White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry

Mike McCurry Says: Ignorance and Untruths at Root of Prejudices Cites Pressures on Republicans from Gary Bauer and James Dobson Compiled by Badpuppy’s GayToday From White House Press Briefing Reports

Same-sex love and affection, according to Lott and Armey--both  Majority Leaders in the House and the Senate—is not only “a sin” disallowed by their Southern Baptist religious heritage, but is also, according to these Republican politicians, a “disease” or a condition such as kleptomania or alcoholism.

The text of the Wednesday White House Press Briefing is as follows:

Question:  Mike -- the President's appeal to the Congress and pass a tobacco law, could you detail for us a little bit some of the back and forth between the Hill and the White House in the last few days to convince the Republicans that this is the right thing to do? 

Mr. McCurry: Well, we've had numerous conversations with those who are managing the bill on the floor to assess the situation. Our legislative staff, Larry Stein, our Director of Congressional Relations, has been closely in contact with leadership on both sides of the aisle. But I'd say that the most important discussions have been the conversations that Mr. Bowles, the Chief of Staff, has had directly with the Majority Leader, including two telephone conversations so far today, and who knows, by the end of the day, maybe even more.

Question: Your comments yesterday about his backward thinking on homosexual relations, do you think that played any part in the –

Mr. McCurry: I can't imagine that, on an issue so fundamentally important as the public health of children in America, that the Majority Leader would take, you know, whatever anger he felt toward me and use that as something that would affect the scheduling on this

Question: Did he call you at all?

Mr. McCurry: No, his office put out a statement in which they incorrectly said that I was trying to judge right and wrong. Judgment of right and wrong is done, you know, in my mind, by someone else. (Laughter.) And that's not what this was about. 

Question: But you were saying he was wrong. 

Mr. McCurry: No, I said that he was incorrect when he said that homosexuality is a disease. It is not. And that's all I said. I did not comment on theology, nor would I, because he's entitled to have whatever personal belief of conscience that he wants to have, as is any American.

Question:  Do you think it was wise of him to have and express that belief?

Mr. McCurry: I think it's unwise when people, in saying something that is not true, in saying something that reflects misconceptions that are now decades old, when those – when leadership -- people in leadership positions repeat that kind of thinking, it lends support to those who are trying to be divisive and who are trying to set individual groups of Americans against each other. And I think that's unfortunate when that happens.

Question:  He apparently believes it. I mean, at one point Pat Buchanan believed –

Mr. McCurry: I'm sure he believes it. And I'm sure, you know, many of us know exactly what Saint Paul wrote to the church of Corinth, too. And I understand that and I respect that, but that's not the issue that I addressed yesterday. I addressed a different question, which is, do you compare homosexuality to a
disease, like alcoholism, or kleptomania. And I thought that was very unfortunate that the Majority Leader did that. And I still do today, regardless of what his office said.

Question:  So that was ignorant of him? 

Mr. McCurry: It was ignorant. And ignorance sometimes is the foundation of prejudice.

Question:  What did the President say about your response?

Mr. McCurry: I think the President knows exactly what I said yesterday

Question:  What does he think?

Mr. McCurry: He probably would wish that we not have this kind of back and forth on that issue, but at the same time, you know, he understands why people feel strongly about it and he – he wanted to make sure that I did not cast any aspersions on the Majority Leader's religious thinking. And I didn't and I wouldn't.

Question:  Mike, what -- you connected this -- these kind of views to why the State Department authorization bill is being held up?

Mr. McCurry: Well, no, you asked me a question like, is this going to affect any other bills, and off the top of my head, I thought of one and there may be others. I didn't -- you asked me a question. 

Question:  Right, and I asked you to give me an example and you gave me -- I'm just wondering what abortion has to do with this. 

Mr. McCurry: Well, I think there is extreme pressure on the Republican leadership in Congress to hew to a certain line. And it's being forced on them by Mr. Bauer, Mr. Dobson, and others. In fact, they're very proud of the fact that they are moving the Republican Party in that direction. Mr. Bauer raises money based on his own strong criticism of the Republican Party for not being anti-gay enough. And that's a very divisive thing. And it's some commentary on the state of affairs in that party when you see their leadership bend so directly to the admonitions of those who are making those arguments. And you see that reflected in the way they've addressed a lot of legislative issues, if I'm not mistaken.

Question:  Do you see any inconsistency in the position you're taking and the position of the administration on homosexuals in the military?

Mr. McCurry: No, because that is a policy-related issue and it doesn't have anything to do with how you view homosexuality, whether or not it is a trait that defines one's sexuality. I mean, that's the question that is fundamental about what the Majority Leader had to say and it has nothing to do with policy. The Majority Leader would be perfectly within bounds if he criticized our policy on gays in the military or anything. That's a matter of substance, a matter of policy.

The Press: Thank you.

END 2:05 P.M. EDT