Rice's 'Mother-in-Law' Comment Raises Conservative Hackles

[RamboLiberal]

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/162006a.asp

A spokesman for a family-advocacy group in Washington, DC, is expressing disgust with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's swearing in of an openly homosexual man as global AIDS coordinator -- and in particular, with comments she made at the ceremony.

Late last week, USA Today stated that the Republican Party is facing what it calls an "identity crisis" when it comes to efforts to try to please both homosexuals and conservative Christians. The report used a ceremony at the State Department to provide a very pointed example of how the GOP seems to want the support of "values voters," but are willing to appease the homosexual activist agenda.

The ceremony involved Secretary of State Rice and the swearing in of Mark Dybul, an open homosexual, as the nation's new global AIDS coordinator -- a position that carries the rank of ambassador. An Associated Press photo of the ceremony also shows a smiling First Lady Laura Bush and Dybul's homosexual "partner," Jason Claire. During her comments, Rice referred to the presence of Claire's mother and called her Dybul's "mother-in-law," a term normally reserved for the heterosexuals who have been legally married.

The Washington Blade, a pro-homosexual publication in the nation's capital, was accurate on Friday when it predicted Rice's remarks would "rais the eyebrows of conservative Christian leaders." Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, says the secretary's comments were "profoundly offensive" and fly in the face of the Bush administration's endorsement of a federal marriage protection amendment, though that backing be less than enthusiastic.

"We have to face the fact that putting a homosexual in charge of AIDS policy is a bit like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse," says Sprigg. "But even beyond that, the deferential treatment that was given not only to him but his partner and his partner's family by the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is very distressing."

[Infinite Hope]

1. More of a Mother-In-Fact...lol

De Facto not De Jure.

[babylonsister]

2. That is disgusting and beyond belief imo. I just don't 'get it'. nt

[Erika]

3. Rove and W promised a theocracy

Now they are transforming to the center to get votes for the GOP.

I suggest the right wingers pick up the book "Tempting Faith" to see how they've been used.

[babylonsister]

8. Erika, you are a breath of fresh air, and consider this a thank you

for all you do!
:hi: :pals:

[yurbud]

11. it would be ironic if they were crucified by the same religious mob

they inflamed.

[tavalon]

36. Sweet irony that!

It's not nice to inflame the stupid and gullible. Sometimes they figure it out and then they come after you!

[TechBear_Seattle]

43. Not irony; poetic justice n/t

[Irreverend IX]

50. The fundies have been trying so hard to make homosexuality illegal...

They never noticed Dubya fucking them in the ass. Proof once again that neocons have no values or ideology outside the desire for power.

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

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

[Zhade]

58. Flamer? Can you please NOT throw around homophobic slurs?

THIS queer is mightily offended to see such slurs used here, regardless of who they're aimed at.

[RamboLiberal]

6. More Reason for them to sit home and stew in their own juices

Love it! Surprised their not smacking Laura as well - she was there as well.

[rodeodance]

27. yes, lets hope more do not go to the polls.

[Ian David]

29. They did manage to catch the husband looking rather sinister.

And, as usual, Pickles Bush looks freakishly like The Joker.

Why do the Xians complain that Bush appointed a gay man in charge of AIDS, but don't complain when he appoints someone from the lead industry to regulate lead, for example?

[katinmn]

33. "Fox guarding the henhouse." The implication is maddening!

I hope the Family Research Council leaders slime back into the water to the pre-evolution era.

[onenote]

51. I really didn't need the image of their "juices" this early! LOL!

[babylonsister]

7. Fool me again-Rice's m-i-l? nt

[Bucky]

15. That would be the mother of her husb- her president.

But don't worry your beautiful mind about such things.

[tavalon]

Hah!

Good one!

[tavalon]

37. Hah!

Good one!

[area51]

4. "homosexual activist agenda"?

Um, yeah, equal rights for gay people is certainly activist. :eyes:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

24. It's from Agape Press

Home of insane fundie "news" rantings since... well, whenvever.

[tavalon]

38. It is to the fuckwads in the Rethug party

I am just not able to understand them. BTW, equal rights for women and brown people are also something they consider unwelcome activism.

[TygrBright]

5. "Ashes, ashes, we all fall DOWN...."

The GOPpies have been playing the Christianists for fools all along. It's all falling apart now, gathering speed and power like an avalanche.

Couldn't happen to a nicer nest of cockroaches.

approvingly,
Bright

[rpannier]

9. The Homosexual Activist Agenda

as opposed to the 'american taliban neo-fundie Jesus-hating' activist agenda.

on edit: I would argue putting an openly gay person in charge of Aids policy is like putting a Native American in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (first time early 1970's)

[rodeodance]

23. The American fundies have their own style of violence--Exclusion, name-

calling, belittling. etc etc. It is a violence they do to gays and their families.

[elehhhhna]

41. Who knew Jesus was a bully? LOL

[tavalon]

39. In other words

refreshing common sense from a group not usually prone to such.

[JI7]

10. did these people comment on the 600,000 + dead in Iraq ?

[Delphinus]

20. Nope.

Just like they won't comment on anything other than stopping abortion. Don't even want to talk about true sex education.

[tavalon]

40. Nope

The couch their position on abortion in human rights but it isn't about that at all. It's about controlling those uppity women. It always has been.

signed,

An Uppity Woman

[TomInTib]

12. What were they thinking? (death throes, if you will..)

Just lashing out and grabbing at anything that might just stick.

Hey! I've got a great idea!

How about if we have Jason hold the Bible?

Yeah, that'll do it!

[cboy4]

13. It's only a matter of time before some of these fundies start

taking hostages to try to enforce, with force, their extremist beliefs on society.

They are very clearly on the verge of a collective nervous breakdown. :popcorn:

[Ian David]

30. Oklahoma City... Centennial Olympic Park... these are the things they do..

when Conservatives lose control of the government.

[Bucky]

14. No good guys in this fight. They both reep hate and sow hate.

Mostly I'm offended that I want to take Rice's side in this. She was acknowledging a loving family's togetherness. But if I remain silent on the squabble, they will trash each other.

[Egnever]

16. First off Ambassador of AIDS is pretty damn funny!

Ok Ok, I know AIDS is serious ..blah blah ya da ya da it just strikes me as funny that someone is the ambassador of aids.

Beyond that this whole situation described in this article is just wrong on so many different levels.

Was she his mother in law? Are they legally married? Cool for them if they are but how will that affect his government benefits under the bush admin ?

Fox in the hen house? Weeeee!!! Who better to head up something than someone that is a part of one of the communities hardest hit. Guess they are much more comfortable with the Brownie model. Is he implying the new guy really is an ambassador of aids?

Could rice possibly spin any more like a top? How does this womans head not explode?

[Bucky]

17. Good point: "Fox in the hen house" makes it sound like gays eat AIDS

[Ian David]

31. They're implying that gays deliberately spread AIDS.

You know who deliberately spreads AIDS?

Bush and The Vatican.

"Abstinence-Only" is the world's most successful biological weapon attack in history. It is a deliberate effort to spread HIV/AIDS.

"Abstinence-Only" is a deliberate act of genocide perpetrated by Bush, the Republicans, and The Vatican.

These are the same people who want to ban the cervical cancer vaccine, because they believe Christian girls behave like sluts if they're not threatened with death for having sex.

Fox in the hen-house? No.

More like Canary in the coal-mine.

Only nobody cared when it was just gay people dying, did they?

Eddie Murphy joked about women playing tennis with their gay friends, giving them a little kiss, and then coming home with AIDS on their lips. (Eddie Murphy's old homophobic jokes are much funnier now when you remember he was busted with a transsexual hooker in his car.)

That's why Ronald Reagan laughed while Nancy Reagan-- dingbat though she is-- cried.

Surprise!

It's everyone's problem!

Maybe if those crazy, wingnut environmentalist loonies had gotten their way, and we actually protected endangered primate species instead of slaughtering them for "bush meat," there would be no AIDS.

Maybe if someone had taken it seriously, instead of just laughing at all the dying gay people, we wouldn't have this global disaster.

And certainly, if The Vatican and the Republicans weren't waging a global war against condoms, we absolutely would not have anything near as bad as it is now.

[boilinmad]

47. Well said!!!!!................

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

[maine_raptor]

19. Ambassador,eh?

It is a funny notion.

But totally impractical, I mean, as Ambassador you have to "present your credentials", right?

Can they make the writing that small? And just what language does a virus speak anyways?

[Zhade]

59. It actually disturbs me that they chose a gay man for this position.

It sends a subtle message: gay = AIDS.

That's bullshit, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's why they chose him.

[xchrom]

18. may conservative christians choke on their hate --

and may i be there to witness it.

[JoFerret]

21. Maybe Laura Bush is the mother-in-law

Maybe Laura (oops I mean Barbara) bush is the mother-in-law for Condi and her husb...
Anyway - here's the pic: Oh! the horror! The horror! hOmO SEXuals holding hands AND the bible

[LostinVA]

22. This source is a known extremely biased RW site n/t

[rodeodance]

25. It does not mattter where the story came from-as the Fundies are having

a tissy fit about this appointment!---


.....Sprigg says in light of the Foley scandal, "it's inexplicable that a conservative administration would do such things." He also notes that Rice's comments defy an existing law on the books protecting traditional marriage. "So, for her to treat his partner like a spouse and treat the partner's mother as a mother-in-law, which implies a marriage between the two partners, is a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the Defense of Marriage Act," the FRC spokesman states.

As the USA Today report notes, the Rice statement comes in the midst of news stories dealing with the Mark Foley scandal, many of which have talked about the number of homosexual staffers on the Republican payroll. Some pro-family people are starting to wonder if this homosexual influence within the GOP may account for the party's lack of action on social conservative issues. FRC's Tony Perkins says that among the questions that need to be asked are: "Has the social agenda of the GOP been stalled by homosexual members or staffers?"

Indeed, the USA Today account of the swearing-in ceremony concedes that the Foley investigation may be exposing what it calls a "politically awkward" fact of life in the world of national politics. That is, some leaders in the Republican Party "practice a more tolerant brand of politics" in office hiring than others in the party have conveyed on the campaign trail.

Dybul, who was confirmed by the Senate two months ago but was just sworn in due to scheduling conflicts with Secretary Rice and Mrs. Bush, is the nation's third openly homosexual ambassador. The other two no longer hold their positions. According to news reports, in all three cases the men's homosexual partners held the Bible on which the oath of office was sworn.

[rodeodance]

26. they are responding to the USA article--.

......Sprigg says in light of the Foley scandal, "it's inexplicable that a conservative administration would do such things." He also notes that Rice's comments defy an existing law on the books protecting traditional marriage. "So, for her to treat his partner like a spouse and treat the partner's mother as a mother-in-law, which implies a marriage between the two partners, is a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the Defense of Marriage Act," the FRC spokesman states.

As the USA Today report notes, the Rice statement comes in the midst of news stories dealing with the Mark Foley scandal, many of which have talked about the number of homosexual staffers on the Republican payroll. Some pro-family people are starting to wonder if this homosexual influence within the GOP may account for the party's lack of action on social conservative issues. FRC's Tony Perkins says that among the questions that need to be asked are: "Has the social agenda of the GOP been stalled by homosexual members or staffers?"

Indeed, the USA Today account of the swearing-in ceremony concedes that the Foley investigation may be exposing what it calls a "politically awkward" fact of life in the world of national politics. That is, some leaders in the Republican Party "practice a more tolerant brand of politics" in office hiring than others in the party have conveyed on the campaign trail.

Dybul, who was confirmed by the Senate two months ago but was just sworn in due to scheduling conflicts with Secretary Rice and Mrs. Bush, is the nation's third openly homosexual ambassador. The other two no longer hold their positions. According to news reports, in all three cases the men's homosexual partners held the Bible on which the oath of office was sworn.

[wishlist]

44. I saw this story on TV (ABC news I think) also a couple of days ago n/t

[JerseygirlCT]

28. That last paragraph-- that last quote

OMG.

As if. As if a gay man is going to what? Go joyfully spread AIDs?

Disgusting.

[Jim Lane]

32. Rice's comment is a threat to every heterosexual marriage in the U.S.

I don't understand quite how, exactly, it's a threat, but I gather that it is one.

Oh, and it also helps pave the way for people to have sex with animals in public. Here again, however, the mechanism by which her comment produces this effect is beyond my poor power to understand or explain.

[tanyev]

34. I'm glad to see the fundies are finding out about this.

I saw the original story posted here a couple days ago and I've been checking Free Republic to see what their take on it would be. I finally found a thread posted 10/16. This only gives more credence to what Kuo has said in his book Tempting Faith.

[Renew Deal]

35. The fox in charge of the henhouse?

Yes, Dybul and his friends are going to try to get AIDS and spread it as fast as possible. :woohoo:

What bullshit. And what about the "homosexual activist agenda"? What exactly is that? I know that the Republicans are guilty of the "homophobic activist agenda."

[Evergreen Emerald]

42. These homophobic, racist, sexist radicals need to crawl

back under the rock from wince they came. They have taken charge of our government and given the status of "mainstream" through GW* and look what they have done to America. Their values are not family or moral or "Christian."

[Divernan]

45. First time Bush has appointed someone competent for a job.

And by "competent", I mean the man has the education & sufficient relevant experience to do a good job.
From his State Department bio:
Ambassador Mark R. Dybul serves as the United States Global AIDS Coordinator, leading the implementation of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. From March to August 2006, he served as Acting U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, and prior to that he held the positions of Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Assistant U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

Before coming to the Coordinator’s Office, Ambassador Dybul served on the Planning Task Force for the Emergency Plan, and was the lead for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for President Bush’s International Prevention of Mother and Child HIV Initiative.

At HHS, he also served as the Assistant Director for Medical Affairs, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as Co-Executive Secretary of the HHS HIV therapy guidelines for adults and adolescents. He continues to be a Staff Clinician in the Laboratory of Immunoregulation at NIAID/NIH and maintains an active role as the principal investigator for clinical and basic research for U.S. and international protocols with an emphasis on HIV therapy, particularly those that may be applicable in resource-poor settings, including intermittent therapy and HIV reservoirs and immunopathogenesis. Ambassador Dybul is a captain in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the uniformed service of HHS. He is also a former member of the World Health Organization's Writing Committee to develop global HIV therapy guidelines.

Ambassador Dybul received his A.B. (1985) and M.D. (1992) from Georgetown University before completing his residency in internal medicine at the University of Chicago Hospitals (1995) and a fellowship in infectious diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (1998).

August 22, 2006

[BlueEyedSon]

46. Yeah, but ignoring the 9/11 warnings was OK......

:puke:

[The Backlash Cometh]

48. I have never read a more shocking comment in all the time I've been on DU.

"We have to face the fact that putting a homosexual in charge of AIDS policy is a bit like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse,"

I hate to break it to them, but it will take a homosexual to do what a heterosexual can't do, and I'm not talking about bareback riding. Some of the most powerful voices to come down on the gay lifestyle in the 80s, came from brave men who were themselves gay. They weren't well received but they spoke honestly and no one could criticize them for being homophobic.

[Felix Mala]

49. They don't want anyone, especially a gay man, interferring with God's

punishment of homosexuality!

[Ilsa]

52. Pass the popcorn. This should be fun to watch. nt

[yellowcanine]

54. Well I guess there goes the Repug "2008 Dream Candidate".

African American Female, Iraq War Supporter, gay marriage supporter. Oops. That last one could get a little sticky. Oh well. Rudy Guiliani, anyone?

[On the Road]

55. Man, They are Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel

trying to find things on pick on.

And what is the "fox in the henhouse" comment? I don't get that at all.

[noonwitch]

56. Condi never claimed to be a social conservative

I'm glad that she said that and didn't care what the idiots at the Family Research Council said.

By the way, why is putting a gay man in charge of AIDS policy like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse? Is he going to kill a bunch of AIDS patients? What a totally ridiculous thing for Sprigg to say.

Putting the fox in charge of the hen house would be a much better analogy for the Foley/Page situation.

[Megahurtz]

57. Oh Waaaaaaaa!!!

:nopity: You hurt the "Conservative Christian" Fundamentalist Righty-WingNut's feelings!:nopity:

WHO CARES!!! It's none of their business!

Fundies need to just BUTT OUT of Politics altogether.

I am so sick of them, and so sick of hearing about them.:puke:

At least Condi was being respectful.