"Gay Question" General Linked To Clinton

Politico: Debate Questioner Who Asked About Gays In The Military Is Co-Chair Of Group For Hillary

(The Politico)  This story was written by Kenneth P. Vogel.

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The retired general who asked about gays and lesbians serving in the military at the CNN/YouTube Republican debate on Wednesday is a co-chair of Hillary Clinton's National Military Veterans group.

Retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr  was named a co-chair of the group this month, according to a campaign press release.

He was also active in John F. Kerry's 2004 campaign for president.

Kerr asked candidates “why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.”

After the debate former Education Secretary Bill Bennett, said on a CNN panel that he was being told Kerr was involved with the Democratic presidential campaign of Clinton, a New York senator.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who moderated the debate and the panel, said that if that was the case, CNN should have identified Kerr as such.

David Bohrman, a CNN senior vice president and executive producer of the debate,  later said: "We regret this, and apologize to the Republican candidates. We never would have used the general's question had we known that he was connected to any presidential candidate."

Kerr told CNN that he had not done work for the Clinton campaign, and CNN verified before the debate that he had not contributed money to any candidate, the broadcaster said in a blog post after the debate.

Kerry told CNN he is a member of the Log Cabin Republicans and was representing no one other than himself, CNN said.

A Nov. 11 press release retrieved from the website of the non-partisan magazine Campaigns & Elections lists Kerr as one of nearly 50 co-chairs of “Veterans and Military Retirees for Hillary."

Clinton’s campaign did not respond to an e-mail asking about Kerr’s role in her campaign or whether he was acting on behalf of the campaign.

Kerr also was on 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry’s National Veterans Steering Committee, according to a campaign press release retrieved from the website of George Washington University.

And Kerr appears to be an active opponent of the U.S. military’s current stance on gays and lesbians serving the military, the so-called “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

He appeared on the now-defunct CNN partner network CNNfn in Dec. 2003 to discuss the tenth anniversary of the policy. According to a transcript, he called it “a tremendous waste of personnel, a tremendous waste of financial resources for the United States.”

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, got first crack at Kerr’s question. He said he thought having openly gay men and lesbian women in the military “would be bad for unit cohesion.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, answering next, basically agreed.

Cooper then singled out former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who in 1994 said he looked forward to the day gays and lesbians could serve openly in the military.

Romney said times have changed. Though he said he laughed when he first heard talk of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and didn’t think it would work, he said: “You know what? It’s been there now for 15 years and it seems to have worked.”

Cooper then turned to Kerr and asked whether he felt he got an answer to his question.

Kerr responded: “With all due respect, I did not get an answer from the candidates. American men and women in the military are professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.... Today, don’t ask, don’t tell is destructive to our military policy.”

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a decorated Vietnam veteran, got the last word on "don't ask, don't tell."

He said high-ranking military officials “almost unanimously, they tell me that this present policy is working. That we have the best military in history, we have the bravest, most profssional, best-prepared and that this policy ought to be continued because it’s working.”

[denn034]

Several more comments: First, that openly gay guy''s comment in the communal shower in Desert Storm that I mentioned in an earlier posting to this story was a joke that we dismissed and didn''t report. Second, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is or can be made sufficient to protect gay people in the military. Third, gay people have as much right to serve their country as anyone else by virtue of being Americans and should be allowed to join openly. Fourth, I still reject their lifestyle though. Lastly, my service in the military was 15 years ago and things may''ve changed.

[want2heads]

david1737 wrote:
"Ohhhhhhh! Pleeeeeeeze!!!

Bush campaign screened, made people sign statements of loyalty, and then bussed in people to their events. which by the way often included "impromptu" televised Q&A sessions."

David - please see the documentary Spin by Brian Springer (available on the internet) and go 52 minutes into the documentary. Then grow up (a lot), or just take the blue pill.

- Democrat btw

[akoeppen]

I am fine with allowing supporters of opposing candidates ask questions at debates, as long as it goes both ways. I would love to ask Hillary a few questions!

[david1737]

CNN = Clinton News Network

Posted by nameverify

If you''re trying to imply that CNN is bias toward Clinton or the Democrats, then you need to stop smoking that stuff. It makes you paranoid!

I know that you and Rush need rehab. Please get help.

[david1737]

Ohhhhhhh! Pleeeeeeeze!!!

Bush campaign screened, made people sign statements of loyalty, and then bussed in people to their events. which by the way often included "impromptu" televised Q&A sessions.

By the way, Bush still looked like the oaf that he is, unable to articulate his way out even the most simplistic preset questions.

[want2heads]

RowdyTexan2 Says:
"What the hell does it matter who the man does or does not represent. He is a citizen of the United States. It was a questions he wanted to ask, therefore it was a question they needed to answer!"


Well, it does matter and that''s THE issue. Integrity of the debate process. Primaries are where party members determine who they want to represent THEIR party. Validity of the question is not an issue. Disclosure, integrity and manipulation of content are.

So far the following have been identified in addition to Kerr as having formal affiliations with opposing parties and/or candidates:

Abortion Questioner: Declared Edwards supporter.
Log Cabin Republican Questioner: Declared Obama supporter.
Lead Toy Questioner: Prominent union activist, and endorser of John Edwards.
Muslim Questioner: former CAIR intern (CAIR is an organization with known ties to Islamic terrorist networks).
Social Security Questioner: Adam Florzak quit his job with Caterpillar to work with *** Durbin on Social Security reform.
%u201CPaulBot%u201D Questioner: Mark Strauss, a declared Bill Richardson supporter.
Corn Subsidies Questioner: Ted Faturos, a former intern for Rep. Jane Harman (D-California)
Black Republicans Questioner: David McMillan, declared Obama supporter and %u201CUncle-Tom%u201D hunter.

-- Democrat and disgusted.

[WakeWashington]

The whole episode raises the question: What else is CNN hiding from us?

Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, underscores that issue today in his Gay Rights 101 editorial.

"The mainstream media work hard to keep *** and lesbians in the closet. Gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans characters account for just 1.1 percent of all scripted characters on the five broadcast networks, according to GLAAD. And mainstream news outlets don%u2019t fare much better, routinely declining to report on the sexual orientation of gay celebrities like Jodie Foster, Queen Latifah and Anderson Cooper."

I guess it''s understandable that a news organization without the guts to identify YouTube question sources won''t let the debate''s moderator out of the closet.

[juicee_juice]

CNN''s hosting was totally unfair and an absolute waste of one precious debate.

This debate is for those people voting in the Republican Primary to make up their minds. How dare CNN and YouTube give our right to ask questions to those ineligible to vote in our primaries.
The whole facade angered me almost as much as the fact that the top 4 front runners arent even remotely the True Blue Republicans they hold themselves out to be.
A Massachusetts Liberal and a NY Liberal tied for the lead of the Republican nomination?
I wish McCain would just be honest and run as a Democrat, he might actually win. And Huckabee? Is he our answer to John Edwards? Or Huck Finn?


While I respect McCain''s service, he does not have the sole moral authority to answer a military question.
That is like saying only a murderer has the moral authority to decide how other murderers should be handled by our Judicial System.
Apparently I was the only one who wasn''t offended by the Thompson ad. Hearing the true views of the candidates not colored by politcal expediency was a refreshing change of pace from the rest of the evening.

Side note:
Why was Tancredo only allowed one true opportunity to speak?
I mean he IS running isn''t he?
Not one commentator I have heard anywhere has even said his name post debate. CNN mentioned him once. ONCE!
It''s at the point where I think Tancredo may just be a figment of my imagination :)

[mudrose-2009]

What the hell does it matter who the man does or does not represent. He is a citizen of the United States. It was a questions he wanted to ask, therefore it was a question they needed to answer!

CNN owes no apology to anybody. They hosted the debate, they get to choose the questions. I haven''''t read anywhere that there''''s a rule that a democrat can''''t ask a republican a question and expect an answer!

This is absurd!

Posted by RowdyTexan2

Every one of these people that asked the questions were posers. They were listed as undecided but our G/Ay captain supports Hillary, Mommey supports Edwards that the third one Obama. These people were posers and like their questions, plants.

[rowdytexan2]

What the hell does it matter who the man does or does not represent. He is a citizen of the United States. It was a questions he wanted to ask, therefore it was a question they needed to answer!

CNN owes no apology to anybody. They hosted the debate, they get to choose the questions. I haven''t read anywhere that there''s a rule that a democrat can''t ask a republican a question and expect an answer!

This is absurd!

[mudrose-2009]

There are too many important issues that need to be framed for debate - not g/ays in the military. This is not a hot button issue that needs to be addressed. It''s an aside, a fringe issue. We really don''t care about it but to the Dimnowits, it''s all part of their base and their agenda. Ugh. Disgusting waste of time.

[jankebenz]

And what that has to do with the discussion at hand, gay men and women in the military, I have no idea.

Posted by kansas1946 at 12:04 AM : Nov 30, 2007

It has to do with the concept of bad apples spoiling the rest of the box, as in the spread of aids throughout the military

[want2heads]

If you%u2019re defending CNN, or the acts of the people posing and lying about their formal affiliations in the debate process, or trying to justify it, then you%u2019re letting your partisanship define your ethics. Get bent.

CNN had a responsibility to show integrity to the debates and democratic process and failed. This was not the first issue with their bias. CNN selected the framework, pre-screened the questions, and selected Kerr from the Audience. It was not a random process. CNN had a responsibility to determine if Kerr and any others had any formal affiliations with opposing parties and/or candidates.

The issue is not the validity of the questions posed (though CNN could have done better in the selection much of content). The issue is what CNN and these people misrepresenting themselves have done to the integrity of the democratic process in this country by either lying about or failing to disclose their affiliations.

CNN%u2019s actions were irresponsible and reprehensible. Mrs. Cooper and the senior executives at CNN owe the American people a formal apology. And those people who misrepresented themselves just for the opportunity to frame questions for the candidates need to have their formal affiliations severed or least reassessed.

-- Democrat and disgusted.

[kansas1946]

I think that it was interesting that Romney said that he had made a mistake by at first opposing the policy then after seeing how it worked, changed his mind. This is the mark of an intelligent, thinking person.
*******************************
Flip-flop...flip..flop.
This is not the mark of an intellegent thinking person, in this case and in all of his other flips, it is the mark of someone changing his position for political expediency and gain. I suspect that Romney is still pro-choice, support embrionic stem-cell research, and still disagrees with the policy. He just needs to suck up to the far right for the primaries. That is not a leader.

[kansas1946]

For this reason about two thirds of persons with Aids are homosexual or bi-sexual males
**************************************
Two-thirds of what persons. In India, Africa, China, and other developing countries, the vast majority of HIV positives are hetero-sexual. The AIDs virus was introduced into this country VIA the gay population, so of course, that group is going to be impacted first, but that is certainly not the only populations impacted by AIDS. And what that has to do with the discussion at hand, gay men and women in the military, I have no idea. Lesbians are in a very low risk group for AIDS.

[lxl_q_lxl]

Also let me direct your attention to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Zero

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV_and_AIDS_misconceptions


The first is the link you gave but if you read into it further it says the same thing as the last well almost any way.

First link = located under The origin of the term "Patient Zero"

A 2007 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Michael Worobey and Dr. Arthur Pitchenik claimed that, based on the results of genetic analysis, HIV probably moved from Africa to Haiti and then entered the United States around 1969,[1] probably through a single immigrant

Second link = located under history of hiv/aids

The current consensus is that HIV was introduced to North America by a Haitian immigrant who contracted it while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the early 1960s, or from another person who worked there during that time.[1]

[lxl_q_lxl]

speakinup.. I believe the link below is one you posted please go to it and actually read. This is from your own link you posted so its not something I cooked up. Scroll down to where it says when.

http://www.avert.org/origins.htm

Pay close attention to number 2.

HIV found in tissue samples from an American teenager who died in St. Louis in 1969.10

[jankebenz]

Homosexuality is the major factor in the cause and spread of aids as noted below

) Aids: Among the groups that have directly and indirectly contributed to the wide scale spread of Aids to even innocent patients like children are homosexuals and their practice of anal ***.

"There are specific behaviors that place people at a high risk for Aids. The first is anal *** which can cause rectal bleeding and thereby allow easy transmission of HIV. This practice is therefore extremely dangerous and, of course, the greater the number of sexual partners, the greater the risk. Anal *** is commonly practiced by Gay males in some cases with many sexual partners. For this reason about two thirds of persons with Aids are homosexual or bi-sexual males

[likeitis5050]

lxlqlxl Common knowledge re: HIV origin...gay airline steward. Of course it can be argued it was homosexual propaganda or the straight community trashing the gay community, but it''s been generally accepted as being accurate.

[jankebenz]

I think this poster is the one that needs to do some research, other than listening to Rush or Bill O''''Reilly. That isn''''t research, it is hyperboli.

Posted by kansas1946 at 09:34 PM : Nov 29, 2007

more than 100 billion spent on aids is no hyperbole,
some "research" taken from google -aids in america-

Providing Care And Treatment To Americans In Need. To improve and extend the lives of Americans living with HIV/AIDS, the Administration has devoted more than $74 billion to treatment and care since 2001, increasing annual treatment funding by 45 percent.


Supporting Research. To develop new methods of treatment and prevention, and to work toward a cure, the Administration has devoted more than $15 billion to HIV/AIDS research since 2001, increasing annual research funding by 20 percent.