First: Right off, I am not saying this is the case, but here is a very interesting
article about a former assistant of Karl Rove
Hernandez's career with the president began during Bush's campaign for governor in 1994, according to the column. Hernandez is a graduate of George H.W. Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University. He served as an aide to senior White House advisor Karl Rove.
More after the jump......
who has just been
awarded nominated
assistant secretary of commerce:
President Bush may have nominated a gay man to be an assistant secretary of commerce just as cities around the nation celebrated gay pride.
Bush recently named longtime aide Israel Hernandez for the job. The 35-year-old Texas native is openly gay, according to a column in the New York Daily News.
Hernandez did not return a message left on his voice mail at the White House.
Hernandez failed to introduce or mention his male partner when he was asked at a confirmation hearing if there was anyone he wanted to introduce, according to the newspaper column. He introduced his mother, father and sister.
If this is true, it exposes the Bush administratoin (again, actually) as the utter hypocrits that they are. First, because they see it perfectly acceptable to use gay people for their own needs and at the same time, villify them by openly calling for denial of equal partnership rights.
But, beyond that, back to GannonGate! Here is a reportedly openly gay man who is an assistant to Karl Rove. What do we know about Israel Hernandez? Now that he is nominated for an assistant secretary of commerce, surely there is additional informatoin about him available?
Is this something the GannonGate reporters should track down? I'd be happy to do so, but do not have nearly the skills that I've seen demonstrated here.
Did Jeff Guckert socialize and/or have any type of relationship - business or personal - with this Israel Hernandez? Is this the link to Rove's dirty tricks in the press corps? Is this appointment ... for which it would seem he has shockingly little experince ... a reward for his good performance as Rove's aide-de-camp? (howling laughter suppressed - too much pun - unintended)
The article at New York Daily News is here.
Out of the closet & into sub-Cabinet?
President Bush isn't letting potential howls from the Christian right stop him from nominating an openly gay man as assistant secretary of commerce.
Just in time for Pride Week, Bush has tapped longtime aide Israel Hernandez for the post, which also carries the title of director general of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service.
The 35-year-old Republican go-getter has been a Bush acolyte since the President's 1994 campaign for governor of Texas. (Among Hernandez's duties was supplying the candidate with breath mints, prompting Dubya to dub him "Altoid Boy.")
Most recently, the graduate of Texas A&M's George H.W. Bush School of Government served as aide-de-camp to senior White House adviser Karl Rove.
What say you? Is this an important follow-up in the GannonGate investigation? Have you seen this carried in local coverage? Has your local gay press picked up on this?
Update [2005-7-9 23:13:57 by YucatanMan]:UPDATED: Houston Voice carries more information:
Hernandez testified June 16 at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation. He mentioned the presence of his sister, mother and father at the hearing but made no mention of a domestic partner.
In a questionnaire he submitted to the committee in advance of his testimony, Hernandez listed his residence as a Fall Church, Va., townhouse that, according to tax records, is owned and occupied by another man, Albert A. Gallegos.
A male voice on the answering machine of the home identified himself as "Al," but messages left seeking comment about Hernandez's nomiantion were not returned by deadline.
and details of his service to Bush:
Hernandez, 35, a Texas native, worked from 1995 to 1997 as a personal aide to then Gov. George W. Bush in Austin, Texas, according to the questionnaire Hernandez submitted to the Senate committee. According to news reports, he worked as Bush's travel aide during his 2000 presidential run and often provided the candidate with breath mints before speaking engagements, earning him the nickname "Altoid boy" from the future president.
Hernandez worked from January 2001 to May 2005 at the White House, where he held the post of deputy assistant to the president and assistant to senior White House adviser Karl Rove. [ED to add bold]Hernandez is the second Rove deputy whose sexual orientation has come into question. Ken Mehlman, who worked as Rove's No. 2 at the White House and managed Bush's re-election campaign, has refused to answer questions about his sexual orientation. Mehlman is now chair of the Republican National Committee.
Hernandez received a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin in 1992 and an MPA in public administration from Texas A&M's George Bush School of Government in 1999, he stated on the questionnaire.
Gay Republican activist Carl Schmid said Hernandez accompanied Bush during the 2000 campaign when he met with a dozen gay Republican leaders at his campaign office in Austin. The gay attendees became known as the "Austin 12." Schmid said he does not know whether Hernandez is gay.
"He goes back with Bush a long time," said Schmid, who added that White House observers consider Hernandez a Bush "insider."
If confirmed by the Senate, Hernandez would have the title of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Promotion and Director General of the United States Foreign Commercial Service. The U.S. Foreign Commercial Service promotes American goods and services abroad and works with U.S. cities and states to help American companies export products.
In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton appointed two openly gay men, Bruce Lehman and Todd Dickinson, to successive positions as assistant secretary of commerce and commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patent & Trademarks.