Don't Ask Sam Nunn

Senator Obama: Nunn's Legacy is Tarnished by Homophobic Record; Gays are an Influential and Loyal Political Force.

Don't Ask Sam Nunn to be your Vice President, Secretary of State, or Secretary of Defense.

 

[Update by eQualityGiving: On August 23, 2008, Senator Obama chose Senator Biden as his running mate. Senator Nunn shares some of the same traits that made Senator Biden the VP choice. We appreciate that Senator Obama understood the other traits that made Senator Nunn not the proper choice.]

By John Norris Have relevant facts about Nunn? Click here to contact John John is a businessman based in Los Angeles.

INTRODUCTION

Former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn's career is tarnished by a career of hostility toward gays, including the derailment of President Clinton's plan to lift the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. Since the first rule of selecting vice presidents, like the Hippocratic Oath, is "do no harm," LGBT leaders were dismayed when the Obama campaign confirmed Nunn was "on the list" of potential running mates. Yet despite the protests, Nunn has steadily risen on the short lists of contenders. Meanwhile, voices dismissing both the concerns of the LGBT community - and its political relevance - have grown in tandem.

The simple fact that he is being considered for the ticket should serve as a reminder that the struggle for equality is far from over. The vetting of Sam Nunn will have profound implications for the future of the LGBT community; we understimate him at our own peril.  

------UPDATES------

NEW SECTION: DADT & NUNN'S MILITARY JUDGMENT  The first in a series that will focus on Sam Nunn's judgment without regard to the LGBT community. Americans believe Nunn has a record of sound military policy guidance, an image crafted over 36 years. This image is not supported by the facts. The series starts by comparing Nunn's 1993 policy judgment to the views of a military personnel expert published at the time.

CLOSED MOUTHS, BUT OPEN TRYOUTS TO MAKE THE TEAM (New York Times, July 20): "For all the lengths Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have gone to in keeping their hunt for a vice president under wraps, their deliberations are in some ways being conducted in plain sight […] In Indiana last week, Mr. Obama appeared with two of the more speculated-about names on Democratic lists, Senator Evan Bayh and former Senator Sam Nunn. [...] As the process unfolds, strategic imperatives for the two candidates have become clearer. Members of both parties said Mr. Obama, 46, should not be looking to make any dramatic or risky moves. […] Steve Elmendorf, who played a significant role in the vice-presidential search as a deputy campaign manager for Senator John Kerry, said: “Barack is in a different situation, and he needs somebody who can be safe and steady.”

SENATOR NUNN'S LAST CHANCE (by Aubrey Savis). Savis has little tolerance for the way Nunn has been recently hedging of his words about DADT: "Its time to bite the bullet, Senator Nunn. Get with the program."  Savis is Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).

NUNN THE WISER (by Nathaniel Frank). Frank applies his command of the history of DADT to Nunn's spin on events: "As can be seen by revisiting Nunn's past words and deeds, the true source behind opposition to gay service was never concerns about unit cohesion, as was often stated, but moral animus to gay rights."  (Frank is a Senior Research Fellow at the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara and history teacher on the adjunct faculty at New York University's Gallatin School. Look for his upcoming book: Unfriendly Fire: How the Bay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America. 

NUNN'S RECORD AGAINST LGBT EQUALITY

Nunn's affable, bi-partisan and moderate image belies his record of actions against LGBT people. A few memorable moments:

> In 1982 Nunn summarily removed two openly gay attorneys in his staff because, as Nunn asserted, they posed a "security risk." However, Nunn also told them that a gay staff member "wouldn't go over in Georgia."

> In 1984 Nunn backed Senator John Glenn's bid for the White House, citing the candidate's "courage" in expressing the "strongly held moral belief that homosexuals should not be role models for our children."

> In 1993 - Don't Ask Don't Tell: Nunn became the leader of the few Congressional Democrats to challenge President Clinton's initiative to allow gay men and lesbians to serve in the military. With television cameras in tow, Nunn led the famous visit to the showers and bunks of a submarine. The damage of Nunn's position extended beyond the LGBT community, undermining the first Democratic presidency since 1980.

> In 1993 Nunn said he believed the heterosexual lifestyle was "morally superior to the homosexual lifestyle," followed by "American family deterioration is one of the biggest problems we face in our culture."

> In 1996 Nunn voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), despite that he had already announced that he was not running for reelection. ENDA did not pass by one vote. ENDA has not been voted again in the senate ever since.

Other significant votes by Senator Nunn:

> Nunn voted with Jesse Helms to reduce funding for AIDS research and to ban HIV positive immigrants.

> Nunn voted to prohibit federal money FOR educational materials that portrayed homosexuality as "normal."

> Nunn supported amendments to give Washington, D.C. organizations the right to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

THE LGBT COMMUNITY IS ADAMANT

Coming from a community as diverse as ours, the depth and breadth of outrage is remarkably consistent:  “If Obama picks former Sam Nunn as his vice-presidential running-mate:”

>BARNEY FRANK - "[I] would have a hard time voting for the [Democratic] ticket…I would be virtually useless in trying to convince other gays and lesbians to support the ticket.”....Frank cited Nunn's "real record of hostility" toward gays. He emphasized that in September 1996, after Nunn announced his retirement from the Senate, he voted against ENDA. The bill failed in the Senate by a single vote.

>DAVID MIXNER - “Nunn’s positions on equal rights for the LGBT community should be reason enough to keep him off the ticket.”

>WAYNE BESEN, author, activist, columnist and public speaker: “The idea of Obama picking Nunn to run as his vice president is preposterous.”

>PAUL SCHINDLER of the Gay City News: “Barack Obama… must absolutely rule out Sam Nunn.”

>JONATHAN CAPEHART, editorial board member of the Washington Post:  “As Sen. Barack Obama considers potential running mates, he should contemplate with caution….” Capehart goes on to say: “If Obama taps Nunn, he could end up adding gay men and lesbians to the list of disgruntled Democrats. They might not vote for McCain, but they might very well stay home.”

>JEFF SOREF, former chairman of the DNC's LGBT caucus: "’Revisiting' is not admitting a mistake or apologizing for the pain he inflicted or the tens of thousands of lives affected by the policy. Surely there are more compelling choices out there [for vice president]."

>JOHN MARBLE, spokesperson for National Stonewall Democrats: “We don’t think he would be a good choice. I don’t think there is any serious talk of him being selected for vice president. I don’t think it’s something our community should be alarmed about but it’s something our community should be aware of.”

>ANDREW TOBIAS, treasurer of the Democratic National Committee:  "For all Nunn's qualifications . . . there would be very little enthusiasm for him within the LGBT community."

>NATHANIEL FRANK, Senior Research Fellow at the Palm Center at UC-Santa Barbara:  "As can be seen by revisiting Nunn's past words and deeds, the true source behind opposition to gay service was never concerns about unit cohesion, as was often stated, but moral animus to gay rights."

>AUBREY SARVIS, Executive Director of the SLDN: "Senator Nunn has got to go all the way on opening the military to qualified gays and lesbians who want to serve -- not half way, as he's been doing lately."

 

DADT AND NUNN'S MILITARY JUDGMENT

Steve Herbits  has been one of the foremost experts on military personnel issues in America since well before DADT. In1969 President Nixon appointed Steve, at age 25, to the Presidents Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force, along with Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan and other illuminaries. Steve was the only member of his generation appointed to the commission. 

Steve expressed his policy views on the issue of "gays in the military" in a 1993 New York Times article. His comments are interesting because first and foremost, they are the professional perspective of a Pentagon insider and hawkish proponent of America's military rather than a single-minded LGBT advocate. Therefore they serve as a useful benchmark to compare Nunn's judgment at the time. Steve's opening comment: "No single issue more poignantly snaps our Armed Forces into the 21st century than the question of whether homosexuals should be permitted to serve openly in their ranks."  In essence, fifteen years ago Steve argued that including openly gay personnel would be crucial to the armed forces in the future. History proved him correct; Nunn's DADT policy has reduced both enrollment and retention while our troops are over-stretched and battered by the "stop loss" back-door draft policy. Steve one, Nunn zero.

Steve's next comment: "Our military cannot afford to stray long from the society it defends; the pressures for it to catch up are mounting within and without." A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll said 75% of Americans believe gay people who are open about their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, up from 62 percent in early 2001 and 44 percent in 1993. Nunn was so blind to social progress he insisted DADT be written into law. Steve two, Nunn zero. 

Steve concluded the article with the prediction that history will not be kind to the barriers that were being erected against gays and lesbians. Obama's VP selection committee should dutifully take into account the military consequences of Nunn's judgment with respect to DADT. They would be also wise to consider Steve's 1993 conclusion (along with his noted prescience).

(Steve has served as a senior civilian military advisor in five administrations. He rose to become the highest-ranking "out" executive in corporate America and has founded, co-founded and served a number of LGBT organizations).

 

• RECOMMENDED RESOURCE:
For state-of-the-art analysis and research on both Sam Nunn and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," visit the Michael D. Palm Center online. The center is a leader in the fight against the marginalization of LGBT's in the armed forces and a unit of the University of California, Santa Barbara.  (Aaron Belkin is director of the center and an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.)

 

 

ARGUMENTS THAT FAVOR NUNN

Nunn is a reassuring senior statesman and foreign policy expert who won’t usurp the spotlight from Obama. The former senator remains one of the most respected national security and foreign policy experts on the national scene. His serious, no-nonsense demeanor would add instant gravitas to the ticket, and he is a popular figure in Georgia — a state the Obama campaign hopes to make competitive this cycle.

The former GA senator has been mentioned as a top contender for VP in just about every major publication from the NY Times and Washington Post to Politico and Time Magazine.

> Obama has moved sharply toward the center, and Nunn would bring him closer. 

> Nunn's experience as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee could be used to counter McCain's greatest perceived strength, national security.

> Nunn has the confidence and strong backing of corporate America. He serves on the board of directors of four powerful companies: Coca-Cola, Dell, Chevron, and General Electric. His connections could bring the money and confidence of business executives to the ticket.

> Nunn serves on Obama's National Security Working Group with Eric Holder, one of two members of the vice presidential selection committee.

> Nunn's work to reduce the risk of use and prevent the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons has resulted in at least three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000, 2002 and 2005. Nuclear proliferation is a critical issue and one that Obama could tout on the campaign trail and take on the world stage.

> Nunn would add electoral heft in the South, a weaker area for Obama. He remains popular in Georgia, and could turn the red state toward Obama. He is well-liked in neighboring states and could make the difference in close races.

 

NUNN FOR VP TIMELINE

2007
· August 25: Nunn announces he is considering a run for the White House on a third-party ticket.

2008
· April 14: Atlantic.com: NUNN ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA 

· May 21: Politico: THE CASE FOR NUNN

· June 3: Nunn announces: "It might be time to take another look at Don't Ask Don't Tell."

· June 4: JIMMY CARTER ENDORSES NUNN.

· June 6: Wall Street Journal: PEGGY NOONAN ENDORSES NUNN

"Because he's an interesting black man. He needs a sober, experienced, older establishment player who will be respected by the press, the first responders of the political game. They'll set the tone in which the choice is celebrated, or not. He needs someone like Sam Nunn."

· June 18: Kiplinger.com: THE CASE FOR NUNN

"Obama is going to need people who understand the global landscape and know how to work Washington to get things done. And that's where Nunn can be a huge help."

· June 19: The Rothenberg Report: LGBT BACKLASH AGAINST NUNN DISMISSED

"Frankly, the assertion that gays - liberal and Democratic gays, that is - may sit out the presidential race if Nunn is chosen by Obama is difficult to take seriously. Given Obama's record in Illinois and in the Senate, his overall ideology and the effusive endorsement of him earlier this month by the Human Rights Campaign, 'the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights group,' it's absurd to suggest that politically interested gays who otherwise agree with Obama and share his values would withhold their vote if he selected Nunn to join his ticket."

· June 20: Press Release: NUNN CONFIRMED ON LIST OF VP CANDIDATES

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick reports that Obama's vice presidential search team, Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder, told her that Nunn and Edwards were on the list of candidates: ''We've been brainstorming in the Congressional Black Caucus. Former senator Sam Nunn's name has come up, as well as John Edwards's name has come up among our CBC members,'' Kilpatrick said in an interview with the Associated Press. "I reported that to them, and they had both of those names on their list."

· July 2: MSNBC: STATEWIDE POLL INDICATES NUNN COULD MOVE GEORGIA TO OBAMA 

"If Barack Obama selected Georgia's former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn as his Vice Presidential running mate, would you be more or less likely to vote for Barack Obama?"
- More likely: 51%
- Less likely: 11%
- No difference/Undecided: 38%

· July 4: Newsweek:  "SAM NUNN WOULD BE A SMART CHOICE:"

"But Nunn may be the best pick for Barack Obama in a year when the presumptive Democratic nominee has no obvious choices. If some potential candidate could immediately offer strength to Obama on the economy, he should pick him or her. But no one fits that bill, which leaves the field open to a foreign policy heavyweight who could help compensate for the slim resume of a freshman senator. The notion that Obama would be better off pretending this weakness didn't exist-that he should double down on change with a young running mate-ignores the readiness bar Obama still needs to clear."

· July 7: New York Observer: NUNN'S LGBT RECORD COULD BE AN ASSET TO OBAMA 

"On the whole, Nunn's resistance to gays in the military - 15 years ago, it ought to be noted - would be a plus for an Obama-led ticket, not a minus. Obama, unlike John McCain, doesn't really have a problem with his base in this election."

· July 8: Atlanta Constitution: EDITOR DISMISSS THE GAY COMMUNITY

"A Nunn candidacy will be opposed by many in the gay community because of his advocacy of the "don't-ask-don't-tell" policy for gays in the military...I too have been struck at the depth of the anger at Nunn in the gay community, and I think it's mistaken. In the past 15 years, a lot of ...Holding a grudge against people for opinions they no longer hold doesn't make much sense, especially on an issue in which public sentiment has swung so far so quickly."

· July 9:  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:  - NUNN: “OPEN SERVICE FOR GAYS TO COME ‘EVENTUALLY’”

“Last week, just before the Fourth of July, former Georgia senator Sam Nunn predicted Don’t Ask Don’t Tell will ultimately end. Nunn said: ‘If you’re going to have open service by gays and lesbians — and I think we will eventually have that, the question’s timing. But if you’re going to have that, you have to have a very carefully calibrated set of rules. I think it’s appropriate to review it now. We certainly are having a lot of people who are getting out because of it. But on the other hand, there are an awful lot of people that may be affected the other way.’”

· July 13: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - HAS SAM NUNN'S TIME FOR VP SPOT ARRIVED?

“Big issues such as energy policy, the war in Iraq and health care — and Washington's inability to deal with them — are weighing on the former senator. ‘He loves to solve the problem,’ said Gordon Giffin, former chief counsel for Nunn. ‘Nunn seems to have studied Obama's entire platform. He thinks he can make a contribution now.’.....Obama's team said the Illinois senator 'deeply respects Senator Nunn's leadership on national security'.....Nunn's former chief of staff, said the nation's daunting problems have made Nunn — a lifelong Democrat with gravitas and a reputation as a problem solver — a particularly attractive candidate this year."

· July 13: Las Vegas Review-Journal – GEORGIA COULD TURN BLUE – WITH NUNN

"Bob Barr’s Libertarian candidacy will likely hurt Republicans in Georgia, and help put the state in play for Obama. Georgia has 15 electoral votes – a 30-vote swing. But Obama won’t take Georgia without Sam Nunn as his running mate. Nunn is also a leading Democratic thinker on defense and foreign policy issues."

· July 16:  CNN — OBAMA APPEARS WITH BAYH AND NUNN

"The traveling press corps trailing the presumptive Democratic nominee’s campaign bombarded Bayh and Nunn with questions over reports both Democrats are on Obama's shortlist for vice president.  "I have never aspired to that office," said Nunn, who served in the Senate for 25 years. "It is always nice to have your name mentioned — it is an honor — but I have no expectation of being offered any office, and I am not in any way sitting on the edge of a chair ready to go back into government." Nunn, one of the most respected Democratic voices on national security policy, seems to encounter vice presidential speculation every election cycle, given his appeal in the South and strength on issues where Republicans usually have the edge."

· July 16:  - OBAMA'S INDIANA VISIT PUTS BAYH, NUNN IN VEEP SPOTLIGHT

"Sen. Barack Obama was flanked by two potential running mates Wednesday. As experts talked about dirty bombs, anthrax and attacks on the nation's computer infrastructure, many eyes were trained on Evan Bayh of Indiana and Sam Nunn of Georgia. Both have been listed as potential Obama running mates and both live in key red states that Obama's campaign has targeted for the general election."

· July 20: New York Times - CLOSED MOUTHS, BUT OPEN TRYOUTS TO MAKE THE TEAM

“For all the lengths Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have gone to in keeping their hunt for a vice president under wraps, their deliberations are in some ways being conducted in plain sight…In Indiana last week, Mr. Obama appeared with two of the more speculated-about names on Democratic lists, Senator Evan Bayh and former Senator Sam Nunn….As the process unfolds, strategic imperatives for the two candidates have become clearer. Members of both parties said Mr. Obama, 46, should not be looking to make any dramatic or risky moves…Steve Elmendorf, who played a significant role in the vice-presidential search as a deputy campaign manager for Senator John Kerry, said: “Barack is in a different situation, and he needs somebody who can be safe and steady.”

 

 

THE POLITICAL CALCULUS

The Obama campaign announced it will not comment on the vice presidential selection process until the selection. His deliberations, however, will certainly include a projection of how Nunn might affect the outcome of the election, including the voting clout of the LGBT community as well as the depth and breadth of its concerns about Nunn. Damage by Nunn does not even assume that most LGBT voters who stay home because their motivation to turn out is overcome by disappointment.

 

While the damage Nunn has wrought to LGBT's is incalculable, we can project our response to a ticket that includes Nunn:

 

(1) LGBT VOTERS:  The projected number of LGBT voters is based on an exit  poll sponsored by The National Election Pool that indicates four percent of voters in the 2004 general election identified themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual. 

• The analysis conservatively bases its projections on self identified LGB’s. It does not include transgenders; it does not include other supporters of the LGBT community (family, friends and enlightened voters) who are sympathetic to LGBT issues and vote accordingly. 
• The 4% figure is arguably conservative, as some percentage of LGBT voters are reluctant to identify as such. 
• The figure is an average number and is known to vary state‐to‐state, although reliable exit polling data on LGBT turnout is unavailable in most states.

(2) LGBT DEMOCRATIC VOTERS:  The same poll indicated that among people identifying themselves as gay, lesbian or  bisexual, 77% voted for the Democratic presidential candidate. 

• The vote counts above are based on self‐identified LGBT voters only:  nor does it not include the contingent of families, friends, co‐workers and others who support LGBT equality. 
• “NUNN LIABILITY:” The unanimous warnings from LGBT leaders suggest a plausible that one‐third of Obama’s LGBT supporters would either abstain or vote for McCain. To be conservative, the projection assumes the 1/3 contingent LGBT vote simply stays home instead of voting McCain.
  _____________________________

CONCLUSION

As Nunn enters the twilight of his career, he is firmly rooted on the wrong side of history. His stark history of intolerance overshadows his career accomplishments.

Nunn does not reflect the audacity of hope and the change that are at the core of the Obama campaign. 

For the first time in history, however, the political strength of the LGBT community tops such a list on a national level. 

When Nunn's rejection is announced, it will signal the hard-fought change of an era and a turning point for the LGBT community.

John Norris

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