Help Pick the Asshat of the Week!

Yes, editor Michael Jensen announced the Asshat poll was retiring. But like every great diva, it reserved the right to un-retire. Just think of it as Cher's fifth "final" tour.

Every Friday we'll ask you to select from a current crop of schmucks, jerks, demagogues and harpies to see who is most deserving of the week's coveted Asshat Crown!

We'll announce the results every Monday, and that asshat will reign supreme until a new challenger is crowned the following week.

Here are this week's nominees.

WHY? This week Garth Maier led the discussion "Will The Acceptance Of Homosexuality In This Society Be The Downfall Of America?" on KTTB in Tyler, Texas. The topic was based on the news that President Obama had appointed a record number of GLBT persons to posts in his administration which apparently led Maier to the conclusion that this many 'mos was a sign of the apocalypse.

Station manager, Paul L. Gleiser later apologized, saying "We believe that such a question, posed in such a manner, is likely to generate more heat than light."

Ya think?

2) Clint McCance, Midland School Board, Arkansas

WHY? The oh-so-delightul McCance took to Facebook this week to wish death on all gays in advance of Spirit Day. He also talked about disowning his own children if they ended up being gay, and his belief that all gay men were going to die from AIDS. His follow up interview on Anderson Cooper 360 did little to dispel the notion he's nothing more than a, well, we can't say here.

3) Robert Rowling, CEO TRT Holdings/Gold's Gym

WHY? The billionaire CEO donated $2 million to Karl Rove's anti-gay American Crossroads PAC which is working to get anti-gay candidates like Sharron Angle and Ken Buck elected to office. He says "The facts are so distorted. I've never heard one discussion of a social issue. This is all about fiscal sanity."

That didn't stop the four San Francisco area Gold's Gyms from announcing plans to drop their franchise agreements and to make matching donations to GLBT charities equal to or exceeding their franchise fees.

4) Catholic Church, U.S. Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke and Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú

that ministered specifically to their GLBT flock, saying "The Mass … continues to send conflicting messages about the Church's official teaching concerning the proper celebration of the Eucharist and living an active homosexual lifestyle."

Vote for your Asshat by 11 PM EDT Sunday. And be sure to check back Monday on the blog to see which network gay our readers have carried to infamy!