was fired.
Independent blogging
After losing his job, Hudson became an independent blogger. He started a blog called News for the Left and also began writing for the liberal Huffington Post.Fred Thompson complaint
On August 20, 2007, Hudson filed a complaint with the FECFederal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
regarding Fred Thompson. The complaint alleged that Thompson had violated the "testing the waters" clause of FEC law, essentially by acting as a de facto candidate without formally declaring himself as one. In response to the complaint the FEC
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
has issued the following statement. "The FEC
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
will now give Thompson 15 days to respond to the complaint. Following Thompson's response, election commissioners will decide whether to dismiss the case or investigate further." In Thompson's defense, "[Thompson] has not said definitively that he's a candidate for president. He is expected to make an announcement around Labor Day." Under current regulations he can only use the money to "test the waters".
Faith in America
In February 2008, Hudson accepted the position of Director of Communications and Strategy for Faith in America. The organization, which was founded by furniture designer and philanthropist, Mitchell Gold, seeks to end the use of religion to justify prejudice against gay Americans. Faith in America's message connects the dots of history to highlight when misguided religious teaching was once used to justify slavery, denying women full and equal rights, to justify segregation, and to deny people of different races to marry. Today, it is the gay and lesbian community that is experiencing the kind of discrimination we have seen throughout history.Brunswick Group
In January 2009, Hudson accepted the position of Director at the Brunswick Group, LLC, a global communications firm based in London, England. At Brunswick, Hudson leads the effort to integrate new media strategy into the overall practice of the firm. In addition, he provides client services in the areas of public affairs, reputation management, crisis communication, and corporate responsibility.Interrupts President Clinton's Keynote Speech at the 2009 Netroots Nation
On August 13, 2009, at the Netroots nation annual convention, Hudson interrupted a speech by former President Clinton to confront him about his administration's policy regarding gays serving in the military. (The Don't ask - Don't tell policy) The video of this confrontation was posted by the blog firedoglake on youtube and Clinton's verbal take down of Lane has been circulated throughout the political blogosphere. In the January 5. 2010 edition of the daily beastThe Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
, Tina Brown wrote in a column lamenting Obama's low key style, noting that she had been "Cruising on YouTube the other day, and caught a clip from Netroots Nation in August in which Bill Clinton was challenged about not doing enough in office for gays with his "don't ask, don't tell" cop-out. The way the former president engaged with his humbled heckler was the ultimate contrast: an astonishing, fact-crammed, passion-fuelled, eye-blazing defense of his own record that was especially startling (and, yes, invigorating) after a year of Obama's judiciously crafted stemwinders."
On 8/14/2009, Lane Hudson wrote a blogpost for Huffington Post about this incident, defending his interruption or the President's keynote speech. Hudson wrote:
" So, at the point that he said, "We need an honest, principled debate", I knew I had to try to stimulate the discussion. So, I stood and said, "Mr. President, will you call for a repeal of DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell? Right now?"
The immediate response shocked me at the time and still does. Those surrounding me yelled at me, booed, and told me to sit down. One elderly lady even told me to leave. While I was among the supposed most progressive audience in the country, they sought to silence someone asking a former President to speak out on behalf of repealing two laws that TOOK AWAY RIGHTS OF A MINORITY. I was shocked."
Most of the comments to the blog were critical of Lane, many referring to his "rudeness" and ill mannered "heckling" of the former President.
On October 25. 2009, Advocate.com reported that Hudson told them that President Clinton had sent him a personal letter.
From the Advocate: "Hudson took some heat for shouting uninvited questions at a former president from the crowd and, accordingly, wrote an apology letter to Clinton that he published on The Huffington Post.
To Hudson’s surprise, he received a handwritten note from Clinton this week. Although he did not want to betray the confidence of the former president by publishing the entirety of its contents, Hudson did share several lines.
“I recently said I had changed my position on gay marriage and will look for more opportunities to advance the repeal of DOMA,” Clinton wrote, adding, “I will be there as you ask on these and other human rights issues.”
External links
- Stop Sex Predators, Hudson's anonymous blog (no longer updated)
- News For The Left, Hudson's more recent blog (no longer updated)
- Lane Hudson at the Huffington Post