Creep of the Week: Claude Allen, Bush’s newly appointed Domestic Policy Advisor

Claude Allen, Bush’s newly appointed Domestic Policy Advisor
If you can’t get a right-wing appeals court nominee confirmed, just make him one of your advisors. That’s just what George W. Bush did when he named staunch conservative and abstinence activist Claude Allen as his Domestic Policy Adviser, responsible for shaping all White House proposals and decisions on domestic issues. Bush nominated Allen to a federal appeals court in April 2003 and again a year ago, but Allen never received a vote in the Senate. During his confirmation hearing, Allen was questioned about his use of the word “queer” when he was a press aide to Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., in 1984 and accused Helms’ Democratic opponent as having ties “with the queers.”
The National Stonewall Democrats are troubled by the appointment. “The architect of domestic policy for the White House should be an advocate for every American family,” said Dave Noble, NSD executive director. “Claude Allen has advanced ideological extremes in family policy that have endangered the health of gay youth. His record indicates that he would prompt the White House to promote anti-gay policy and attitude within the administration.”