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 Embarrassment for U.S. Senator James M. Inhofe (Okla.-R) Several Office Aides Caught Downloading Internet Erotica |
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Compiled By GayToday
Washington, D.C.--The hypocrisy of Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., who objected
to James C. Hormel's recess appointment as the ambassador to Luxembourg on
"moral" grounds, was put on full display today as several of his aides
were discovered to have downloaded large quantities of pornography off the
Internet, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
"The sanctimonious, holier-than-thou veil was ripped from the face of Senator Inhofe," said HRC Communications Director David M. Smith. "In light of this astounding hypocrisy, we call on Inhofe to lift his holds on all nominations and apologize to James Hormel and the American public for letting his bigotry stand in the way of the nation's business."
Last week, Inhofe blocked all pending Clinton administration nominations because he was upset over the June 4 recess appointment of openly gay philanthropist James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg. Inhofe attacked the appointment with a blistering statement. "President Clinton has shown contempt for Congress and the Constitution," Inhofe said. "He has treated the Senate confirmation process as little more than a nuisance which he can circumvent whenever he wants to impose his will on the country." Despite Inhofe's anger at Clinton over the recess appointment, the president has been far less likely than past presidents to exercise this executive power. To date, Clinton has made only 58 recess appointments, compared to 78 for President Bush over four years and 239 for President Reagan over eight years. "Inhofe is unsuccessfully trying to hide behind Senate procedure," said Smith. "The fact is, he wasn't concerned about the 57 other nominees. He only became indignant when it was a gay nominee that received a recess appointment." Clinton nominated Hormel in 1997 to serve as U. S. ambassador to Luxembourg. The nomination was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last fall but had been stalled by several senators who raised objections to his support for lesbian and gay equal rights. The right-wing campaign to stop Hormel's nomination was led by Sens. James Inhofe, Bob Smith, R-N.H., and Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark. The battle for Hormel's confirmation sometimes took unfortunate turns as right-wing senators took extreme and erratic stances to justify their anti-gay discrimination, according to HRC. In an earlier issue of Roll Call, Inhofe compared Hormel to former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.
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