LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Capital Letters |
by Hastings Wyman |
Christian Conservatives Have Problems
The Christian Coalition, for years the centerpiece of the religious right and a major force in stopping President Clinton's effort to allow gays to serve openly in the military, has been in a state of decline since 1997, when Ralph Reed, its personable and photogenic executive director, left the group. Other operatives soon followed Reed's example, leaving the group in the hands of leaders with little national experience. The current executive director, Roberta Combs, previously headed the group's organization in South Carolina. She wielded considerable influence in Republican politics there. Indeed, her behind-the-scenes efforts helped propel her first cousin into CongressU.S. Rep. Henry Brown (R). But since her departure, the Christian Coalition in South Carolina has become all but defunct, as it has in many other states. Combs, who had not previously run a national operation, took her daughter and son-in-law with her to Washington to help staff the office. She is overseeing an operation thatin the words of long-time South Carolina political columnist Lee Bandy"has become a pale imitation of its once-powerful self... Politically and organizationally, time has passed the coalition by." The group has serious financial problems and a pending lawsuit by black employees claiming Combs forced them to use the back door and separate dining facilities. (Combs denies the charge, claiming the Christian Coalition views "any act of discrimination morally reprehensible." Does that include gay people, Roberta?) The Christian Coalition is not the only religious right group experiencing a decline. The Family Research Council, which spawned anti-gay presidential candidate Gary Bauer, has substantially reduced its Washington operation. Two of its most vociferous homophobic staffers, Peter LaBarbera and Robert Knight, have left, complaining that the group is effectively abandoning its anti-gay rights position. Bush White House Gay-Friendly Stance While the White House rewarded the Christian conservatives by reinstituting a ban on birth-control advice in foreign aid programs, it has not reversed any of Clinton's pro-gay policies. Recently, with little fanfare, the Bush Administration issued guidelines to the State Department that instructed them not to use sexual orientation to deny security clearances. In a press release, The Human Rights Campaign said this "may be a sign that the administration will not roll back policies that ban discrimination against lesbian and gay Americans in the federal workplace." Indeed, most observers seem confident that President Bush will not reverse the Clinton order. Similarly, the Bush Administration made history when it appointed openly gay Scott Evertz to head the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, the first gay person to hold that position. Evertz, a former president of Wisconsin's Log Cabin Republicans, was one of the "Austin 12," a group of gay GOPers who met with George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign. Evertz also worked with Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompsonnow Secretary of Health and Human Serviceswhen Thompson chaired the GOP platform committee in an unsuccessful attempt to remove anti-gay language from the party's 2000 platform. Another Bush Administration appointment is also significant to gay people. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld named Stephen Herbits as a consultant to help screen potential appointees to civilian jobs in the Pentagon. Herbits is a founder of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and a former senior counselor to Window Communications, a defunct gay public relations firm once headed by William Waybourn, owner of a chain of gay newspapers. Herbits, who worked previously for Vice President Dick Cheney when he was defense secretary, will help Rumsfeld fill such key jobs as special assistant to the secretary. Politically prominent social conservatives have attacked all of these actions. The conservative Washington Times quoted Knight that an administration "pledged to uphold the moral order has no business advancing the homosexual agenda through appointments." The Traditional Values Coalition's Lou Sheldon told the Times that the Herbits appointment was a "slap in the face to our servicemen and to Congress." And Beverly LaHaye, with Concerned Women for America, called the Herbits appointment "shocking." But such criticisms have had almost no noticeable impact on the White House or in the media. Why have the Bush Administration's pro-gay actions been accomplished with so little sturm-und-drang? First, as a Republicaneven conservativepresident, Bush can get away with initiatives that a Democrat could not, much as how anti-Communist Nixon could go to China, or liberal Clinton could sign welfare reform legislation. Second, the ineffective right-wing response to the Evertz and Herbits appointments and the State Department guidelines might also be a reflection of the reduced political muscle of the homophobic right. In any case, President Bush hasso farlived up to his pledge to include gay people in his administration and to treat our concerns with respect. He has notand isn't likely topromote such gay-friendly policies as employment rights and hate crimes laws. Nor is he likely to give the gay cause the public support that President Clinton did. But Bush has already ended the unofficial GOP policy of pretending that gay people don't exist, and in the process has further isolated the homophobic right. Hastings Wyman publishes Southern Political Report, a nonpartisan biweekly political newsletter. He may be reached in care of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth or at HWymanSPR@aol.com. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 11, No. 4, May 4, 2001. |