Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 13:30:48 -0500
From: Kevin Ivers <kivers@lcr.org>
Subject: HORMEL GETS RECESS APPOINTMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		CONTACT: Kevin Ivers
June 4, 1999				(202) 347-5306 x12

HORMEL GIVEN RECESS APPOINTMENT

Ambassador Nominee Supported by Hatch and Majority of Senate Going to
Luxembourg -- Lott Set Up "Unnecessary Confrontation" That Damaged GOP

(WASHINGTON) President Clinton has given James Hormel a recess appointment
as Ambassador to Luxembourg, after the nomination had stalled in the U.S.
Senate last year as a result of the objections of a handful of Senators
over Hormel's sexual orientation.

"A recess appointment is fair and will hopefully be the end of this
conflict," said Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans.
"Mr. Hormel is a qualified nominee, and was supported by conservative
Republicans like Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Senator Gordon Smith of
Oregon, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, Senator Pete Domenici of New
Mexico, Senator John McCain of Arizona and a majority of Senators.  Senator
Jesse Helms allowed the nomination to be voted out of the Foreign Relations
Committee. This was a totally unnecessary confrontation set up by a tiny
handful of Senators who are completely out of step with the rest of the
Republican Party, and the Majority Leader's decision to back them up has
damaged our party."

Shortly after Mr. Hormel's nomination in the 105th Congress, the
Traditional Values Coalition, an anti-gay organization, declared that an
openly gay person was not fit to serve as a U.S. ambassador and launched a
public smear campaign against Mr. Hormel.  Despite the overwhelming support
for his nomination, including among some of the most conservative
Republicans in the Senate, Senator Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas and Senator
Bob Smith of New Hampshire asked Lott not to allow a vote, specifically
because of Mr. Hormel's sexual orientation.  The Majority Leader
subsequently proclaimed the nomination "dead."

"So many Republicans on the Hill seem to understand that gay bashing is
wrong, both morally and politically,"  Tafel said.  "Mr. Hormel deserved a
vote on the Senate floor, and would have been confirmed easily.  It's very
frustrating to see a Majority Leader paralyzed by a small handful of
ideologues.  For the sake of the majority, the leadership should drop this
matter and move on to things that unify the conference."

Log Cabin Republicans is the nation's largest gay Republican organization,
with state and local chapters nationwide, a federal political action
committee and a national office headquartered in Washington, D.C.

####

Log Cabin Republicans		Kevin Ivers
(202) 347-5306 phone		Director of Public Affairs
(202) 347-5224 fax			http://www.lcr.org