News – Politics – 2/4/2009 (5 stories)
Justice [Department] rehires attorney fired amid gay rumor, NPR, Ari Shapiro.
Obama moves to fill last Cabinet posts as gays appointed to lower ranks, Pink News, Tony Grew. Even though the Cabinet doesn’t include any openly gay people, I’m still impressed by the sheer number Obama has appointed to other posts. The article has a complete list.
Gay Republicans welcome election of first black party chairman [Michael Steele], Pink News. And he apparently sees the need to reach out to the GLBT community.
New GOP head wants to ‘reach out’ to gays; Right in an uproar, Edge Boston, Kilian Melloy. Naturally.
Bipartison call for Hillary Clinton to grant full benefits to gay staff, Pink News.
Excerpts from the above headlines follow:
Justice [Department] rehires attorney fired amid gay rumor
On Monday, the Justice Department undid a small part of the damage that top officials caused in a scandal of politicized hiring and firing during the Bush administration. The department rehired an attorney who was improperly removed from her job because she was rumored to be a lesbian.
NPR first broke the story of Leslie Hagen’s dismissal last April, and the Justice Department’s inspector general later corroborated the report. Now, Hagen has returned to her post at the department’s Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.
Obama moves to fill last Cabinet posts as gays appointed to lower ranks
The appointments of more openly gay people to posts in the Obama administration have been announced.
LGBT rights activists were disappointed that no out people were appointed to the new President’s Cabinet.
Gay Republicans welcome election of first black party chairman
A group representing lesbian and gay Republicans has said that the election of Michael Steele as chairman of the party’s national committee will mark a change of direction after two successive election defeats.
Log Cabin Republicans said that Mr Steele had acknowleged in a media interview during his campaign the importance of reaching out to Log Cabin and other mainstream GOP groups “as the party looks to chart a future course.”
New GOP head wants to ‘reach out’ to gays; Right in an uproar
The “big tent” of the GOP may be smaller than advertised–and that could hinder the party’s efforts to regain its former national pre-eminence.
The new Republican National Committee chairman, Michael Steele, has said that he would like to make the party more inclusive for Republican voters and candidates with more moderate views, including those who favor GLBT equality and abortion.
…
But the response from the right wing indicates that the GOP rank and file may not be ready for an ideological broadening that includes those who believe gays and lesbians ought to share in the full rights of citizenship.
Bipartison call for Hillary Clinton to grant full benefits to gay staff
Democratic and Republican members of the US Congress have called on the newly-appointed Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to take action to ensure that gay and lesbian State Department employees get full partner benefits.
