Gays Shut Out of Obama's Cabinet

[FreeState]

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid68852.asp

LGBT Americans were hit with yet another piece of bad news Thursday -- no openly gay people will be appointed to President-elect Obama’s cabinet.

Less than 24 hours after the announcement that antigay pastor Rick Warren would be giving the invocation at Obama's inauguration, reports surfaced that Rep. Hilda Solis is the incoming president’s pick as secretary of the Labor Department. The Labor and Interior posts having been the only two positions left for which openly gay qualified candidates were still in the running, LGBT leaders conceded that no out person will be seated at the cabinet table.

“It’s now clear that President Obama’s top appointees will gather in a cabinet room that does not reflect the living rooms, board rooms, or rooms of worship across this country,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said that in spite of “a very positive series of discussions with the transition team” last week, no forward movement had been made on behalf of gays and lesbians. “Unfortunately, one week later, we learn Rick Warren is giving the inaugural invocation and we're no further ahead in seeing LGBT Americans represented in the new administration,” he said. “A good dialogue without real action is only half the equation.”....

[yardwork]

1. Yesterday DUers were insisting that Obama was putting "lots of gay people in his cabinet."

How could they have been so wrong????

[FreeState]

3. Because they would rather be wrong than admit a colossal mistake on Obama's part n/t

[Jamastiene]

5. People who build sand castles in the air and live in fairy tale land

might believe he is putting lots of gay people in his cabinet, but in the real world, he has consistently surrounded himself with those who hate us.

[QC]

14. Because he is perfect in every way! n/t

[Creideiki]

2. Color me shocked

But hey, at least he's reaching across the aisle and finding homophobes and conservatives for his cabinet. That's far more important than a group that he "fiercely" defends and considers his allies.

[FreeState]

4. I just re-read his advocate interview from fall 2007

Unfortunately every word in it falls hallow seeing he has no openly gay person in his cabinet.

[Political Tiger]

6. Nancy Sutley?

With Nancy Sutley joining Team Obama as chairwoman of the Council on Environmental Quality, she becomes the first prominent, openly gay or lesbian to join the Cabinet.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=33670&type=gaylesbian

And I'm a little confused here. In the Advocate article, Chuck Wolfe, president of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund is quoted saying "It’s now clear that President Obama’s top appointees will gather in a cabinet room that does not reflect the living rooms, board rooms, or rooms of worship across this country."

Yet when Nancy Sutley was appointed as chairwoman of the Council on Environmental Quality, Chuck Wolfe called her nomination "another step toward full equality for gay Americans...It sends a signal to young people that they can participate in their government at its highest levels, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender or ethnicity."

http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=84795

[dsc]

8. that isn't a cabinet position

Cabinet positions start with Secretary of or end in General.

[Political Tiger]

10. Well, since there's only 15 cabinet positions

maybe we should be asking ourselves were there enough qualified openly gay candidates available for any of the positions?

Just because Obama did not appoint an openly gay person to one of those only 15 seats doesn't automatically mean it as a slap in the face of gay Americans.

[dsc]

11. We actually had a more qualified person in the running for labor who got passed over

She is a labor leader and lost out to a person who has no discernable labor past nor interest.

[Political Tiger]

13. I assume you're talking about

the openly gay Mary Beth Maxwell vs Hilda L. Solis (who got the appointment.)

From what I see, Mary Beth Maxwell, in 2003 founded of the pro-labor advocacy group American Rights at Work. Before that she was National Field Director for Jobs with Justice, an advocacy group for workers rights, and before that she was Deputy Field Director for NARAL.

Hilda L. Solis has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2001 and won her seat with the support of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Emily's List, Handgun Controls, and the Sierra Club and the California League of Conservation Voters.

Her committee assignments include the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Subcommittee on the Environment and Hazardous Materials of which she is the Vice-Chair, the Subcommittee on Health, Subcommittee on Telecommunications & the Internet, the House Committee on Natural Resources, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. She's also the Vice-Chair of the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee and 2nd Vice-Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Before that she served in Jimmy Carter's administration in the Office of Hispanic Affairs and later became an analyst with the Office of Management and Budget. She was elected as a member of the California State Assembly in 1992 and then to the California State Senate before entering the House.

So, who was more qualified for the job? I'll leave that up for others to decide!

[Maven]

16. Wow, there's just no slight you're not willing to excuse is there?

Obviously it's our fault for not having enough qualified candidates. :eyes:

You're a trip.

[Political Tiger]

17. Do you ever stop feeling sorry for yourself

and personally attacking people who simply have a different view than you?

[tjwmason]

7. Has there ever been a gay U.S. Cabinet member?

I know that we got our first (out) Cabinet minister here in 1997 with Chris Smith - at present we have Peter (Lord) Mandelson as Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Secretary and Nick Brown as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip).

[dsc]

9. The HRC is partly to blame here

since they didn't even know there was a gay candidate for Labor and went out and endorsed Solis they helped put the nail in the coffin.

[terrya]

12. But...but....some gay or lesbian might be appointed Ambassador to Belgium!

And don't forget, there's the coveted Assistant Deputy Secretary of Transportation slot to be filled.

:eyes:

I'm seriously beginning to see the handwriting on the wall here. We're really not a part of Obama's America. That "full equality" crap was just to get our money during the campaign.

[Maven]

15. What a fuckin surprise. But there'll be a few of us "behind the scenes"

where we belong.

:puke: