Bush's Bigoted Bogeyman Fever
It's true --- I've been hiding under a soft, fluffy, baby-blue blanket in my
closet ever since the U.S. Supreme Court named George Dubya Bush our
president-select. I figured if I stayed in there long enough, I would, like
Ebenezer Scrooge, wake up and find out that it was all a bad dream resulting
from drinking some bad pre-holiday eggnog.
But after much coaxing from my family --- and the separate needs to eat
something and also visit the little boys' room --- I emerged from my blue
cocoon and faced the music, dirge that it was. The big and beautiful woman
has announced her encore and it's "The Funeral March of the Marionette,"
also known as "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" theme song.
Those who were doing the coaxing said things like, "It won't be so bad;
Congress is so evenly divided Dubya won't be able to keep any of those
nasty, reactionary, ill-thought-out, recidivist economic and social policies
that Big Oil Money and The Despotic Religious Right want to put through,"
and, "Besides, it's only four years; how much harm can the Texas Twinkie do,
anyway?"
Well, my friends, it's already started. If you want to know how bad it can
get, just take a look at our new Commander and Thief's first draft choice
for U.S. Attorney General: former senator John Ashcroft of Missouri, the man
who voters of the Show-Me State rejected for re-election in favor of a dead
man.
If you want to know just how bad a choice Ashcroft is for gay and
gay-supportive people, consider these:
* During his six years in the Senate, Ashcroft scored zeros --- that's
right, three big goose eggs --- on the Human Rights Campaign's scorecards
for pro-gay legislation.
* Within his own office, Ashcroft refused to adopt a non-discriminatory
policy that would include sexual orientation. In other words, if you were
gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgendered (or even supportive of GLBT
folks), Ashcroft wouldn't hire you to answer his phone or empty his trash
cans.
* Ashcroft opposed reauthorization of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS
Resources Emergency Act, which even had support from many religious
conservatives. Despite the fact that AIDS affects more than just gay men and
intravenous drug users, Ashcroft's attitude could be interpreted as an
example of his willingness to deal with the problem by letting the AIDS
plague run its course, meaning, "Let the perverts and druggies die off."
* He sponsored an amendment to the Department of Interior appropriation bill
that would have eliminated all funding for the National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA). Ashcroft cited the NEA's supposed "promotion of homosexuality"
as his reason for the amendment. If one follows this attitude to its
illogical extremist conclusion, one would assume Ashcroft would be in favor
of taking a sledgehammer to Michelangelo's "David" for its homoerotic
aspects and most representations of the Crucifixion or the martyrdom of St.
Sebastian for being suggestive of "Bound and Gagged" magazine.
* Ashcroft is on record as opposing hate crime legislation and the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit anti-gay
discrimination in the workplace.
* He also opposed the nomination of David Satcher as U.S. Surgeon General,
who had the support of gay, gay supportive and AIDS activists, and that of
Bill Lan Lee, a gay-friendly civil rights advocate, to head the U.S. Justice
Department's Civil Rights Division, as well as other minority nominees.
Yuck! Spit! Phooey! If the Ashcroft nomination is any indication, the Dubya
Bush administration's attitude toward gay rights would appear to be one of
bringing out bigoted boogeymen to reopen the closet, point toward the inner
darkness and say, "After you, Queenie." I wonder how many other homophobic
hobgoblins like Ashcroft our frat boy president-select has up the sleeve of
his cheerleader sweater.
Even the radical right knows that Ashcroft is an extremist and has already
started an offensive on his behalf. A couple of typical plays from these
extremists could be found in recent letters to the editor of "USA Today." In
one, Ken Murphey of Yucca Valley, Calif., adopts the pretense that only
leftists oppose Ashcroft's far-right ways. Murphey suggests that those who
oppose the nomination do so "because (Ashcroft) is a Christian." To those
who share Murphey's tortured thinking, I would say that I actually know of
many people who consider themselves (and whom I also consider) Christian and
who find the thought of a homophobic bigot guiding our nation's justice
department to be anathema.
Another letter writer, Scott George of Mount Vernon, Mo., applauds Ashcroft
for his "determination to uphold the law of the land (which) strikes fear in
the hearts fo those who practice legal and ethical chicanery." I wish that
were true; quite a few Republican officeholders in Florida --- such as
Secretary of State Katherine "Cruella" Harris and Gov. Jeb "First Brother"
Bush --- as well as U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy, Sandra
O'Connor, William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas --- might be
among the fearful. At least they should be.
And speaking of the U.S. Supreme Court --- everyone talks about how
omnipotent they are. There is an assumption of invulnerability to reprimand
on their part, even if they fail to recuse themselves because of the
appearance of prejudice, as in the case of Scalia, who has at least one
family member associated with a Bush law firm and who made statements which
could be construed as prejudicial in favor of Bush before the case was even
heard. A case also could be made that Thomas should have recused himself
because of his wife's connection with the Bush election and transition
teams. Just something I'm throwing out on the table for us to think about
and ponder why elected officials and legal minds are not pursuing these
questions of judicial impartiality (or lack thereof) more fully. U.S.
Supreme Court Justices are not invulnerable; check the history books for the
case of Justice Salmon Chase, who was impeached (although not removed from
office).
I intend to write to my U.S. senators, Mike DeWine and George Voinovich,
both Ohio Republicans, and tell them approval of Ashcroft is absolutely
unacceptable to me as a parent who expects equal treatment from the
government for both of his sons --- one gay and one straight. Considering
that both senators are loyal to their party and their president, no matter
how illegitimately he was chosen, I don't expect much more than a form
letter thanking me for my interest in (fill in the blank). But at least I
will have gone through the formality of writing.
I'm also trying to gear up enough energy to write a letter to all the
senators --- or at the very least, all the Democrats --- who are on-line. I
want to ask them to stand united in opposition to the Ashcroft nomination.
It doesn't seem like a lot to ask; I'm sure the Republicans would be more
than willing to oblige if the tables were turned.
Published 8th January 2001
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