Secretary Clinton extends Same Sex Benefits

[iman]

The Advocate is reporting that Hillary Clinton is extending benefits to same sex partners of State Dept officers living abroad. Hillary has always been a voice for progressive policy and has once again proven it.

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid85471.asp

 

[Lostlover]

The Advocate is reporting that Hillary Clinton is extending benefits to same sex partners of State Dept officers living abroad. Hillary has always been a voice for progressive policy and has once again proven it.

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid85471.asp

What is Hillary doing this behind Obama's back? Give credit where it is due. You can thank Hillary AND Obama for starting an end to discriminatory practices against sexual minorities at the government level.

 

[iman]

^I have not noticed Obama showing any concern with promoting black people, at least since the primaries were over. Please explain.

Also, in case you have not noticed, there are two kinds of Obama Derangement Syndrome.

 

[MystikWizard]

^ How many gays are in his cabinet? What became of his campaign commitments on gays in the military? What risks has he taken to gain us even a measure of equality?

There are indeed more than one type of ODS, but my argument isn't deranged, it's a fact: when it comes to gays, he averts his eyes.

I'm sorry, but one cannot honestly advocate for civil rights without including gays in the equation.

With all due respect, you avoided the question that was asked to you.

Here was Iman's question, and I agree with him on this topic:

^I have not noticed Obama showing any concern with promoting black people, at least since the primaries were over. Please explain.

How have you seen him exactly paying attention to Blacks over Gays? I personally am not seeing it.


However, I do agree with Lost Lover in that Hillary certainly is not doing this behind Obama's back and Obama deserves just as much credit for this as Hillary Clinton, as I seriously doubt, since she is part of his administration, that she could do this on her own, without the approval of his administration.


In all honesty, I don't think Hillary Clinton would have been really all that different than Obama on the topic of Gay Rights.

Here was her stance on Gay Marriage on Ellen. How does this sound any different than Obama's stance?

 

[Lostlover]

Oh please, spare me the bullshit. Obama doesn't give a rat's ass about gays. Hillary is and always has been light years ahead of Mr. "Ah, ah, ah" Obama on gay rights. Be gracious enough to give credit where it is due. If he showed HALF the concern for gays that he shows for promoting black people, we'd be in a far better position in this country. And YOU KNOW that is true. If you don't you're not paying attention.

You constantly harp on older follks being less-than gay friendly. Well, my friend, take a look at how black folk feel about us -- including the homophobe the White House. But he 'sho do talk nice when it comes to "equality" -- so long as it's black equality.

I think Obama doesn't give a shit. But I also don't believe he's prejudiced. I don't think this is on his to-do list.

When he was state politican, Obama was for gay marriage. But he's catering to the wrong people by trying to stick to the middle. He's catering to people that didn't and wouldn't vote for him to begin with. People too that are probably would have been disgusted by his parent's interracial marriage. He's too educated and too non-religious (both parents were atheists) not to believe in gay marriage.

I've said it all along. Hillary's bitchiness, her being belligerent are her best and worst attributes. I believe she really believes in gay rights. But don't get me wrong, she's working for Obama. Obama signed off on it even if he isn't willing to put his name on it. Don't give Hillary all the credit is what I said after Iman's original post. El Jefe (Obama) okayed this.

LMAO. Let's say if the over 50's didn't exist. Do you really believe Obama would be neutral to gay marriage? C'mon. Think about it. It's the over 50's that you should be blaming too in addition to Obama catering to them.

My demographic voted. And we were on the right side.

 

[Lostlover]

With all due respect, you avoided the question that was asked to you.

Here was Iman's question, and I agree with him on this topic:




How have you seen him exactly paying attention to Blacks over Gays? I personally am not seeing it.


However, I do agree with Lost Lover in that Hillary certainly is not doing this behind Obama's back and Obama deserves just as much credit for this as Hillary Clinton, as I seriously doubt, since she is part of his administration, that she could do this on her own, without the approval of his administration.


In all honesty, I don't think Hillary Clinton would have been really all that different than Obama on the topic of Gay Rights.

Here was her stance on Gay Marriage on Ellen. How does this sound any different than Obama's stance?

Hillary has definitely being giving mixed signals like here with Ellen and other times she has forcefully and passionately called for gay rights.

But to chalk this up to Hillary, and giving her 100% credit isn't correct.

Both Hillary and Obama (OBama a little too much) cater to a prejudiced demographic. A demographic (over 50's) that ended up voting for a candidate that offered no economic plan for this recession/depression.

 

[MystikWizard]

Hillary has definitely being giving mixed signals like here with Ellen and other times she has forcefully and passionately called for gay rights.

But to chalk this up to Hillary, and giving her 100% credit isn't correct.

Both Hillary and Obama (OBama a little too much) cater to a prejudiced demographic. A demographic (over 50's) that ended up voting for a candidate that offered no economic plan for this recession/depression.

As I said, I couldn't agree more with you. There is no way Hillary could extend benefits to same sex couples with the President's approval. So I think this thread is rather misleading in not giving Obama the same amount of credit as Hillary Clinton.

 

[iman]

It does not seem to me that Obama has really looked to load up the cabinet with any minorities except for women (I guess he identifies with their gender as some posters claim that anyone supporting a women has a testosterone deficiency). The people that Obama has assembled is more akin to a meritocracy, regardless of their minority status.

Bill Clinton remains our first Black President, or more accurately out first (White) Black President. Obama is our first (Black) White President. All of which is a good thing as it destroys some stereotypes.

 

[Lostlover]

I'm sorry. Without equal rights, rights that ELDERLY MEN in the US Senate worked for, Obama's prospects for a career would have been being a porter or a shoe-shine man.

Human rights are not to be traded like pork barrel projects. I highly recommend his post by google.

But Obama's got his rights -- he's set, he's home free, he had affirmative action helping him along the way -- nothing wrong with that. But what about us? Are we not as good as blacks? Are we not good enough to die for our nation? Are we not good enough to marry?

Would you have our rights dealt away so cheaply, for political convenience? Seems so. You're ready -- perhaps even eager -- to wait for generations to die off so you can INHERIT (or so you think) your God damned God-Given rights! That's the easy way out, the slacker's way out (no offense, honest, LL).

Did Rosa Parks wait? Did MLK wait? I'm not willing to wait, not any more. If Obama won't do it, he can kiss my ass -- I'll vote for someone else in 2012.

And I totally agree. For the most part. I like Obama the man but he needs to man up and stop pussyfooting.

He's making tons of mistakes and this is somewhat expected it being his 125th day on the job. From the reversal of releasing torture photos to signing the credit card agreement today without a limit on rates that companies can charge consumers to dragging his feet on gay rights. Obama is making a mistake in the long run. He's not speaking to the younger folks that really want change and see their country going to hell quickly.

I'm not saying wait. Dammit, I want it now like you and I believed Obama and Hillary would have pushed us in the right direction. I am pissed about it like you. At least with Hillary (and I've said this all along), she had the balls to say she wanted equal rights for gays even on the campaign trail. Why she would say what she said above in the Ellen clip is puzzling.

All I was saying is that you can't give Hillary all the credit. And I also don't think Obama is a bigot. I also don't believe he's gays' savior either unfortunately.

Let us not forget that Obama has been voted the most liberal senator. He's the Kucinich of the senate. Couple that with not being really religious and highly educated and I don't think you have a homophobe.

I actually don't want anyone to die out. That would be mean. I just want a group of people that have seen ethnic minorities, women and other minorities successfully fight for rights to say "enough is enough" with the bigotry. If they can't do that (and voting patterns seem to suggest they can't) then well Obama should show them the door. But he isn't. He's catering to them.

 

[MystikWizard]

I don't think people are giving him a fair chance, to be totally frank. You want and expect too much too soon.

Here, the man has been in office for only 4 months, and you expect Gay Marriage and everything related to Gay Rights accomplished in those first four months. I am quite sure that the rest of the country has things that they want to, and have the same unrealistic expectations.

Gay Marriage is plain and simply a States Issue. It is an Issue best left for the individual states to decide what is best for them. When the rest of the country sees one state after another adopting Gay Marriage, which they are .... with New York appearing to be ready to follow suit ... and California which appears to be deciding on Tuesday (which I think could go either way) .... then they can feel the pressure to follow suit.

You guys really need to give this more time and quit expecting the unrealistic.

 

[construct]

Okay, Alfie, here's my handjob for Hillary.

Good for Hillary! She has done a good thing. It is completely in line with her longstanding views of gay rights. I'm glad she's in an administration that is completely in agreement with her views on the matter.

 

[construct]

^ Good post -- as far as it goes. But I need some "Fuck Obama" words to fully make me comfortable with you.

Well taken. Give me a few more months.

 

[construct]

^ I'll be counting the hours. And I've marked it in my e-sked -- I have a remarkable filing system, so don't think you can do a George Bush and weasel your way out of WHAT YOU KNOW TO BE RIGHT!

​

Well you know down here, we're still trying to get rid of Kay Bailey Hutchison. A lot of the gay rights stuff is legislative. This one, fortunately, is executive. So it's a good thing Pres. Obama saw the wisdom of appointing Hillary to her present position.

 

[construct]

I hear she's going to run against Rick "Closet Case" Perry for governor, so no matter who wins, you'll still have a stupid bitch woman as governor.

Yeah, she'd be better than Gov. Goodhair. That's for sure. We'll see what happens in the Democratic Primary. I understand Kinky Friedman (a real Texas Jew-boy) has tossed his hat in the ring. Believe me, any serious challenger would be better than Perry.

In any case, I was pleased that Clinton found a place in the Obama administration, and I'm glad it has redounded to our benefit.

 

[opinterph]

Give credit where it is due. You can thank Hillary AND Obama for starting an end to discriminatory practices against sexual minorities at the government level.

Lostlover, your post prompted me to attempt to discover more information about whom it is that we should really thank for this policy directive. My quest helped to remind me that everything is interconnected. Ultimately, I don’t know how many people we should thank, but I imagine there are many who may never receive the thanks they deserve. I also imagine that some of them are much closer than we may realize.

Unlike her predecessor, Hillary Clinton deserves our thanks for acting upon this issue in response to a variety of requests from within and without the State Department. These requests include a formal letter from Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). During Ms. Clinton’s confirmation hearing, Senator Feingold also asked her “to consider ways to address challenges faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, particularly relating to domestic partner benefits and State Department policies that make it difficult for the partners of foreign service officers to travel and live at overseas posts.” Also counted among the requests are nearly 2,200 government employees involved in foreign policy who signed a letter to the newly appointed Secretary of State:

We, the undersigned and representing the diversity of the foreign affairs agencies, would like to bring to your attention a matter that concerns us all. All of us are troubled that our families are not all treated equally and with the same respect …

An order from your office designating same-sex partners as Eligible Family Members (EFMs) could remedy many of the inequalities that these families face. Other remedies will require coordination between the Executive and Legislative branches.

Madam Secretary, we believe that no colleague of ours is a second-class colleague, and no colleague's family is a second-class family. Given your commitment to protecting the safety and promoting the welfare of all Foreign Service families, we ask for your full consideration of our concerns and we hope that a dialogue aimed at ending this unequal treatment can be started.

Your loyal staff

cc: The Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States

It is prudent to assume that the President is not only aware of this new policy directive, but that he has endorsed it. Though I was not successful in finding a citation to prove such assumption, it is more than reasonable. And so, we should thank President Obama.

As President-Elect, Mr. Obama named at least 7 openly gay individuals to serve on his transition team. One of those he appointed was Michael Guest to the National Security Team, Department of State. Mr. Guest, one of only 2 openly gay US Ambassadors to ever serve at that level in the State Department, had repeatedly petitioned former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her senior management team to change policies that apply to same-sex partners of foreign service officers. In 2007, after 26 years of service to the State Department, he resigned in protest.

This is discrimination, pure and simple, and it doesn't deserve a place in the institution that this Secretary leads. I mean, come on! We do amazing things overseas, convincing governments to do things they really don't want to do. How is it that we can't convince our own leadership, our own government, to do something that's so clearly right? Secretary Rice has access and influence with this President, and now we have a Democratic Congress -- you know that we can do this! Please take this issue up -- not for my sake, it's too late for that, but for the sake of those who remain, and for the integrity of this institution and indeed of this flag.

I think we should join Michael Guest in extending our thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.

Citations available, upon request.​

 

[Scimitar]

As much as Obama deserves credit. One should note that this was done only in the State Department, not across the government. As SOS the state department is Hillary's zone, i'm pretty sure this was her idea, or else other government departments would do the same.

 

[MystikWizard]

As much as Obama deserves credit. One should note that this was done only in the State Department, not across the government. As SOS the state department is Hillary's zone, i'm pretty sure this was her idea, or else other government departments would do the same.

That would probably be a safe assumption .... that it was "Hillary's idea" ... which was in turn, endorsed by Obama. Obviously, Hillary is not going to be able to make a move like this, without the approval of her boss.

However, with that being said, it appears that the President is taking a more laissez-faire approach with this issue, and is (only speculating) waiting for more of his Department Heads to come forward on their own to make the request to the President. This in turn, breads empowerment within his Administration, in which his Department heads can feel a sense of empowerment that they accomplished something like this on their own, without necessarily being "ordered to do it" by their boss. That practice, in turn, usually leads to greater buy-in of the boss' ideology and usually produces greater loyalty.

Empowerment was something I utilized frequently in management, and it certainly accomplished just that.

Obviously, that theory is only speculation, of course. But time will see if this will spread amongst the other Departments. I have a feeling it will.

 

[NickCole]

Hillary took the leadership role in this, Obama the passive role.

Not surprising; if you know their histories and the kind of people they are, it's right in character.

We likely won't see this "spread" throughout the Administration because Obama, as is typical of a passive personality who seeks power (in the gay vernacular, a power bottom), didn't appoint a lot of leaders. He'd never have chosen Hillary or someone with her powerful personality if she hadn't represented what she did from the campaign.

Hillary, within the boundaries possible as SOS, is showing the kind of courage she'd have demonstrated as President. But then, if she'd gone on to clean houses she'd have shown that same kind of courage in doing that. We are who we are, and those with strong personalities make choices consistent with that personality.

Anyway, kudos to our Secretary of State for doing the right thing for gays and lesbians. And thanks to Obama for not standing in her way.

 

[Lostlover]

​

We have to face the facts: the man is a total pussy. He is. And I support his words, but his actions, well, they don't jive with what he says.

Yes, he inherited a shitload of problems. Yes, he's probably doing the right things in some areas. But for God's sake, man, he needs to show some fucking backbone. The nation gave him a fucking mandate for radical change, and what does he do? He goes all Walter Fucking Mondale, he goes all Harry Milquetoast Reid. Obama should have stayed in the Senate and drafted lots of dull legislation that would have never seen the light of day but would have at least made him a productive member of society.

Now, I'm not NickCole, I'm not "this side" of yelling at clouds, but for Christ's fucking sake, Obama needs an FDR injection! Put another way, I'm losing confidence in his willingness, his capacity, his instinct to fight, to seize the moment. He's a pussy.

You have no idea, Sir, how sad it makes me feel to say this, but in my heart, that's how I feel. I would dearly love to be proved wrong, and perhaps I will be proved wrong, but my gut says, "We're Fucked, It's Jimmy Carter Redux."

The greatest lesson for me? NEVER elect a Senator as President. Never. They love the sound of their own voice and they have a back-scratching fetish that just won't quit.

I'm starting to see the part of Obama that loves seeing and hearing himself.

I however tell myself to give him a year to act on gay equality. Rachel Maddow is now calling him "Bush" thankfully.

In defense of Obama, just think about what kind of hoops he's going to have to jump through when naming a SCOTUS justice.

Pundits have talked about him naming a women to the SCOTUS
Pundits have talked about him naming a hispanic to the SCOTUS
Pundits have talked about him naming a gay/lesbian to the SCOTUS
Obama now has to get someone who is pro-choice
And someone according to his own criterion that has been elected to office and has "empathy"

Janet Napolitano, a female/former governor/lesbian/US attorney appointed by Pres Clinton, fits most of the attributes pundits say Obama is looking for... but he can't piss of the latinos who voted for Obama overwhelmingly. And Obama knows too, the real dagger to the Republican party is getting the latinos on board just like the African Americans who for about twenty years have voted around 90% for the Democrat.

Can he please everyone with whoever he nominates to the SCOTUS when so many people want representation?

I'm going to show a little patience with him because he does have a lot of shit to do. I mean, Bush nominated Chief Justice Roberts based a lot on his religious affiliation(according to Scott McClelland). Oh, how far we've come in just a few months.

 

[Apollo]

Oh please, spare me the bullshit. Obama doesn't give a rat's ass about gays. Hillary is and always has been light years ahead of Mr. "Ah, ah, ah" Obama on gay rights. Be gracious enough to give credit where it is due. If he showed HALF the concern for gays that he shows for promoting black people, we'd be in a far better position in this country. And YOU KNOW that is true. If you don't you're not paying attention.

You constantly harp on older follks being less-than gay friendly. Well, my friend, take a look at how black folk feel about us -- including the homophobe the White House. But he 'sho do talk nice when it comes to "equality" -- so long as it's black equality.

So when something goes wrong in any department in the government, it's Obama's fault.

But when something goes right, Obama has nothing to do with it. While I doubt Obama has nothing to do with this, he also has little to do with the other shit as well.