Today, the Washington Post published a piece on Corey Booker, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate from New Jersey, in which Booker acknowledged that the fact that he is not married has lead to speculation that he is gay.

Booker wouldn’t confirm anything, but stated that such speculation is perfectly fine with him and, in fact, said “some part of me thinks it’s wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I’m gay, and I say, ‘So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I’m straight.'”

Booker’s Republican opponent, Steve Lonegan, was asked about Booker’s response by Newsmax’s Steve Malzberg this afternoon, and said he didn’t know if Booker is gay but thought it was “weird” that he was unwilling to answer the question, speculating that maybe “it helps get him the gay vote by acting ambiguous.”

But Lonegan was sure of one thing: Steve Lonegan is a real man because “as a guy, I personally like being a guy” and he is certainly not one of those sorts who goes in for things like manicures and pedicures like Cory Booker does!

“It was described as his peculiar fetish,” Lonegan said. “I have a more peculiar fetish: I like a good Scotch and a cigar, that’s my fetish. But we’ll just compare the two”: