Asshat Voting Now Open! Dr. Jeff Gardere vs Silvio Berlusconi vs Ron Howard vs NOM!

Who will win the trucker hat of shame?

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.

1) CNN's Dr. Jeff Gardere and Daycare Moms

WHY? This week, Dr. Jeff Gardere criticized the decision of a Kansas City mom to publicly support her son in wearing a Daphne costume to his preschool Halloween party. None of the children had a problem with the little boy's choice, but when some of the mothers registered their displeasure over his wearing a "girl's costume," Mother Sarah took to a blog with a verbal smackdown that soon went viral. Dr. Gardere appeared on CNN to discuss the issue where he did praise the mom for being supportive of her son, but questioned her tactics and then declared  that "it is the worst nightmare for both heterosexual and the gay couples to have to fathom that their child might be gay."

Really? Wow, Doc. I know you said some other nice stuff, but that last statement just got you an Asshat nomination.

Editor's note: In light of Gardere's apology and what now seems likely an overreaction on our part, Dr. Gardere is being dropped from the poll. 

WHY? One of Italy's richest men, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has fought off claims of sexual impropriety for years now. His latest scandal involves his attending parties with a 17-year-old girl on whom Berlusconi lavished gifts. In responding to the issue in the press, Berlusconi declared "I have a gruelling work schedule and if I happen to look pretty girls in the face now and then, well then, it’s better to be a fan of pretty women than to be gay."

The Prime Minister received criticism from gay groups as well as actress Julianne Moore who was in Rome for a screening of The Kids Are All Right where said about Berlusconi's remarks, "I think it's unfortunate, archaic and idiotic."

Ya think?!?!

3) Ron Howard, director The Dilemma

WHY? We've come a long way from Happy Days, and Ron Howard is one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood. He's also got two movies that made it into the homophobic joke hall of infamy here at AfterElton.com.

His current controversy involves the "electric cars are gay" joke in his upcoming Vince Vaughn film The Dilemma. Universal pulled the "joke" from the trailer, but Howard says that it's staying in the film adding "I believe in sensitivity but not censorship. I feel that our film is taking additional heat as an emblem for many movies and TV shows that preceded it that have even more provocative characterizations and language. It is a slight moment in The Dilemma meant to demonstrate an aspect of our lead character's personality."

If it's such a slight moment, why keep it in the film?

4) NOM/Iowa voters

On this past Election Day, Iowa voters rejected a retention vote for pro-equality justices on the state's supreme court that ruled in favor of marriage equality in the state. Brian Brown and the National Organization for Marriage spent huge amounts of money to remove the justices from office with advertising and a bus tour. And they've been celebrating the victory of hate in that state ever since.

How Asshatty is that?

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!