nTiTTTTTiTI news
M usical C hairs
The smoke has yet to clear following GOP shuffle
of congressional leadership positions by Bob Roehr
S
ome gay and lesbian politicos say the
incoming Republican leadership team
in the U .S. House of Representatives
isn’t likely to change the congression
al environment relative to lesbian and
gay issues.
And many speculate that Speaker-elect Bob
Livingston— who was tapped by House Repub
licans in November to succeed Newt G in
grich— will manifest a more managerial, less
confrontational style than Gingrich.
Gingrich announced his resignation plans
following the G O P ’s relatively poor showing in
the midterm elections. He leaves office in Janu
ary.
Livingston, who hails from Louisiana, has
already met with influential outsiders including
Jesse Jackson, conservative consultant Ralph
Reed and White House chief of staff John
Podesta.
Texas Republican Dick Anney, meanwhile,
survived a G O P caucus challenge to retain his
post as majority leader. His principal challenger
was Oklahoma Rep. Steve Largent, who has
close ties to anti-gay groups like Focus on the
Family.
The strident Tom DeLay of Texas was unop
posed for party whip. The only African Ameri
can Republican in Congress, J.C . Watts of Okla
homa, defeated Ohio’s John Boehner for confer
ence chairman. Watts is an ordained minister
and has articulated anti-gay positions.
The sole moderate to gain a leadership post
was Tom Davis of Virginia, who will chair the
National Republican Congressional Com mit
tee, which recruits candidates and raises money.
The Family Research Council attacked Davis
for not being “pro-family,” but he rolled over
incumbent John Linder of Georgia by a 130-77
vote.
Davis has a sexual orientation nondiscrimi
nation employment policy in his office, and he
hicago Mayor Richard Daley’s
$3.2 million rainbow-themed
redecoration of the North Halsted
Street area— considered the city’s
queerest strip— is finished.
The modifications include the placement of
huge retro-futuristic sculptures welcoming visi
tors to the area at each end of the strip; 20 con
crete planters topped with 12-foot-high iron
trellises containing the names o f the cross
streets; and 20 rainbow-ringed, 25-foot-tall art
deco pylons placed along the length of the
entire strip.
“This has been a labor of love,” Daley said at
the project’s unveiling in late November. "I
knew we were right at the beginning. It’s called
fairness. I’m thanking you for what you have
done [for] North Halsted Street for many, many
years— for the city of Chicago.”
When the project was initially proposed as
part of Daley’s Neighborhoods Alive program, it
was controversial. Some straight residents didn’t
want to live in a recognized gay and lesbian
neighborhood, nor did some older gay residents
who feared being outed or targeted by bashers.
In addition, some critics said the project could
lead to lower property values.
As a result of the objections, the overtly gay
aspects of the design were toned down a little—
C
Bob Livingston (left) and Newt Gingrich
opposed three anti-gay amendments this year.
However, he has not co-sponsored any of the
Human Rights Campaign’s gay-related legisla
tion.
“Republicans learned in the ’96 elections
that bashing immigrants wasn’t a successful
strategy,” says Winnie Stachelberg, H RC’s polit
ical director. “It cost them votes.”
She believes the November 1998 election
sent the same message on anti-gay rhetoric and
positions. “What remains to be seen is whether
the Republican leadership will read the election
the same way,” she suggests.
Livingston leaves the chairmanship of an
Appropriations Committee that has overseen a
massive increase in A ID S funding, each year
adding more to the budget than President Clin
ton proposed.
The new chairman will be the G O P’s C.W.
Bill Young of Florida.
“We have a very good working relationship
with him,” says Stachelberg.
Young, 67, has been in Congress since 1970
and is a close ally of Livingston. He is considered
to be a pragmatist who works well across party
lines. He is likely to defer to John Porter of Illi
nois, a key subcommittee chair who has cham
pioned support for A ID S research and services.
Daniel Zingale, executive director of the
A ID S Action Council, expects Porter will
assume “even greater significance” in funding
for all health issues.
Perhaps the most disturbing change in lead
ership comes in the least powerful position, that
of chairman of the Appropriations subcommit
tee that oversees the District of Columbia bud
get. Social conservatives have made it a battle
ground on issues such as abortion, needle
exchange and anti-gay amendments pertaining
to domestic partners and adoption. The symbol
ic impact is far greater than the small number of
people the legislation impacts.
The new chairman of that subcommittee is
Ernest Istook of Oklahoma, who recently joined
nine other legislators in filing an amicus brief
with the New Jersey Supreme Court opposing a
lower court ruling that said the Boy Scouts of
America illegally discriminated against an open
ly gay scoutmaster by expelling him from the
group.
Stachelberg says the thought of Istook as a
subcommittee chair “sends shudders through
many of us.”
Carl Schmid, a member of the gay group Log
Cabin Republicans, has lobbied extensively on
D.C.-related issues. He says, “There is no ques
tion that Istook is a social conservative, [but]
everyone said his predecessors were so conserva
tive, yet we still worked with them.”
Meanwhile, Rich Tafel, executive director of
LCR, accuses social conservatives of “using the
[District of Columbia] as a playground.”
He adds, “It will be interesting to see if they
have learned the lesson of the last election, that
gay bashing doesn’t work.”
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H alsted H ubbub
Rainbow motif colors W indy City queer strip
despite a little hot air from the opposition by Rex Wockner
but the 20 sets of illuminated rainbow rings
clearly remain its focus.
A t the height of the controversy, Daley, who
has long been gay-friendly, declared, “I won’t let
the homophobes run this city!”
Rick Garcia, executive director of the Illi
nois Federation for Human Rights, says: “I
deeply appreciate Mayor Richard Daley’s refusal
to succumb to those who didn’t want the rain
bow motif to be included. One of the rainbow
pylons is directly in front of our office and I love
it When I saw the first installed pylon, I cried.”
Alderman Bemie Hansen, whose district
includes much of the project, told the Windy
City Times, “I think it’s the culmination of a
great program to recognize the contribution of
the business and leadership of this community
over the years. It's the frosting on a beautiful
cake."
Gay state Rep. Larry McKeon, a Chicago
Democrat, said, “It’s great to be a part of history.”
One of the rainbow-ringed
pylons installed along
Chicago's gayest strip.
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