Conserva-smears against Kevin Jennings backfiring?

By GottaLaff

Kevin Jennings, the U.S. Department of Education’s director of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools–aka the “safe schools czar", is ::gasp!:: gay. That's already enough to get him all kinds of negative attention from the GOP.

But Jennings has been smacked around by the conservaschmucks more specifically, for something from his book, One Teacher in 10. A student told him about having an affair with an older man, but Jennings didn’t report it. That did it. Pow!

However, instead of pulling a Van Jones, he has this to fend off the vultures:

First, Media Matters confirmed that the student was of legal age when he came to Jennings. Now, the group has a statement that really couldn’t be better for Jennings:

I had no sexual contact with anybody at the time, though I was entirely legally free to do so. I was a sixteen year-old going through something most of us have experienced: adolescence. I find it regrettable that the people who have the compassion and integrity to protect our nation’s students are themselves in need of protection from homophobic smear attacks. Were it not for Mr. Jennings’ courage and concern for my well-being at that time in my life, I doubt I’d be the proud gay man that I am today.

Love is never having to say your czar-ry. Go get 'em, Kevin!