Rick, I'm sorry but I think you're not reading the NYT article or Rodeo's comments correctly.
NYT didn't say Studds was a role model, they just reported that someone (Charles Kaiser) viewed him in that light (“In a sense, he became a role model,” said Charles Kaiser, author of “1968 in America” and “The Gay Metropolis.” “His experience convinced other people that it would now be possible to run as an openly gay person.”).
And Rodeo had no say in Studds' committee chaimanship, so I don't see how you can call Rodeo's condemnation as "strange."
You might be a bit overzealous in attacking your collegue on the "left."
