Last night’s interview with Bruce Jenner by Diane Sawyer on ABC’s 20/20 turned out to be very revealing … in a much different way than many thought. By this time, a relentless series of media reports had made it quite clear that Jenner had embraced a transgender identity, at least privately. The big reveal turned out to be that Jenner also identifies as a conservative Republican:

When Sawyer asked if Jenner cheered when Obama became the first president to even say the word “transgender” in a State of the Union address, the 65-year-old replied that he “would certainly give him credit for that.”

“But not to get political,” Jenner continued, “I’ve never been a big fan, I’m kind of more on the conservative side.”

“Are your a Republican?” Sawyer asked in response, to which Jenner replied, “Yeah! Is that a bad thing? I believe in the constitution.”

“Do you think that would be an unsettling thing for some people in the conservative wing of the party?” Sawyer asked.

“I’ve thought about that,” says Jenner, adding that neither political party has a monopoly on understanding.

Tolerance? Not so much. Prior to the interview airing, progressives on Twitter offered lots of support for Jenner, and plenty of predictions about how conservatives would heap scorn on Jenner. After Jenner truly came out, their tone changed considerably, as Twitchy documented:

So any sympathy my mother had for Bruce Jenner evaporated once she heard he wasn't a fan of President Obama.

— Joel D. Anderson (@byjoelanderson) April 25, 2015

https://twitter.com/JayCaruso/status/591793472690114560

https://twitter.com/FiveChels/status/591796868083908608

It’s probably safe to say that most conservatives and Republicans didn’t really care much one way or another about the lifestyles of the Kardashians and Jenners before, during, or after this interview. They have found a way to prosper in the open market, and can use their money to use as they see fit within the bounds of the law. For the most part, we’d see this as none of our business, and it’s still really none of our business. As long as Jenner isn’t demanding that we participate in his transition, few if any of us will care.

That is actual tolerance, rather than the Enforced Participation Happy Inquisitions of Tolerance that progressives impose, continually demanding not just acceptance but celebration by all. It seems like Jenner understands that, too. Good. I’m with Kurt Schlichter on this:

Accept him, her, whatever as an ally in our campaign to destroy collectivism. #caring https://t.co/jocOAKHk1G

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) April 25, 2015

Oddly, ABC doesn’t, though. They’ve broken out the lengthy interview into several segments, but none of those highlight this particular reveal. Isn’t this worth promoting, at least for the novelty of it?After all, novelty is the reason for airing this interview in the first place. Speaking of which, Sawyer also asked him about whether this was a promotional stunt for the reality-TV show. Jenner insists it’s not:

ABC Breaking US News | US News Videos

I tend to take Jenner at his word on this point. It’s not going to do the reality-TV show any good to have him outside the stultifying progressive closet in Hollywood and out in the open as a conservative Republican. The reaction to his coming out proves that much.

Update: John Nolte slaps the “parochial” media:

The left-wing Huffington Post is even more confused than Ms. Sawyer. The Daily Caller’s Betsy Rothstein notes that HuffPo has saturated its site in overnight Jenner coverage without once managing to reveal his identity as a Christian Republican.

Newflash: Jenner didn’t get a brain transplant. …

Like most everyone else in America, legions of conservatives and Christians live and work, and dare I say, coexist just fine with their openly gay friends, co-workers, and relatives. America has come a long way in a very short time when it comes to recognizing the humanity of homosexuals, and that is truly a wonderful thing. And long overdue.

Where we disagree is on the political issue of same sex marriage, and despite what the media believes, holding the same opinion on gay marriage that Barack Obama did two years ago, and Hillary Clinton did 2 minutes ago, does not make one a Nazi.

Moreover, I personally don’t know of any Christian or conservative who doesn’t fully grasp the Biblical notion that sin is a verb, not a person. Like sex outside of marriage or lying, homosexuality is a sin, being gay is not. We are all sinners, and we are all children of God.

The mainstream media is positively drunk on its own sanctimonious ideas of diversity, inclusion and tolerance of different cultures and ideas. And yet this same mainstream media regularly displays a stunning ignorance when it comes to understanding a political and religious culture held by something like, oh, 100 million Americans.

It’s not a stunning ignorance. It’s willful blindness, and a bigotry all of its own.

Update: Steven Crowder writes, “Being a Republican is now more shocking than ‘transgender’.” Well, to the mainstream media and to progressives, yes it is.