Obama Appoints First High-Level Gay Official

[Shiver]

EDIT: Please kick so this doesn't sink!


Nancy Sutley Leading Obama's Environmental Council
From The Huffington Post
Dec. 10, 2008

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has selected a deputy mayor of Los Angeles to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality, transition officials said Wednesday.

Nancy Sutley is the first prominent member of the gay and lesbian community to earn a senior role in the Democrat's new administration.

With many of his top White House and Cabinet posts filled, Obama now is focusing on fleshing out his natural resources and environment team, and could formally introduce his choices for interior secretary, energy secretary and environmental protection agency chief within weeks if not days.

*snip*

Obama transition aides would not discuss appointments other than Sutley's.

But officials close to the transition team privately say that Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, appears to be increasingly on track to become energy secretary.

A Chinese-American, Chu is a professor of physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California-Berkeley and has been the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2004, where he has pushed aggressively for research into alternative energy as a way to combat global warming.

*snip*

Read on at HuffPO


*****

Admittedly posted elsewhere, but the thread sank, so... :shrug:

[PresidentObama]

1. As a gay member of DU, I thank you for posting this. This is important.

[Shiver]

2. My pleasure

I was a little worried people might be upset that I specified her sexual orientation, but also figured if I did, people might click and the news wouldn't simply sink... :fistbump:

[goclark]

20. I just kicked it again

Great news!

[bdamomma]

3. equal opportunity for everyone, what should there not be!!!!!

if they are qualified, they have a job.

[Shiver]

6. I'm not sure I understand your subject line, but...

:kick:

[polichick]

4. And Steven Chu too!

[Shiver]

5. I don't know much about Chu

Is this a really good choice?

Also, at the bottom of the article, Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva is still in the running for Interior :D :headbang: :D

[polichick]

8. I think it's a great choice...

http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/

...and I'm also happy about Carol Browner in a new WH position.

I thought we'd see some good people in these spots ~ as a lifelong environ. activist I'm thrilled!

[Shiver]

10. Wow... very impressive

I was also wondering what people thought of Browner. There was a thread posted earlier that sank, so I didn't get to find out...

[polichick]

13. I lived in Fl when she was head of the state's dept of envir. protection...

...and then head of the EPA under Clinton ~ she was on the right side of things, like her friend and mentor Al Gore.

This is all good news imo ~ hope it's all true. :)

[otohara]

67. Steven Chu Is Gay?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Shiver]

9. Napolitano isn't gay..

...and as far as I know, neither is Rice.

[Neshanic]

37. LOOK! There goes Santa! Oh, you missed him.

[bunnies]

11. Yeah. 'Cuz all unmarried women with short hair are gay.

:eyes: Ridiculous.

[Starry Messenger]

12. k&r n/t

[TheWraith]

14. Well hey, if you want kicks, let's kick. nt

[Shiver]

15. I usually don't ask for kicks or recs

I find it slightly crude. However, I'm also getting very sick of good news sinking, and then hearing people complain about a lack of good appointments...

[robertpaulsen]

16. Happy to K & R!

:kick:

[demokatgurrl]

17. kick

[Doctor_J]

18. A Nobel energy researcher for Energy? Why not a political hack from Big Coal?

:thumbsup:

[Shiver]

19. Not just a Nobel energy researcher...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7970600&mesg_id=7970600

Even better :D

[DangerousRhythm]

32. That is completely awesome news!

VERY happy to read about these two appointments! :party:

[grantcart]

21. kick

[grantcart]

22. This thread announces Steven Chu's appointment as your predicted

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7970788

[Shiver]

23. Nice!

I like predicting things! :applause:

[FrenchieCat]

24. Kewl!

[ecstatic]

25. kick! Where are the people who started all those threads a few

weeks ago? :shrug:

[Shiver]

26. Which threads? n/t

[dsc]

29. I worked 12 hours yesterday

sorry I couldn't find time to post.

[elshiva]

27. K&R!

:hug: :toast:

[Sebastian Doyle]

28. THE ISLAMOFASIST NOT BORN IN AMERICA IS APPOINTING CHICOMS AND SODOMITES!1!!!1!11!!

!!111!!!1

[dsc]

30. I am glad to see this appointment

We still have one real shot at a gay cabinet member (labor) which I would like to see. I am not familiar enough with this job to know if it requires Senate approval or is high profile.

[political_Dem]

31. That is wonderful.

The good thing about his choices is that he is going out of is way in making his staff diverse. That is spectacular.

[Hope And Change]

33. K & R!

:kick:

[and-justice-for-all]

34. Kick..nt

[jenmito]

35. kick because people forget

[Jennicut]

36. I think this means nothing to some here

[jenmito]

38. Obviously...

they'd rather continue to slam Obama, saying he has done nothing but appease the conservatives, that "reaching out" does NOT include reaching out to the Gay community, etc.

[Jennicut]

39. I am pretty much convinced after reading all the osts this morning that

Obama's presidency is done.

[DevonRex]

40. If we only go by DU posts, that's the impression we'd get. I may

have to find another site to go to, where democrats actually support democrats. Or at least where they can acknowledge the good stuff. Here is nothing but trashing 24/7. I'm not sure what the name should be, but democratic doesn't seem to fit very well these days.

[jenmito]

42. Look at us-the "Jens" are out in force today.

Let's keep this thread kicked. :hi:

[DevonRex]

48. I'll be happy to keep it kicked.

:hi:

And I'm going to start looking for other sites. :cry:

[jenmito]

53. Thanks.

I don't blame you.

[Jennicut]

43. Maybe we can form a Democratic Jenn's only group

Just kidding. :)

[jenmito]

45. Good idea...

Just kidding. Or not. :)

[DevonRex]

49. I'm in.

:hi:

[jenmito]

41. That's why we need to keep kicking threads like THIS...

so people who are so busy condemning Obama can see they just might be wrong about him, judging him on who he picks to give the invocation.

[firedupdem]

63. I'll change my name so I can join! n/t

[jenmito]

65. How 'bout "firedupjen"?

:D

[firedupdem]

70. That's it!! Thanks! LOL n/t

[jenmito]

72. Welcome to the club! :D

[firedupdem]

74. thanks!

:fistbump:

[jenmito]

75. No problemo...

firedupjen! :hi:

[Neshanic]

44. Excellent. Now she can go tell him what an asshat move he made with Warren.

Oh, I forgot, she's got the job. House gay.

[jenmito]

46. "House gay"??? Why-because she didn't take herself out of his future cabinet

in protest of Warren giving the invocation? :eyes:

[Neshanic]

51. Yes. House Gay. A gay person who is comfortable in the surroundings

and doesnot put up a fuss. Manageable. Pliant. Boot licking.

Get it?

[jenmito]

54. I KNOW what you meant. My questioning of the term was one of

incredulity. Obama is as good as any Dem. can be on gay rights. To imply he's equal to Rick Warren is ridiculous.

[appleannie1]

47. Bumping

This is a very important appointment. Having a preacher speak a few minutes at the inaugural pales in comparison to a four year job. It shows that Obama judges people by their ability and not their ethnic background,religion, gender, or sexual preference. We need to follow his lead in accepting everyone instead of sitting like Monday morning quarterbacks and bashing his decisions. It will get us no where.

[LostinVA]

50. How do YOU prefer to have sex?

Vanilla, kinda kinky -- what?

[jenmito]

55. I agree...

and it's good to see you! :hi:

[jonnyblitz]

52. Well, this and the marching band should shut us pesky gays

up!!1

[jenmito]

56. How ridiculous. So the appointment to his cabinet of an openly gay person is to

"shut up us pesky gays" but Rick Warren giving the invocation is more than to shut up the pesky evangelicals?

[RoadRage]

58. exactly..

people on here are happy to discount anything good that Obama does, but jump up and down when he does something they dislike.

I hate warren.. but an appointment lasts for 4 years.. warrens prayer lasts for 2 minutes.

[jenmito]

59. Thank you...

I don't understand how easily some people dismiss something like an appointment of an openly gay person to his cabinet as nothing but latch on to this Warren thing like it makes Obama a homophobe.

[RoadRage]

61. I made

an OP a few hours ago saying the same thing: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7997007

I don't think it will matter much in a few weeks.. people will move on, there will be something else to be outraged about.

Frankly, many people on this board have had 8 years of only hating the POTUS.. it's going to be odd & boring to not have anything to complain about, so Obama will be under the microscope constantly. Any & everything he does is subject to scrutny.. it's what makes blogging so much "fun". :eyes:

[jenmito]

62. I agree...

I think he's doing this to "throw a bone" to the evangelicals since not only is he probably the most popular preacher out there, but he's one that speaks about poverty, AIDS, global warming, and many other things that he and Obama DO agree on.

[RoadRage]

60. dupe

dupe

[jenmito]

57. kick

[firedupdem]

64. kick! great news! n/t

[jenmito]

66. If only more people would take a minute to recognize that Obama does NOT share

Warren's views on gay people.

[Unsane]

68. this doesn't fit the DU "Obama is a homophobe" meme

[jenmito]

69. Exactly, which is why it keeps sinking.

[jberryhill]

71. She is a traitor, and should refuse the nomination now that we know Obama is a gay hating bigot /nt

[jenmito]

73. She's a "house gay" according to a poster above. Unbelievable. n/t

[DevonRex]

76. Heh.