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Copyright Family Policy Network, 2002. All rights reserved.
LOL, I assume you believe this?
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| Michael Guest, left, President Bush's new ambassador to Romania, appears with Romanian President Ion Iliescu. Bush is getting heat from various religious right groups for appointing openly gay officials like Guest. (courtesy U.S. Embassy/Romania) |
by Lou Chibbaro Jr.
The Romanian government issued a statement Oct. 1 praising President Bush’s openly gay U.S. ambassador to Romania after conservative political groups in the U.S. and Romania criticized the president’s decision to appoint a gay person to the diplomatic post.
The anti-gay Family Research Council and three other U.S. religious right groups joined the Romanian Cradle Union and the League for Combating Anti-Romanian Manifestations, both based in Bucharest, in denouncing Bush’s appointment of gay foreign service officer Michael Guest to the ambassadorial post in Bucharest.
"The Romanian authorities greeted Mr. Guest’s presence in Romania as the representative of the greatest democracy in the world," said a statement released Monday, Oct. 1, by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The statement praises Guest for "his excellent and well-known professional capability as an expert in NATO issues, his outstanding knowledge of Central and Eastern Europe, and, last but not least, his friendly attitude towards Romania and its people."
Guest assumed his duties as ambassador Sept. 18 when Secretary of State Colin Powell administered the oath of office at a State Department swearing-in ceremony. Powell recognized Guest’s parents and domestic partner of six years, school teacher Alex Navarez, as they stood beside Guest during the ceremony. Powell also noted during the ceremony that Navarez would be joining Guest in Bucharest. A State Department official said Guest departed by plane for Romania on Sept. 25.
Bush nominated Guest for the ambassadorial post in June, and the Senate approved the nomination by unanimous voice vote in August.
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| Is President Bush too pro-gay? Some far-right groups say so. (by Clint Steib) |
In a statement released Sept. 27, Family Research Council President Ken Connor called Bush’s appointment of Guest another in a series of actions by the president that demonstrate he is embracing a "homosexual political agenda" and is "imparting legitimacy to the homosexual political cause."
Connor noted that the Guest appointment follows Bush’s appointment of gay Republican activist Scott Evertz as director of the White House National AIDS Policy Office and follows Bush’s appointment of gay real estate developer Donald Cappoccia to the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts. Connor also pointed to Bush’s decision to allow openly gay U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) to speak at the Republican National Convention in July 2000 and Bush’s appointment earlier this year of former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci, whom Connor called a "militant advocate of homosexual rights," to the post of U.S. ambassador to Canada.
In addition, Connor credited the Bush administration with giving tacit approval to a decision by the House of Representatives on Sept. 25 to allow D.C. to implement its domestic partners law.
"The cumulative effect of these presidential actions, like a sports superstar endorsing a breakfast cereal, have enormous influence," Connor wrote in his statement. "We urge President Bush to reconsider his embrace of this destructive, anti-family political strategy, and reject the advice of those advisers who would undermine marriage and family for the sake of illusory political benefits."
FRC spokesperson Heather Cirmo said Connor’s statement was sent by fax and e-mail to 600,000 FRC members and supporters.
Officials with the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Policy Network, and the Concerned Women for America’s Cultural and Family Institute issued separate statements criticizing Bush for the Guest appointment.
The White House did not return calls seeking comment on the criticism by the religious right groups.
Kevin Ivers, a spokesperson for the national gay group Log Cabin Republicans, said the groups’ harsh criticism of the president over the Guest appointment would further isolate them from the White House and the "mainstream" Republican Party.
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| Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council, said President Bush is "imparting legitimacy to the homosexual cause." (Family Research Council photo) |
Charles Francis, a friend and longtime supporter of President Bush and the founder of the Republican Unity Coalition, which bills itself as a "gay-straight alliance" of GOP activists, said Bush chose Guest as ambassador to Romania because he was the most qualified person for the job.
"The president has told us that a person’s sexual orientation is a non-issue when it comes to appointments," Francis said.
The statement from the Romanian Foreign Ministry says the Romanian government was surprised and disappointed when it learned that the two Romanian groups -- the Romanian Cradle Union and the League for Combating Anti-Romanian Manifestations -- sent a letter to Bush and the U.S. Congress criticizing Guest as the U.S. ambassador.
"Displays of intolerance, with direct manifestations of interference in the private life of any human being, irrespective of race, sex, ethnicity, [and] social status, are not at all characteristics of the Romanian people," the statement says. It says the criticism of Guest by the two groups comes "in total contradiction with Romania’s aspirations to consolidate the state of law, to promote the values of democracy and to respect human rights and individual freedom."
Guest’s arrival in Romania also comes at a time when the Eastern European nation is grappling with a requirement by the European Union that it repeal its existing anti-gay laws as a condition for admittance into the EU.
Human rights groups have said Romania has one of the worst records on the treatment of gay people in the European Continent. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Romanian Senate voted in late September to repeal Article 200, a statute that made homosexual acts a crime. The Chronicle said the Romanian president was expected to approve the repeal in the next few weeks.
Joe Glover, president of the Family Policy Network of Forest, Va., said Guest’s appointment promotes "global homosexual activism." Glover said he was especially concerned that the Bush administration kept Guest’s sexual orientation a "secret" until after his confirmation by the Senate.
"It’s very disconcerting to see a president who calls himself a Christian hiding grossly immoral conduct of a nominee, so Senate members aren’t able to ‘advise and consent’ with full knowledge," he said.
Ivers of Log Cabin Republicans said Guest’s sexual orientation was known at the State Department, where he held various foreign service positions for the past 20 years. A Senate source said a full disclosure of Guest’s background, including his affiliation with a gay employees group at the State Department, most likely was provided to members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which voted to approve Guest’s nomination.
"We’re disappointed the president would appoint anyone who is known to be gay," Traditional Values Coalition spokesperson Steve Aiken told the San Francisco Chronicle. "The only saving grace in this appointment is that he doesn’t wear his homosexuality on his sleeve."
| INFO |
| Embassy of Romania 1607 23rd St., NW Washington, D.C. 20008 202-232-3694 www.roembus.org Family Research Council U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania |
Aiken was comparing Guest’s appointment to President Clinton’s appointment of San Francisco philanthropist and gay civil rights advocate James Hormel as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. Hormel, a longtime Democratic Party contributor, was selected for his post through a longstanding tradition through which U.S. presidents reward supporters by appointing them as ambassadors. Clinton administration officials noted that Hormel, an attorney and former law school dean, was highly qualified for the position.
Guest, a career foreign service officer who has not been involved in politics and is not a gay activist, was picked by Bush for his expertise in Eastern European affairs, according to a White House statement in June that announced his appointment.
Francis, noting that the president is devoting most of his time developing the nation’s response to terrorist attacks, said social conservative groups such as the Family Research Council should have "more important things to do" than to attack Bush over his appointment of Guest.
"I just can’t imagine taking up the president’s valuable time to respond to such small, petty attacks at this moment, when we need national unity," Francis said. "In times like this, you judge people by their character or courage, not by their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. To nit pick on someone’s sexual orientation is just plain wrong."
E-mail The Washington Blade Copyright © 2001 The Washington Blade Inc. |
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This article appeared in the issue of:
October 5, 2001
Add to this his choice for GOP party leader is pro gay.
I shouldn't. After all, he's a follower of Christ. Christ is G-d's son and G-d. G-d took some time off his busy schedule do burn Sodom and her sister city with almost everyone inside.
Yes, and then he sent his only son to redeem or son, and if you didn't notice, stopped destroying people for sins(other than denying Him).
As a matter of fact, it is. To the extent that it was NOT in the news at the time it happened. Unlike Hormel's case.
Or should news be only what W and his staff are telling you it is?
It makes those that opposed Hormel's appointment look hypocritical, as this one sailed through whether it was known about, widely, or not.
The left will say, when our Appointee, Hormel, was up for review, there were legions on the Republican side that opposed it. When their guy, with the same proclivities, is up for a job, they run it right through.
Now if the distinction is qualifications, service, and past conduct and record, that distiction can't be shown and the Republicans can't look but hypocritical, if the candidate isn't vetted in a manner where the distinctions can be shown.
Simply being able to say, Repubs aren't homophobes -- see who we installed -- doesn't make the distiction necessary to show why Hormel was opposed.
From Religious Freedom Coalition
MIXED WHITE HOUSE SIGNALS
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Can a president be all things to all people? President Bush's advisors seem to think so. Great news came out of the White House the week of January the 28th. Secretary Tommy Thompson of Health and Human Resources (HHS) announced that he would seek to change policy to allow State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover unborn children. This would for the first time since Roe vs. Wade give a fetus the standing of a human being under law.
Abortion activist Kate Michelman of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League immediately attacked the change saying it is a "...commitment to the strategy to undermine a woman's right to choose by ascribing legal rights to embryos." In other words, to the pro-abortion fanatics their own agenda is much more important than giving poor women the chance to get pre natal care.
We salute the President and his team for moving toward recognizing an unborn child as a human being.
However ... the same day HHS made the above announcement, the White House agreed to change President Bush's "Faith Based Initiative" in all states to force religious groups to hire homosexuals and lesbians. In other words "Charitable Choice" is dead. Under the real Charitable Choice, religious groups could bid for government contracts such as drug rehabilitation programs. Under the provisions the White House now approves of, a Christian boys' home would be forced to hire openly homosexual men and provide benefits for their "domestic partners" in order to obtain federal funds.
The provisions now approved of by the White House will mean that few if any truly Christian organizations will opt for the federal money. Instead, the funds will go to even more secularized programs that don't work.
Was this really a "mixed message" from the White house or was it a dual event planned to woo both social conservative Christians and homosexuals at the same time? Indeed, I have learned the dual announcements were planned for the same day to "prove" the President understood the base concerns of both social conservatives and homosexuals. We got the message."(End quote)
I remember Bush stopping at a Christian “mission” during his campaign, talking about how unfair it was that faith-based charities were excluded from federal funding, since there were so many strings attached which they found violated their religious principles.
This “faith-based initiative” was also specifically endorsed by the American Muslim Council. It may still benefit Muslim organizations (I refuse to call them a religion), who, while they oppose abortion (for Muslims), apparently don’t consider homosexuality an issue, but it is most definitely a problem for many Christian organizations, particularly those who serve youth, and whom Bush promised to help.
Now, as the Church Lady would say, "isn't That spacial?"
I don't recall hearing that Romania is a hotbed of gay activism.
Ya think maybe he just might be a good, qualified man for the job and that's why GWB chose him? Maybe? Anyone?
The House approved President Bush’ Faith-Based Initiative (HR 7) last Thursday after fighting off an effort by Democrats and liberal Republicans to force religious groups to hire homosexuals in order to receive money under the bill.As for Guest, the question is..."Is he qualified"...not "Is he homosexual".The legislation passed 233 to 198, with four Republicans opposing it and 15 Democrats voting yes. (See Human Events rollcall next week.)...Currently, religious groups are exempt from a federal law that bars employers from using religion or religious beliefs as a factor in hiring.
Michael Guest took up his duties as the new U.S. Ambassador to Romania on September 24, 2001. A 20-year career veteran of the U.S. diplomatic service, Mr. Guest has specialized in European affairs. His expertise is concentrated on security policy, including NATO, and on strengthening civic society and the rule of law.Hmmm...looks pretty impressive to me. He has held many positions similar to what he is doing now...why is his homosexuality all of a sudden such a big deal now?Mr. Guest joined the Foreign Service in 1981 and was posted to the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong shortly thereafter. From 1983 to 1985, he worked on political-military issues in the Office of European Security and Political Affairs, serving for part of that period as a member of the U.S. delegation to arms control negotiations with the then-Soviet Union. He was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow as a Political Officer in 1987, returning to Washington in 1989 to take up new duties as Deputy Director for Political Affairs in the Office of European Security and Political Affairs. In that capacity he exercised responsibility for political discussions at NATO; organized U.S. participation in the then-Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE); and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the "Two-plus-Four" talks which eventually gave rise to Germany’s reunification. In 1991, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France as Deputy Political Counselor. He later served (1996-99) as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Prague in the Czech Republic, working with the host government on many of the same issues that are current in Romania.
Before coming to Bucharest, Mr. Guest served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Department of State from January through May 2001. In that capacity, he was responsible for managing, on a day-to-day basis, the Department of State’s dialogue with Congress on foreign policy issues. He served previously in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary since May 1999. Mr. Guest also has served as Assistant Press Secretary at the White House (1985-86) and, from 1994-96, as Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department.
Mr. Guest holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia) and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Political Science from Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina). Before joining the Foreign Service, he also pursued postgraduate studies in international economics at the University of Toulouse in Toulouse, France.
He is 44 years old.
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