Gay Former Clinton Aide Furious Over Rick Warren

Jim Burroway

January 14th, 2009

David Gilgoff at U.S. News and World Reports mistrusts LGBT leaders’ ability to speak for the gay community (he generally distrusts leaders of any movement, not just LGBT). So he was wondering if the rank-and-file were as mollified over Obama’s invitation to Gene Robinson as the LGBT leaders seemed to be, or were they still upset over Rick Warren giving the inaugural invocation. “Without polls, it’s really impossible to know,” he explained.

But he is getting a lot of angtry comments from LGBT people who aren’t happy with their self-appointed leaders. One came from a former Clinton White House aide:

… [T]he problem here goes well beyond Warren’s incendiary language equating gay marriage with incest. He is what he is. The greater problem lies in the President-Elect’s cruel calculation that this insult and offense to gay America is acceptable collateral damage for whatever plus he sees in the suck-up to Warren, giving profile and platform to this mega-merchant of discrimination in the first program agenda item during the first official act of his first day in office. I was one of the 12 first-ever openly gay White House staff members to take up work the day following President Clinton’s inauguration. His respect for gay Americans was evident even when setbacks and disappointments slowed the change agenda, and he certainly did not deliberately nor unnecessarily scheme to sell out gay Americans on his first day in office to score points with opponents. Ordinary gay Americans will need to hold this new Administration to the tenets of its campaign and to the idealism of its Inaugural language — and to a fundamental expectation for respect. The Warren invitation remains a disgrace and a blemish on day one of the new Administration. Shame on Obama.

Meanwhile, Nancy Goldstein thinks the Robinson choice was “too little, too late.”

Ben in Oakland

January 15th, 2009

“I was one of the 12 first-ever openly gay White House staff members to take up work the day following President Clinton’s inauguration. His respect for gay Americans was evident even when setbacks and disappointments slowed the change agenda and he certainly did not deliberately nor unnecessarily scheme to sell out gay Americans on his first day in office to score points with opponents. ”

Since I was alive and functioning when Clinton took office, and had great hopes for him, i would have to disagree to some extent.

BC was quite supportive of gay people– yes. As long as he did not have to expend any of his political capital.

It reminds me of a line from a Kingston Trio album (and yes, I am that old).

“I am and American first, and a politician second.” Spoken like a true american politician.

This describes Barack to a T. I have great hopes for him, but I am expecting nothing. If we want anything, we must come out in numbers, stand up for ourselves.

dave31175

January 15th, 2009

“and he certainly did not deliberately nor unnecessarily scheme to sell out gay Americans on his first day in office to score points with opponents.”

Well, OK, not on his first day in office… He waited a while for DADT and DOMA.

Ben in Oakland

January 15th, 2009

my point exactly. I was tryting to be nice aobut it.

Grendel72

January 17th, 2009

And then he ran ads on Christian radio bragging about DOMA.

Genia

January 19th, 2009

And let’s not forget that MRS. Clinton helped Barr draft DOMA. I’m still not seeing ANY fuss from the gay community about Hillary Clinton’s position with the Obama administration even though she was very involved in writing anti-gay legislation that has hurt gay Americans nationwide.

Where’s the fuss about that, my fellow gay Americans?

Oh, wait. Gay folks love some Hillary Clinton. Not sure why.

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