California Democrats show selective activism
Max Mallhi
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California Republicans honored former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell on the state Senate floor in light of Pride month on Monday. But some state Democrats protested the move by staging a walkout.
His crime? Serving as the first openly gay presidential Cabinet member who happens to be Republican. Do California Democrats only believe in “tolerance” toward target groups so long as their members condone the party’s ideologies?
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Grenell was appointed by President Donald Trump in March 2020 to fill the role of DNI. He also served as U.S. ambassador to Germany from 2018-2020 and special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations from 2019-2021. He is undoubtedly an accomplished public servant, but the fact that such a historical moment took place under a Republican administration did not sit well with many California Democratic lawmakers.
What’s more concerning is the way many in the Democratic Party view gay Republicans to begin with. For example, Democratic officials and legacy media have adopted false rhetoric by declaring Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg the first openly gay man to serve in a Cabinet position. As if a snub toward Grenell wasn’t enough, the backlash Grenell received from Democratic politicians reveals a clearer picture.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, claimed, “This is their way of celebrating Pride, by bringing in a guy who is truly a self-hating gay man, who takes tons of anti-LGBTQ positions.” He alleged this was a retaliation against state Democrats for honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence drag group in the same manner earlier this month. The comparison between an anti-Catholic drag queen group and a man with, as Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli puts it, “incredible contributions to the state and nation through his extensive public service career” is baseless, to say the least. But in a tweet against Grenell, Wiener labeled him a “scam artist pink-washer.”
If anything, Grenell has shown gay people around the country that they are not obligated to affiliate themselves with the “woke” Left mob. Gay people can love their country and fight to protect American values without their private lives influencing their political affiliation. But such an idea hurts the Democratic Party’s strategy, wherein identity politics plays a huge role in garnering votes. Racial minorities, gay people, and other social cleavages are made to believe they are “targets of oppression” and that the Democratic Party is their savior.
To be fair, believing in free-market economics and the American dream, owning a gun, preserving constitutional values, and fighting to protect children from threats such as abortion and sexualization have nothing to do with the color of one’s skin or what one does in his or her private life. Yet most gay people have historically sided with the Democratic Party. This shifted a bit after Trump took office. A study showed that 28% of gay or transgender people voted for Trump in 2020, a 14% increase from 2016.
Grenell’s reply to Wiener captured it perfectly: “It’s an honor to be your enemy. You are a radical voice against common sense, decency and parental rights. You are an apologist for pedophilia & child abuse — and you undermine American values.” With this, the Left ought to answer this simple question: Is Pride month really about celebrating gay people? Or is it about pushing a “woke” and dangerous agenda with sexually implicit foundations on society against those who don’t align themselves with the Left?
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Max Mallhi is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.