Reactions to General Pace Prove Cowardice Abounds in Both Parties

Several days ago Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace told the Chicago Tribune that he believed homosexuality was immoral. The remarks justifiably launched the left half of the blogosphere into a fit, and led to demands that General Pace apologize for his bigoted remark, and even a few calls that he resign his position as the highest-ranked military officer in the country.

The first significant response to Pace’s comment from a political leader came not from one of the frontrunners for the Democratic presidential nomination, but from the ancient Republican Senator from Virginia, John Warner. “I respectfully, but strongly disagree with the chairman’s view that homosexuality is immoral,” said Senator Warner in a statement issued by his office, after four days still the strongest condemnation of Pace’s remarks from either major party.

Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, by contrast, took two days to directly respond to questions about their views on Pace and the morality of homosexuality. When asked for her opinion by an ABC News reporter, Hillary launched into a condemnation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy which currently bars gays from serving openly in the armed forces. When the reporter tried to corner her on the question of immorality, Hillary wriggled loose: “Well I’m going to leave that to others to conclude.” A reporter from Newsday caught up with Barack Obama after he spoke at the International Association of Firefighters convention in Washington, D.C., and asked if he thought homosexuality was immoral. “I think the question here is whether somebody is willing to sacrifice for their country, should they be able to if they're doing all the things that should be done,” Senator Obama said, dodging the question more adroitly than Senator Clinton, but still dodging the question.

Clinton and Obama both eventually released statements through their campaigns declaring unequivocally that they do not believe homosexuality is immoral, but by then—it was Thursday when both campaigns issued the statements, and Pace’s remarks were made public on Monday—it was far too little, far too late. Instead of seeing their candidates stand up in defiance of bigotry, Democrats were treated to the sight of their top two aspiring presidential nominees evading direct questions and then announcing their opinions on the morality of homosexuality, grudging and red-faced, through mouthpieces.

And I ask for the thousandth time, Where are the men and women with guts? The only ones so far to come out and take a firm stand against what General Pace said, aside from gay rights organizations, are people like Senator Warner who aren’t running for President. Sam Brownback, the Republican Senator from Kansas, who rumor has it is also running for President, expressed support for Pace following the remarks; and Duncan Hunter, Republican Representative from California, wrote an op-ed in USA Today on Wednesday defending Pace and the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, characterizing the general’s homophobic bigotry as “moral principles.” Duncan is currently conducting a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination even more hopeless and deluded than Brownback’s.

Senator Clinton’s non-reaction was particularly gutless. Just over a week before General Pace made his comments, Hillary spoke at a board meeting of the Human Rights Campaign, a non-profit gay advocacy group. During her talk, Hillary strongly opposed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and supported giving gay couples the rights to marry, share health benefits, and enjoy various other basic rights as citizens that most of us straight folks take for granted. Once the talk was over (and, presumably, the donations were collected), Hillary downplayed her stop by the HRC, leaving it off the itinerary on her campaign homepage, and reportedly discouraging the HRC from featuring the video of the speech on their website.

Add that to the ridiculous Southern drawl she adopted when addressing a church group in Alabama that same weekend, and her transparent pandering in claiming to be a lifelong Yankees fan when she announced her original candidacy for her New York Senate seat in 2000, and you don’t get a very flattering portrait. Obama screwed up by not denouncing General Pace’s bigoted comments immediately, but Hillary really blew it.

It’s too bad for gay people in America that their best hope for the 2008 presidential race is someone as cowardly and phony as Hillary Clinton. These men and women have been waiting a long time on rights that should never have been denied them in the first place, and they deserve better. So do the rest of us.