Gay Rights Groups Fuming Over Kagan Smear Campaign

A former Bush aide, Ben Domenech, used a blog on CBS’ website to attack U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a potential Obama Administration Supreme Court pick. 

The tactic has left many gay rights activists up in arms as Domenech infers that the pick would be merely to appease Obama’s homosexual base.   

In a blog post Thursday, Domenech said Kagan “would please much of Obama’s base … the first openly gay justice.” An update of the post added “I have to correct my text here to say that Kagan is apparently still closeted – odd, because her female partner is rather well known in Harvard circles.”  Domenech later apologized for the rant saying, “I offer my sincere apologies to Ms. Kagan if she is offended at all by my repetition of a Harvard rumor in a speculative blog post.”

A spokesman for the White House told CBS that Kagan is not gay.

Focus on the Family issued a statement where they promise to oppose any Supreme Court nominee who is gay.  Tom Minnery, Senior Vice President with Focus on the Family told the Plum Line,“Someone who is a practicing homosexual is a non starter for the group.” 

Michael Cole, the spokeman for the Human Rights Campaign quickly responded to the blog by issuing a statement that read, “Even though the majority of Americans couldn’t care less about a nominee’s sexual orientation, the far right will continue to be shameless with their whisper campaigns to drum up their base and raise money off of prejudice.”

Kagan is the first woman to hold the office of the Solicitor General, appointed by Obama in January 2009.  She served as Associate White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton and was formerly the Dean of Harvard Law School.  

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