From Politics1 (4th item)

Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey — the social conservative Republican challenging US Senator Lincoln Chafee in the GOP primary — is under fire for columns he wrote for the student newspaper when he attended Bowdoin College in the early 80’s. In his columns, Laffey made remarks such as: “I have never once seen a happy homosexual” and “I say let’s get those pinkos out of the music business and replace them with some tough conservatives.” The Providence Journal, which reported this story Saturday, received copies of the columns anonymously. When asked if he holds these views, Laffey answered “not now, nor then, or ever.” He explains the columns were “sophomoric political satire.” In other columns, Laffey discusses his conservative political views such as a desire for more individual freedoms, a smaller government, increased free trade, and a flat tax. He even admits in once column that his views made President Reagan “look leftist.” Laffey and Chafee face-off in what is expected to be a very close September 12 primary.