The recent departure of an openly gay foreign policy adviser and communications hand from a prominent presidential campaign has left many in political circles scratching their heads, but one conservative radio host is praising the move as a win for American families.
The man in question, who served as foreign policy spokesman in President George W. Bush's administration, was recently hired by and according to the campaign, was officially scheduled to begin work May 1. But when Tuesday came, he voluntarily stepped down from his position.
According to a statement released to the Washington Post, it was because he felt the pushback from conservative groups regarding his sexual orientation and his advocacy for gay marriage rendered him ineffective. He welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama's foreign policy failures and weak leadership on the world stage, but felt that his ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign.
The issue director at the American Family Association, a conservative group opposed to same-sex marriage, bragged about his role in the episode. He states that there was pressure put on the campaign by the pro-family community and thinks that the politician feels poorly about his initial decision to hire this man.
In a statement released upon the announcement, the campaign manager stated that they were disappointed, and wanted him to stay because he had superior qualifications for the position he was hired to fill.
But a close friend of the adviser and former Bush administration colleague, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, has a different take on the situation. His group, which is the largest gay Republican organization in the country, says it was tough for his friend to be sidelined during the recent political debate over Osama bin Laden and policy surrounding the war in Afghanistan. Ultimately, he decided that he couldn't effectively function in the role he was hired for if there was pressure to keep him out of the spotlight.
Within conservative circles, one of the challenges gays and lesbians have is that a majority of Republicans are supportive, but a small, very, very vocal minority in the party that makes so much noise, and it seems that the noise is that much louder.
Because of recent gains made by gay rights supporters on issues such as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and in public opinion surveys concerning gay marriage, conservative groups are putting up more of a fight than ever before, according to New York Civil Rights Lawyers.
When the men were hired by Bush in 2000, there was no such pushback. Gay hires were never such an issue for candidate Bush, and maybe it's because advances have been made in the last 12 years, and maybe that's what's causing the cacophony of the homophobes.
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