Tierney, who's been bogged down by his wife's and in-laws' corruption (and maybe his own), lost to Seth Moulton, a Marine combat veteran of the Iraq War, in the Democratic primary, and it was curtains for Rich Tisei. Nominating Moulton was a surprisingly shrewd move for Democrats this year.
If things had been different, though, Republicans would have to figure out what to do about Tisei. But remember that Jim Kolbe and Steve Gunderson were both able to win elections after they were outed.
Nope. The critical difference is that this time around, Tisei was recruited as a candidate specifically because he is gay. That is why they made such a big fuss over him. He should have beat Moulton - after all, Tisei is actually pretty well-known in Massachusetts (former Senate [IIRC] minority leader) and respected in the state. This same state just elected a Republican governour in this same election. Yet Tisei not only lost, but got thrashed.