Bush/Cheney ’04 Puerto Rico official undone by Grindr profile

Sen. Roberto Arango. (Image from NY1's "Pura Politica" TV show as captured by Andrés Duque)

A divorced conservative politician, known for making disparaging insinuations about his opponents’ sexual orientation, resigned the Puerto Rico Senate yesterday after being linked to a profile posted on popular gay mobile phone hook up app, Grindr.

Roberto Arango once sat as vice-chair of the Bush/Cheney ’04 re-election campaign, and is the current San Juan congressional district GOP committee chair. Until today, Arango represented the capital San Juan in the Puerto Rico Senate, and was selected by his colleagues as the Majority Leader for the current session.

Arango has an established anti-gay record, voting in favor of anti-gay bills, and voting against bills that would provide employment protections to LGBT people. He has also frequently called opponents “ducks” or used “quacking” noises in reference to his opponents. Describing someone as a “duck” in Puerto Rico is often used as code for gay, and duck quacking is often used to harass people suspected of being gay.

Graphic photos of Arango showed up on a Grindr profile recently, including one photo showing the senator on his knees on a bed, using his hands to emphasize his exposed buttocks. The senator has neither confirmed nor denied creating the profile, nor taking the photographs, but says that he has been taking topless photos of himself to document recent weight loss. He has yet to answer any questions about the previously mentioned most lewd of the collection of photos.

According to Andrés Duque of the Blabbeando blog, the Puerto Rican Senate president, who received Arango’s letter of resignation, just today mocked a political opponent using the same duck quacks Arango has been documented as being fond of. The opponent had been mocked similarly by Arango in 2004.