hillary’s advocate
The Advocate’s cover story by Kerry Eleveld on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is riddled with inaccuracies, hype and spin. Eleveld’s piece and The Advocate’s continuous partisan political coverage contributes to the erroneous and dangerous assumption that all Democrats are good and all Republicans are bad on LGBT issues. Eleveld failed to quote one single dissenting opinion from the spin Clinton staffers spun her. While there is no question that Clinton has built on the changes made by Secretary Condi Rice for LGBT staffers at State (and should be applauded for that progress), the premise that the Bush State Department team was hostile and the Clinton team has done all it can do is flat wrong. A more nuanced and balanced piece would have given it greater credibility.
Here are a few of the facts you didn’t get from Eleveld. I feel compelled to correct the record:
- Clinton has the same stance on gay marriage as Rice and Dick Cheney. Eleveld’s excuse-making for Clinton’s stance by saying “she wasn’t taking any political bait” or was trying not to cross her boss is ironic given that Bush Administration officials were not allowed the same courtesy or treatment for their differing views.
- Changes to passport regulations for transgendered people were designed and begun under Bush and Rice. DAS Brenda Sprague says it but Eleveld gives Clinton the credit. Eleveld’s use of the word “apparently” to refer to this fact is offensive to those of us who worked at State under Bush and made progress on LGBT issues. Give credit where credit is due.
- Mark Bromley is a Democrat who worked for liberal Senator Russ Feingold. His characterization of his conversation with an unnamed Bush Administration official three years ago is presented without evidence because it isn’t true. Eleveld failed to check the facts on his assertions.
- Pat Kennedy is a friend of mine whom I have worked closely with for several years. While I fought to make changes at State during the Bush years to extend certain rights and privileges for my partner, Kennedy was part of the team that stonewalled and ultimately denied my repeated demands and ignored my follow–up requests. It’s also important to note that neither Bromley nor any other LGBT activist helped my cause at the time.
- Eleveld’s characterization of Clinton’s weak Ugandan response is laughable and defies logic. Clinton’s State Department handled the Ugandan situation as Rice’s State Department handled most every LGBT issue that arose in Africa – through quiet diplomacy as not to offend another government. To subscribe pure motives to Clinton’s hushed strategy but not to Rice’s is fantasy and beguiles decades of State Department practices. Cheryl Mills may think back-channeling is something new but I can assure you it is not.
- Highlighting the fact that Clinton knew a staffer’s name carrying her bags for a week hardly seems remarkable or note worthy. The story was gratuitous.
- Claiming that the highest ranking openly gay official under Clinton is a deputy assistant secretary level employee is embarrassing given the premise of the article and the excuse making Eleveld does for Clinton’s failed promise to appoint one person to her senior team to cover LGBT issues. Rice’s State Department had higher ranking openly gay officials than this State Department has. They were just never highlighted by The Advocate.
Over the last months, conservatives have complained to The Advocate for its inaccurate and glowing coverage of Obama Administration official Susan Rice, its lack of coverage of John Bolton’s support for DADT and gay marriage, and it’s whitewashing of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid’s failed 2 years of dominance. The Advocate has never responded to the questions raised.
This past week, singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins three times reached out to The Advocate to highlight the gay conservative group GOProud’s event in Washington, DC where Hawkins performed. All phone calls and emails from Hawkins and her team were systematically and completely ignored. This disregard for conservative activism by Advocate staffers has sadly been the norm and only further distorts the political problems LGBT people face. It’s time The Advocate stop painting Democrats with a perfect brush and start highlighting the efforts of gay conservatives working to limit government’s involvement in LGBT people’s lives. Haven’t the last 2 years of total Democratic domination in Washington proven that the recycled stories and tired headlines of how wonderful Democrats have been on LGBT issues are wrong?
Richard A. Grenell has nearly two decades of experience in all aspects of communications and public affairs. Grenell has served as the primary communications advisor for public officials at the local, state, federal and international levels, as well as for publicly traded Fortune 500 ranked companies.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
If you asked a black person 60yrs or older if a black man would become President of the United States of America in their lifetime, all of them would have said no. In 2011 if you ask a liberal the probability of an LBGT conservative republican becoming President the answer would be zero odds. I Don’t Want my News Spun by LBGT mags., “Partial” Corporate Media, or those that Own the News. Tell the Truth even if it goes against your publication/network spin. I don’t see individual States or my countrymen/women as enemies and I want you to stop dividing us for your gain. If you’re not going to publish or speak the truth then our Best Hope for Survival is to quit wasting our time buying or viewing in to what you’re putting out. We need to hit the streets and Openly Listen to those with differing view from our own to see where we Can Connect. We need to reach out through social networks without a closed mind and have a “dialog” in 140 characters, you can use it to get angry if that’s your view but you don’t have to use it to hate…..Choose Connect. The Advocate dissed Sophie B Hawkins because she was at an event that they didn’t think she “belonged”. The Advocate had no interest in walking toward the bridge she was building and they didn’t Perceive their readers as having any interest in Unity. The USA has more than one large hole causing it to sink from it’s economical and global political foundation and we’re going to need every American’s help to Shore it Up. If you’re dividing us, you’re sinking us and my Country and I are way too busy for You.