List of Gay Members of the Obama Administration to-date

[FrenchieCat]

However, there are Gay folks who are members of the Obama administration:


As of now, the following LGBT leaders have secured spots in the Obama administration:

Anthony Bernal - Scheduler, Office of Dr. Jill Biden
Jeremy Bernard - White House Liaison, National Endowment for the Humanities
John Berry - Director-Designate, Office of Personnel Management
Brian Bond - Deputy Director, White House Office of Public Liaison
Ebs Burnough - Deputy Social Secretary, Office of the First Lady
Michael Camunez - Domestic Policy Cluster Head, Presidential Personnel
Brook Colangelo - Chief Information Officer, White House Office of Administration
Jeffrey S. Crowley, MPH, Director of Office of National AIDS Policy
Fred Davie - Policy Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Fred Hochberg - Chairman-Designate, U.S. Export-Import Bank
Shin Inouye - Director, Specialty Media
Brad Kiley - Director, White House Office of Management and Administration
Kei Koizumi - Assistant Director for Federal Research and Development, Office of Science and Technology Policy
Karine Jean-Pierre - White House Liaison, U.S. Department of Labor
David Medina - Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the First Lady
Alison Nathan - Assoc. Counsel, Office of White House Counsel
Dave Noble - White House Liaison, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mark Perriello - Director of Priority Placement, Presidential Personnel
Nancy Sutley – Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Moe Vela - Director of Operations, Office of the Vice President
http://www.glli.org/presidential

[dkf]

1. I wonder if all appointees are asked this question nowadays?

Is that part of the vetting process?

[leftstreet]

2. I was just going to ask that

:shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

4. I believe that many of the names listed

were recruited via the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute.

[Boomerang Diddle]

45. Yes, I agree.

eom

[mwei924]

5. Geez, I hope not.

I'm guessing they only want to make sure that your personal/love life didn't cross the line legally (sex with minors, hookers, etc) but I hope they wouldn't care about people you date.

[Boomerang Diddle]

46. No. n/t

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Starry Messenger]

8. How very Obama-like of you.

:sarcasm:

edit: bad tag

[Deja Q]

15. I agree, re: the "poutrage".

Nice term to be coined... :)

And while you'll get flak, it's also true President Obama has already come out against people who do poutrage games (at his first address to the nation, saying he's already tolerated a lot of (BS from the Republicans and their own poutrage)).

[dsc]

6. Honest question

Hillary won instead of Obama and appoints a cabinet with no blacks. Would you accept a list of 50 blacks appointed by her to lower positions?

[damonm]

7. Yes.

[dsc]

9. I just plain don't believe that

sorry but no way, no how, would a cabinet that completely left out blacks be OK even from a Republican let alone a Democrat.

[vaberella]

17. Actually it would have been.

For you to say that then you don't know how Blacks relate to politics. You would have a very small faction of people up and arm of course but overall it would have been a, "why would you expect any different?" A woman on this board once asked , if her statement about Obama and Blacks was racist...and she said "If Obama was to lose Black people would riot." I said she wasn't but she was totally out of touch with Black people. When it comes to politics and power...we spent several decades without having any representation in government until the late 60s or so. Then it would be maybe 1 or 2. Not many even achieving a high office. Blacks, and this is mainly from my experience have been taught this is a White country and world. Our marginalization by that definition is to be expected. So there of course would be people a bit angry. But if they got lesser positions than official proper cabinet position Blacks, in general would not be in an uproar and actually would be happy with that. And that's considering if they're even aware of the cabinet. This is the first election where I've seen the appiontments so public in any case.

So you may choose not to believe the other posters statement...but overall most would be happy if they even knew about such nominations.

[dsc]

22. I think there is a difference between the person on the street

and people here. DU would, very justifyably, be up in arms over an all white cabinet named by anyone other than Obama.

[vaberella]

27. I don't know...

I know at times I keep silent cause there's a lot of people with "questionable morals" on this site. Racism goes over some heads and I remember when Prop 8 was passed there was a great deal of Black people hate bashing and generalizations...as though there were not Gays of African descent who were not affected by the decision.

[damonm]

20. Your choice.

[EraOfResponsibility]

10. LOL ain't a lot of blacks in Obama's cabinet either

as an AA, that doesn't bother me, so, try again.

[dsc]

11. Oh really

AG Holder anyone. Plus of course the President himself counts just a little.

[EraOfResponsibility]

12. Yeah, see that's what "not a lot of" means

:eyes:

[TheBigotBasher]

13. There is an AA man

just where one is needed. Hopefully, I doubt in a first term though, Holder may be able to tackle the war on drugs that has led to this

[FrenchieCat]

14. Hillary Clinton didn't win.

So I don't have a clue on how to answer this hypothetical question, beyond stating that I don't know how many openly Gay people Hillary Clinton would have named to her cabinet.

I do know that Blacks make up approximately 12% of the population.
I believe that there are 15 Cabinet positions.

I also do believe that there is at least one quite obvious although not officially "out" Gay person serving in Barack Obama's cabinet.

[Deja Q]

16. Even Ricky Martin once said "Does it matter?"; shouldn't it be in the policies and not who one is?

What people do behind closed doors is their own business.

What people do in office is more likely to grab my attention.

[dsc]

18. The expected number of blacks in the cabinet (pure chance picks) would be 2

for gays it would be 1. That is hardly a huge difference. I am not claiming that Hillary would have named gays and if she didn't I would be just as pissed (especially if a more qualified gay got passed over as happened to Maxwell). The fact is I would be furious with Hillary if she named no blacks for the same reasons I am unhappy with no gays.

[FrenchieCat]

26. Why even bring up Hillary?

:shrug:

[dsc]

33. because she was in second place

and her not appointing a black would be materially different than Obama not doing so. Just as her not appointing a woman would be materially different from Obama not doing so.

[FrenchieCat]

34. McCain came in second place....last I checked.

I have problems talking about events that didn't happen and then attempting to determine what would have happened if what didn't happened, happened. Seriously. :shrug:

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[genna]

56. I understand there is a back and forth

Evidently I can only see one side of this, yours. My only contribution would be that I could dream of President Gore while we were catching hell with President Bush.

I did years and years and years of stolen election thoughts when Bush was kicking us in the teeth. I have no idea what the I-love-Hillary poster is talking about, but I don't understand the desire to not let go of all that was good, great and fair about someone who is not in power.

To put a different way, I found my childhood filled with images of Black people who were doing their best with the worst circumstances and being held up as heroes especially when there were no other avenues open for them. It is not so strange to hear and to see people who can't accept the reality of President Obama, for whatever reason, and are clinging to never happened circumstances.

I will go with a line from Michael Eric Dyson this Saturday: whatever you choose to call him on January 20th we all call him Mr. President.

[demokatgurrl]

36. Exactly, Hillary's not gay- it doesn't compute. n/t

[Tarheel_Dem]

51. Well, apparently she wasn't "more qualified", since she wasn't chosen.

Perhaps you can run in 2012 , and stack your cabinet with whomever you choose? :shrug:

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

21. one quite obvious although not officially "out" Gay person serving in Barack Obama's cabinet.

Can you say this or PM me? I am just wondering if we're thinking of the same person.

[TheBigotBasher]

30. I am wondering about the same thing.

Also as a gay man, I think that there is a big difference between being out and not displaying your sexuality. Although saying this could lead to a whole different level of discussion.

[starroute]

49. There's one name I've wondered about at times

Because he's regularly described as a "personal friend" (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MDgatesR.htm) or a "good friend" (http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4230) of former Sen. David Boren -- who's been repeated outed as gay.

But sometimes a good friend is merely a good friend, so I might be on the wrong trail entirely.

[FrenchieCat]

19. Also, I must remind you that

there were no Black Cabinet members of administration active at a time that Black folks were still fighting for their civil rights. Not one!

The First Black Cabinet member was appointed in 1966.
Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Robert Weaver to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Do you know who was the 2nd Black Cabinet member of a Presidential Administration?

[vaberella]

23. Yup...I mentioned that in one of my posts to DSC. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

29. Chris Matthew? Chris Matthews is black?

:rofl:

Kidding. I believe it was William Coleman, Secretary of Transportation under Gerald Ford.

:hi:

[FrenchieCat]

32. You are correct!

First Black Woman named to a cabinet post? who was it?

[NYC_SKP]

40. Patricia Harris, Carter...

Housing and Urban Development. :P

[FrenchieCat]

42. Yep!

[dsc]

25. without looking it up, no

My guess is that Carter named a few if Johnson didn't name any others.

[NYC_SKP]

28. Oh, oh, I know this one!

And the president wasn't a Democrat.

Not that any of this shit matters, I mean composing a perfectly representative cabinet in lieu of other important factors.

[dsc]

31. Given the timing it isn't nuts the second one would have been appointed by a Republican

since Johnson didn't. But give Johnson credit he also appointed the first black SCOTUS justice which is worth a few cabinet members.

[NYC_SKP]

39. LBJ was a champion.

For a Texan (sorry Texas) and for the times, he was remarkably strong on matters of equal rights.

[dsc]

41. He was amazing and an unlikely champion

He got a huge mandate and really used it.

[rvablue]

35. The 2nd was William Thadeus Coleman, Secretary of Transportation, appointed by Ford!

[TheWraith]

37. False equivalency. What makes you think Hillary would have appointed gay cabinet members? nt

[dsc]

43. I have no idea if she would have or wouldn't have

I chose her since she came in second and it is materially different for her not to appoint a black than for him not to have done so.

[CTLawGuy]

53. she would have appointed none

and the complainers here would not have complained, just like they don't complain about her support for retaining part of DOMA, and her husband's signing of DOMA.

(Also, I think if Obama signed anti-gay legislation to "forestall a similar constitutional amendment" many here would not buy that as an excuse even though they accepted, and were even thankful, that Bill Clinton signed DOMA and used the anti-gay amendment as an excuse)

Then again, the utterly shameful scapegoating of African Americans for the passage of Prop. 8 on DU maybe speaks more than we think it does...

[Boomerang Diddle]

48. Stupid question.

Hillary would have been just as inclusive as Obama has been.

[rug]

24. What is a Cluster Head?

[FrenchieCat]

38. Total policy reach......

[MadMaddie]

47. Thanks FrenchieCat!

[marshall]

50. You forgot Janet Napolitano

She's gonna kick as as Secretary of Homeland Security!

[Tarheel_Dem]

52. I don't think it's polite to bandy names about like that, especially since

I've never heard that Napolitano is "openly" lesbian. Let's be careful with this stuff.

[genna]

57. Tell me what are the social conventions around OUT and IN gay manners

I've been interested in this since high school. There were all kinds of activities that were to be seen and not spoken about. Then there were all kinds of activities that can be speculated on but not known.

The younger generation not so educated group never seemed to have these upper educated lines. How does this mixed bag of social niceties work from the lower to the upper classes?

[Tarheel_Dem]

58. Don't know if your query is sarcasm or not, but on a personal level,

it's just rude as I have been on the receiving end of "rumors". It can be very damaging to one's professional life. If the object of the rumor hasn't made a public issue of his/her sexuality, it's not our place to speculate.

[marshall]

59. For now we still live in a binary world

Someone is either male or female, straight or gay to the majority of the country.

On a related note, there is ongoing conflict within the realm of Willa Cather scholarship whether to classify Cather as a lesbian writer. She never identified herself as a lesbian, but she did cohabit with a number of female companions. She cut her hair short, wore suits, and sometimes referred to herself by a masculine name. She had almost all of her correspondence and other personal writings burned, so she wasn't interested in leaving much of a legacy beyond her published writings. But there are many in the academic community who feel it is essential and empowering to see her as a lesbian writer and label her as such. Most that I've read and talked to have agreed that Cather would not be in agreement with this, but since she's dead there is nobody to continue the denials other than other scholars.

[tekisui]

55. She's not gay.

[marshall]

63. Someone needs to tell Andy and Ann at Gay USA

They have mentioned her numerous times in regards what they perceive to be her preference. ;-)

[WinkyDink]

54. That would be "Openly Gay".

[marshall]

60. It does make better sense with that word inserted

The source article includes that word in its title.

[uponit7771]

61. Thank you

[Cha]

62. Good..we are represented in this

admin by peeps from all walks of life.

OT..I was watching Ellen today and she was going on about "The Bachelor"(something happened on the show that she thought was disrespectful) and she said..I don't know about "you straight people".."you can keep the word marriage"..and the audience was cracking up!