Chris Crain's Indy Gay Blog: Bill Clinton's Rick Warren

[zulchzulu]

As it turns out, the only people who protested Billy Graham doing the Invocation in 1993 and 1997 for Bill Clinton were people like Randall Terry and Operation Rescue. There's some info on their action:

A group of antiabortion activists has called on Billy Graham not to participate in the inauguration of Bill Clinton as president. Leaders of the group, many of them associated with Operation Rescue and the Christian Action Council--an organization that Graham helped form in 1975--said they would flood the evangelist's Minneapolis headquarters with letters and phone calls demanding that he refuse to pray for Clinton. They also planned a prayer vigil in front of Graham's headquarters.

http://teabagsinfusion.blogspot.com/2008/12/rick-warren-invocation-imbroglio.html

I know some in the GLBT community think Chris Crain is not a legitimate spokesperson for the gay movement, but he brings up this issue:

It's worth remembering, as you consider the competing viewpoints over Warren-gate, that there was no outcry surrounding Bill Clinton selection of evangelist Billy Graham to give the prayer at his 1993 inauguration, and again four years later. Graham's views are far more conservative and damning than Warren's, whether on sexual morality, homosexuality and (most disturbingly) AIDS and other STDs.

In 1997, Clinton presented Graham with the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors. There's a certain irony, of course, to Clinton's choice given his own record of sexual morality and marital fidelity, and his presidency's record on gay issues isn't one we hope Barack Obama replicates.

But the broader point is the insidious way that ideological intolerance (liberal and conservative) has grown over the years, and the divisive effect it has, eschewing debate in favor of exclusionary demands. As we saw throughout the Republican and Democratic primaries, it's not enough that candidates agree with these ideologues, they must never associate themselves with anyone who fails the litmus test.

http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2008/12/bill-clintons-rick-warren.html

Crain's article shows how Graham was a ruthless anti-gay homophobe over the years. Yes, Warren is on record saying some stupid comments as well on gay rights, etc., yet it has also been illustrated that there are many in the far-right evangelical factions that don't want Warren to be associated with Obama, due to Obama's support for gay rights (civil unions/domestic partnerships) and reproductive freedom of choice.

As I have stated, I'll turn my back when I'm in the Inauguration crowd in DC when Warren speaks and perhaps will wave a rainbow flag with others.

That said, where was the outrage when Clinton chose Graham? Also note that this isn't a STFU thread, just additional info on the Warren controversy.