Posted on 09/17/2003 5:39:59 AM PDT by kattracks
General Wesley Clark, who plans to announce his presidential ambitions on Wednesday, is getting a stamp of approval from a homosexual advocacy group.
September 16, 2003 - 05:41pm [National]
MEDIA RELEASEMEDIA CONTACT:
Sheri A. Lunn - Director of Communications media@ngltf.org; 323-857-8751http://www.ngltf.org
General Clark is 'another pro-gay moderate,' Task Force says
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force deemed General Wesley Clark "another pro-gay moderate joining the most pro-gay field of presidential candidates in history." Former NATO Supreme Commander Clark, who led NATO forces in the war in Kosovo, is expected to announce his candidacy tomorrow, September 17, in his home town of Little Rock, AR.
Although Clark has never held elected office, his views on a few key issues are known. Clark opposed the invasion of Iraq, urging that other options be exhausted before a resort to combat. He is pro-choice. And on gay issues, Clark has addressed a number of concerns in interviews over the past few months.
Clark supports a review of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, adopted a decade ago, as well as state and local control over how to recognize same-sex partnerships. He has also expressed support for the recent Lawrence v. Texas ruling decriminalizing private, consensual homosexuality, and faulted President Bush's recent characterization of gay people as "sinners."
"Wesley Clark has been an inspiring, effective leader and a voice of reason on the national scene for quite some time," said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman. "Like most Americans, he supports basic fairness for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. We welcome his entry into this already crowded and pro-gay field of Democratic candidates, and look forward to his contribution to the debate on the critical issues facing our nation and our world."
On the military ban, which prevents lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers from serving openly and has led to widespread violence and harassment against gay servicemembers, Clark made the following statements. His later statements appear to backtrack a bit from his definitive statement against the ban on Meet the Press:
Told NBC Meet the Press host Tim Russert that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy "absolutely" should be changed. "I don't think it works. Essentially, we've got a lot of gay people in the armed forces, we always have had, always will. And I think that... we should welcome people that want to serve." Clark added that the policy "is an issue that the leaders in the armed forces are going to have to work with and resolve."
- Meet the Press, June 16, 2003
Paul Begala: "Should gays be able to serve openly in the military?"
Gen. Clark: "I think the military and the chain of command have to decide that."
-CNN's Crossfire, June 25, 2003
Corey Johnson: "Eight of the nine declared candidates on the Democratic side have all called for an end to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Do you agree that we should end this heinous policy?"
Gen. Clark: "Well, I think that we need to make sure that we treat all our service men and women fairly. I think we need to provide opportunities for all Americans to serve their country in one way or another. I think that when you get right down to the Armed Forces, this is a policy which needs to be reviewed but it needs to be reviewed by the men and women in uniform and I would call on them to do the review."
- Sirius OutQ, Sirius Satellite Radio, August 28, 2003
(Note: As Southern Political Report columnist Hastings Wyman points out, while the Pentagon and White House can influence military policy, ultimately it is Congress that would have to pass a law to change "Don't Ask, Don't Tell.")
Clark expressed opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would ban government recognition of same-sex marriage and undercut efforts to provide more limited partner recognition through domestic partnership and civil unions.
Corey Johnson: "What's your position on [the Federal Marriage Amendment] and do you support marriage regardless of gender?"
Gen. Clark: "...I think that this is a matter that really has to emerge from the people themselves, from states and localities as best as possible... Right after the Supreme Court ruling [Lawrence v. Texas] what we got was a hand grenade thrown out in terms of discussions of this ban on marriage..." (Clark was responding to Johnson's question whether or not the Bush Administration was using the same-sex marriage issue as a diversion to shift the focus away from economic and foreign policy failures.)
- Sirius OutQ, Sirius Satellite Radio, August 28, 2003
Newsweek editor Howard Fineman, in a Newsweek article, said Clark supports "gay civil unions," which is one way of reading his statement on Sirius radio. Clark also expressed support for the June 2003 Lawrence v. Texas ruling in his interview with Johnson. In addition, Clark distanced himself from President Bush's July characterization of gays as "sinners," stating, "I don't believe gays to be inherently sinful."
For more on the other nine Democratic presidential candidates, see "The Democratic Presidential Candidates on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues" report, released in May 2003. For information on President Bush's record on gay issues, see the "President George W. Bush on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues" report, released in July 2003. Both reports are available in the library and publications section of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Web site [http://www.ngltf.org/library]. You will need a pdf viewer in order to download the reports - a link to download the FREE pdf viewer is available in the Task Force online library.
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...Just Like I did in Ft. Hood , Tx"
Wesley KLArk for President
The General only Liberals and his Mum could love (C)
[Gen. Clark salutes KLA terrorists in Kosovo. KLA is an Al Qaeda ally]
SALUTE TERRORISTS !!!
WESLEY CLARK FOR PRESIDENT
A general only Liberals and his Mom Could Love!(c)
Maybe they just think
he's cute... Freeperettes, is he?
(I can't tell with guys...)
"Wesley Clark and his wife live in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was raised. They have one son who lives in New York."
Clark looks a lot like
Frank Burns from Mash. Not good looks
for a "tough" soldier...
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