<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2963" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>
<P>Tuesday, October 17, 2006<BR>
<HR SIZE=1>
<!-- writer and photo option -->
<HR noShade SIZE=1>
<!-- end option --><FONT face=Palatino, color=#000000 size=+2 Georgia, Times New
Roman, Times, serif>Rice's approving 'gay' remarks rankle GOP
base</FONT><BR><FONT face=Palatino, color=#000000 size=+1 Georgia, Times New
Roman, Times, serif>Secretary welcomed new AIDS ambassador's
'mother-in-law'</FONT><BR>
<HR SIZE=1>
<FONT size=-1>Posted: October 17, 2006<BR>1:00 a.m. Eastern<BR><BR></FONT><!-- end deck -->
<P>
<HR SIZE=1>
<!--<br>© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com--><FONT
size=-1><!-- copyright -->© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com <!-- end copyright --></FONT>
<P>
<TABLE align=right>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD width=254><IMG height=171
src="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/dybul.jpg" width=254
border=0><BR><FONT face=arial size=1>Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
assists newly sworn-in Ambassador Mark Dybul as he signs appointment
documents Oct. 10 at the State Department (White House
photo)</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Bush administration's swearing-in of
an openly homosexual global AIDS ambassador and Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice's approving remarks during the ceremony about his lifestyle are reflective
of a Republican party "identity crisis," say some family advocates in the
nation's capital.
<P>While the party wants the support of "values voters," it also is courting
homosexuals and seems willing to appease the movement's radical agenda, USA
Today said in a feature story.
<P><I>(Story continues below)</I>
<P>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--
google_ad_client = "pub-9952085791529017";
google_ad_width = 300;
google_ad_height = 250;
google_ad_format = "300x250_as";
google_ad_type = "text_image";
google_ad_channel ="";
google_color_border = "FFFFFF";
google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";
google_color_link = "660000";
google_color_text = "000000";
google_color_url = "B3B3B3";
//--></SCRIPT>
<P>Rice and first lady Laura Bush spoke for the administration</A> at the Oct.
10 swearing-in at the State Department where Dybul was accompanied by his male
partner, Jason Claire. Rice, during her comments, referred to the presence of
Claire's mother and called her Dybul's "mother-in-law."
<P>According to the <A
href="http://www.state.gov/s/gac/rl/rm/2006/73794.htm">State Department
transcript</A>, Rice said:
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>Thank you. Thank you very much. I am truly honored and delighted
to have the opportunity to swear in Mark Dybul as our next Global AIDS
Coordinator. I am pleased to do that in the presence of Mark's parents, Claire
and Richard; his partner, Jason; and his mother-in-law, Marilyn. You have
wonderful family to support you, Mark, and I know that's always important to
us. Welcome.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>The use of a term normally reserved for legally married heterosexual families
rankled Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the <A
href="http://www.frc.org/">Family Research Council</A>, who called Rice's
comments "profoundly offensive," according to <A
href="http://www.agapepress.org/">Agape Press</A>.
<P>
<TABLE align=right>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD width=254><IMG height=171
src="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/dybulswearingin.jpg" width=254
border=0><BR><FONT face=arial size=1>Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
swears in Ambassador Mark Dybul (White House
photo)</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P>The secretary's remarks, he said, fly in the face of the Bush
administration's endorsement of a federal marriage protection amendment.
<P>"We have to face the fact that putting a homosexual in charge of AIDS policy
is a bit like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse," said Sprigg. "But even
beyond that, the deferential treatment that was given not only to him but his
partner and his partner's family by the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is
very distressing."
<P>Sprigg said, according to Agape Press, in light of the Mark Foley scandal,
"it's inexplicable that a conservative administration would do such things."
<P>Rice's comments, he added, conflict with a law protecting traditional
marriage.
<P>"So, for her to treat his partner like a spouse and treat the partner's
mother as a mother-in-law, which implies a marriage between the two partners, is
a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the Defense of Marriage Act,"
Spriggs said.
<P>The Foley scandal has highlighted the number of homosexual staffers working
for Republican lawmakers, USA Today noted, causing some family advocates to
wonder if this influence has anything to do with the party's lack of action on
conservative social issues.
<P>The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins framed the question this way: "Has
the social agenda of the GOP been stalled by homosexual members or staffers?"
<P>Dybul is the nation's third openly homosexual ambassador, Agape Press noted,
pointing out that in all three cases the homosexual partners held the Bible on
which the oath of office was taken.
<P>As <A
href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52461">WND
reported</A>, a new book also has raised the eyebrows of some evangelicals.
White House political advisers embraced evangelical supporters publicly to get
their votes while mocking them privately as "nuts" and "goofy," according to
David Kuo, the former No. 2 man in President Bush's so-called "faith-based"
initiatives program.
<P>
<HR width="16%" noShade SIZE=1>
</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>