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Ben Domenech Responds to CBS Bowing to WH over Kagan Story

by Michael Triplett | 4:13 pm, April 16th, 2010

» 9 comments

The conservative blogger whose post was pulled from the CBS website after pressure from the White House is surpised the White House cares about “something mentioned in passing, and intended to highlight a political positive about a potential Supreme Court nominee.”

Ben Domenech responded in the Huffington Post that he wasn’t the only one thought Elena Kagan was openly lesbian and said that he viewed it as a “plus” that would please Obama’s supporters.

“I erroneously believed that Ms. Kagan was openly gay not because of, as Stein describes it, a ‘whisper campaign’ on the part of conservatives, but because it had been mentioned casually on multiple occasions by friends and colleagues — including students at Harvard, Hill staffers, and in the sphere of legal academia — who know Kagan personally,” Domenech said.

But the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz, who broke the story about the WH pressure, thinks Domenech’s defense shows he doesn’t understand how serious the rumormongering was, tweeting “I don’t care about Elena Kagan’s sexual orientation, but for CBS to publish that rumor was obviously incendiary — and the WH was furious.”

Domenech did get some back-up from libertarian and liberal bloggers who tweeted that they, too, assumed Kagan was a lesbian and it was common knowledge at Harvard. Cato Institute’s Julian Sanchez tweeted “I hate to defend Domench, but I think he probably genuinely thought she was out. Gay news sites treat it as common knowledge.” Matt Yglesias chimed in: “Couldn’t it just be a mistake? Until this controversy I mistakenly thought she was, in fact, an out lesbian.”

Sanchez and The Atlantic‘s Marc Ambinder have blamed the gay press and blogs for the Kagan-is-a-lesbian story, but the evidence is less than convincing. It is true gay gossip blog Queerty has said she was out and Ambinder linked to a British gay news consolidator that also claimed it. But most of the mentions about Kagan’s sexual orientation don’t occur in the new sites themselves, but instead in comment sections. So to say it is treated as common knowledge by gay activists is a significant stretch unless commenters are now considered authority.

Domenech said the strong reaction from the White House signaled that she’s likely the favorite for the job and that they don’t want anything getting in the way of the nomination. “[I}f I were Ms. Kagan, I’d feel pretty good about the fact that the White House specifically responded to this, and did so in such an aggressive and forceful manner — after all, it seems like quite a clue as to who the pick will be, doesn’t it?,” Domenech concludes.

Ben Domenech, Elena Kagan, Gay, gay blogs, Howard Kurtz, Howard Kurtz Twitter, Huffington Post, Julian Sanchez, Marc Ambinder, Matt Yglesias, Queerty

http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

I almost commented about this on another blog but it would’ve required too much explanation, so I’m glad that you’re opened the discussion, here.

What I personally find interesting is that yesterday, I ended-up making multiple comments to your Out magazine post arguing that it seems to be common knowledge that Anderson Cooper is gay and he doesn’t need to address it and now, though I knew nothing about this woman until a few days ago, it seems that she may have been in a similar boat.

What’s even more troubling, if she is a lesbian, it kind of looks like the White House has put her in a no-win situation. At this point, if someone were to ask her about her sexuality and if she were to come out, the administration would look doubly dumb for their unfortunate over-reaction and if she were to side-step the question with a “don’t ask, don’t tell”, it’d appear that she may be trying to play politics.

She may have been the front-runner and the White House’s choice, but unless she’s unequivocalably not a homosexual or the White House goes into mea culpa overdrive, she’s probably not going to get nominated this time around and it won’t be because of a “whisper campaign”, but because the administration royally messed-up.
MarkStr82Hell

This is NBC’s attempt to put Bob Costas in as supreme court justice. Come on Bob, even with the ear rings we know it’s you!
Michael Triplett

I think it’s interesting that they have created a real bind should, at some later date, she announce she’s a lesbian or there is more confirmation (and you can guarantee there will be more reporting). What does the WH say then? What does Kagan do?

She’s under a great deal of scrutiny–more than Cooper ever faces–and so it is a slightly different set of facts. CNN doesn’t go around trying to quash rumors about Cooper’s personal life.
http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

@Michael Triplett: I agree. The White House messed-up big-time and it’s probably cost her this shot at a nomination. Of course there’s always next time, if hearings never formally commence, but unless she’s a heterosexual with no gay or bisexual history whatsoever, the White House would have to furiously start back-pedaling and perhaps fire someone, if they’re going to want her this time.

Heck… I know very little about Ms. Kagan, but by so forcefully denying, the administration has pretty much opened the door for some lower-rung Senator to ask and if the White House didn’t know that she had a partner, then what else might they not know?
http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

There probably should’ve been a paragraph break between my “I agree” and the rest of the comment because though somewhat conversational, it looks like I’m trying to put words in your mouth.

And PS) I should also add that perhaps those who vetted Ms Kagen were aware of what sounds like a long-going relationship, but maybe the folks in the press room didn’t know.
Averreauxii

I’m sorry folks but homosexuality is still considered a taboo in mainstream America. This was obviously a whisper campaign (is it really when it’s put up by a respected news org. like CBS?) that the WH didn’t want overshadowing a prospective candidate for the USSC. There are still a lot of bigoted people in this country including congress-people and you do not want someone’s sexuality taking center stage. This really is no one’s business. Why do people in this country care who someone else sleeps with? NOYB!
ImNotBlue

Averreauxii says:
April 16, 2010 at 11:25 pm

Well, strategically speaking, it could have been good for the Democrats. If the Republicans came out against her because of her sexuality, they’d use that to attack them.

Of course, reality suggests that it doesn’t really matter if the Republicans disliked her for her sexuality or not, the Democrats (and their puppets in the media) would attack Republicans for being “homophobic.” Let’s face it, there isn’t a “-phobic” or “-ist” that the Democrats won’t charge Republicans with, even it’s is obviously not true, and it damages the actual movement… but works as a political tool for the moment.

But I digress… her sexuality could have been used as a weapon with which to beat Republicans, fair or not. But in the end… who cares? Gay… straight… whatever. Who cares?
TylerDurden

MarkStr82Hell says:
April 16, 2010 at 6:23 pm

This is NBC’s attempt to put Bob Costas in as supreme court justice. Come on Bob, even with the ear rings we know it’s you!”

LMAO!!!!

The WH is making this into a Seinfeld episode: ” I was outed and I was never in!!!!!!
TylerDurden

Hey, WH: Not that there is anything wrong with that!