Ken Mehlman

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A Democratic analysis of phone records introduced at the 2005 criminal trial of James Tobin, the Northeast political director for the RNC in 2002, shows that Mehlman made 115 outgoing calls – mostly to the same number in the White House office of political affairs – between September 17 and November 22, 2002, when the office of political affairs was headed by Mehlman. Two dozen calls were made from 9:28 a.m. the day before the election through 2:17 a.m. on the night after the voting, a three-day period. Virtually all the calls to the White House went to the same phone number. In April 2006, Mehlman issued a statement on the matter, noting that his deputy for the Northeast states routinely discussed election business with RNC officials, and categorically stated that "none of my conversations nor the conversations of my staff, involved discussion of the phone-jamming incident." [29] [30] Tobin was convicted on December 15, 2005 "for his part in a plot to jam the Democratic Party's phones on Election Day 2002"; however, this conviction was later overturned by a federal appeals court and Tobin was acquitted on all charges.

Coming out

In August 2010, Mehlman revealed that he is gay. Prior to this revelation, rumors about Mehlman's sexual orientation had circulated since at least 2004. [31] In May 2006, Mehlman denied he was gay, telling the New York Daily News : "I'm not gay, but those stories did a number on my dating life for six months." [32] On November 8, 2006, comedian Bill Maher made an appearance on Larry King Live , during which he referred to Mehlman as a closeted gay man. The incident became controversial because CNN edited out Maher's comments in later taped editions and removed the reference to Mehlman's sexual orientation from the transcript of the show. The day after Maher's comments, Mehlman announced he would step down as chairman of the RNC (although reports said that his resignation had been expected for some time). [33]

Almost four years later, in an article in The Atlantic , Mehlman stated that he is in fact gay, and that he planned to be an advocate for legalizing same-sex marriage. According to the New York Times , Mehlman's "announcement makes him apparently the most prominent Republican official to come out." [34] This disclosure followed years of him avoiding and denying inquiries about his sexual orientation. During his RNC chairmanship, Mehlman supported certain positions of the Republican Party, including opposition to same-sex marriage. Mehlman stated he could not have gone against party consensus, but acknowledged that, had he come out of the closet earlier, he might have been able to impact Republican efforts to pass state initiatives and referendums banning same-sex marriage. [4]

Reactions

Marc Ambinder, who interviewed Mehlman and wrote The Atlantic article, said that Mehlman's roles with the RNC and the Bush campaign "coincided with the Republican Party's attempts to exploit anti-gay prejudices and cement the allegiance of social conservatives". [4] A few commentators, such as Cenk Uygur and Michael Rogers, criticized Mehlman on The Ed Show , for having remained closeted about his sexuality while active in politics. Rogers has long advocated for the forced outing of closeted gay politicians who vote or advocate against LGBT interests. [35]

Some segments of the LGBT community expressed support for Mehlman. Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award-winning writer of Milk, said, "Ken represents an incredible coup for the American Foundation for Equal Rights ... As a victorious former presidential campaign manager and head of the Republican Party, Ken has the proven experience and expertise to help us communicate with people across each of the 50 states." [4] Stephen Petrow, former president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, wrote in a Huffington Post column, "... the 43-year old Mehlman found the courage to be honest about his identity with family, friends, former colleagues and current colleagues [who have] been wonderful and supportive." [36] Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund President and CEO Chuck Wolfe said in a public statement, "We hope the fact that Ken Mehlman has reached this level of honesty will now encourage other political leaders to reject divisive anti-gay campaign tactics..." [37]

Equal rights advocacy

Support for same-sex marriage

In June 2011, Mehlman lobbied Republican members of the New York state legislature to support the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York and reached out to conservative donors and operatives. [38]

Mehlman often spoke with undecided GOP senators, including three of the four who eventually voted in favor of the bill. [38] Mehlman, who gained the support of many gay-rights backers, discussed the political and ideological reasons why lawmakers should vote for the bill. He said, "Letting two adults who love each other get married strengthens and promotes families." [39] Mehlman told GOP senators that legalizing same-sex marriage aligned with Republican interests and principles. He emphasized that polls showed a significant shift toward voter support of same-sex marriage. [39] Four Republican senators voted for the Marriage Equality Act. [38]

Several gay rights leaders and bloggers recognized Mehlman's role. [40] [41] Mehlman was honored in Out Magazine 's 2011's Out100 list partially because of his work on the campaign. [42] Mehlman has been active in Maryland, New Hampshire and Washington State, helping to raise almost $3 million for these campaigns between August 2010 (when he came out) and March 2012. [43] He continued to campaign for same-sex marriage, before United States v. Windsor , the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision which held that same-sex marriage is constitutional, by aiming to show GOP leaders why same-sex marriage "is consistent with Republican and conservative principles", and speaking on that topic throughout the country. [44]

In January 2013, also before United States v. Windsor , Mehlman spoke with political activist David Kochel[ who? ] in Iowa about how supporting same-sex marriage is a conservative value. He stated that, "I'm a conservative because I believe in more freedom and I believe in less government. I think that we are endowed by our Creator, not by politicians, not by government, not by bureaucrats, with inalienable rights, including the pursuit of happiness. If you believe that, what could be more central to the pursuit of happiness than choosing the person that you love, that you have the right to marry?" [45]

In February 2013, Mehlman helped organize an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court in the case of California Proposition 8 signed by dozens of prominent socially moderate Republicans, including Jon Huntsman, Jr., Meg Whitman, Ken Duberstein, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and others, explaining that they supported a Constitutional right to same-sex marriage. [46] According to the New York Times, Ken Mehlman spent "months in quiet conversations with fellow Republicans to gather signatures for the brief." "We are trying to say to the court that we are judicial and political conservatives, and it is consistent with our values and philosophy for you to overturn Proposition 8," said Ken Mehlman according to the New York Times report. [47]

In November 2013, Mehlman launched a non-profit organization called Project Right Side [48] focused on convincing more Republicans to support marriage equality. The organization also conducts research and analysis in an effort to improve political conditions for LGBTQ issues. He stated that "Conservatives don't need to change core convictions to embrace the growing support for equal rights for gay Americans. It is sufficient to recognize the inherent conservatism in citizens' desire to marry, to be judged on their work, and not to be singled out for higher taxes or bullying at school. These objectives can be achieved while also protecting religious liberty, as demonstrated by states enacting civil marriage with exemptions for religious institutions." [49]

In February 2014, Mehlman was a keynote speaker [50] at the first campus-wide Harvard LGBTQ conference on the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots where he was interviewed by Baruch Shemtov. He spoke during the closing remarks of the conference, stating "there's nothing more powerful than coming out and being who you are." [51]

Don't Ask, Don't Tell legislation

Mehlman supported the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" military policy introduced during President Bill Clinton's tenure. In 2010, Mehlman lobbied ten U.S. Senators to repeal the policy. [38]

Workplace discrimination

Mehlman has also worked on LGBTQ non-discrimination issues. He actively helped Congressional leaders pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the Senate in 2013. [52] [53] In July 2019, Mehlman filed an amicus brief, joined by close to three dozen other Republican leaders, arguing in support of the rights of LGBT people in the workplace. [54] The brief argued that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 explicitly prohibits discrimination against gay men, lesbians and transgender people in the workplace due to language in the law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. [55] In addition, Mehlman wrote an op-ed for The New York Times outlining his reasons for believing that the fight for gay rights upholds the Republican values of economic freedom and personal liberty. In the piece, Mehlman writes that firing an employee because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is "... unethical and un-American, and the Supreme Court has the opportunity to read the clear language of Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act] and affirm that it is illegal." [56]

Personal life

Mehlman is Jewish [57] and lives in New York City. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 Mehlman, Kenneth. "Announcement of Chairmanship of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Policy Advisory Board". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  2. ↑ Paul, Scott (June 6, 2007). "Mehlman to Join Holocaust Memorial Council". Washington Note. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ Luo, Michael (August 26, 2010). "Former Republican Leader Ken Mehlman Discloses That He Is Gay". New York Times . Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Ambinder, Marc (August 25, 2010). "Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I'm Gay". The Atlantic . Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  5. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl (June 19, 2013). "Strategist Out of Closet and Into Fray, This Time for Gay Marriage". New York Times . Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  6. ↑ "MuniMae: About MuniMae: Directors and Officers". Archived from the original on October 21, 2007.
  7. ↑ Justice, Glen; Kornblut, Anne (January 17, 2005). "For Lobbyists, the Hottest Parties Fall Outside the Official Lineup". The New York Times . Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti: Bruce Mehlman". Mvc-dc.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  9. ↑ "Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Returns to Akin Gump". PR Newswire. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
  10. ↑ Schaller, Thomas (June 2004). "All the President's Man". Baltimore Magazine.
  11. ↑ Green, Adam (March 7, 2005). "The Pollies". The New Yorker . Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  12. ↑ "KKR Senior Executives: Kenneth B. Mehlman" . Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Trustees of The Mount Sinai Medical Center". Mount Sinai Hospital. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  14. ↑ "PEGCC Board of Directors" . Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  15. ↑ "SEO Board of Directors" . Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Alan Beller and Ken Mehlman Join SASB Board of Directors" (Press release). PR Newswire.
  17. ↑ Isaac, Mike (January 10, 2017). "Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Builds Political Muscle for Philanthropic Work". The New York Times.
  18. ↑ Ponnuru, Ramesh (January 10, 2017). "Ken Mehlman and David Plouffe Team Up at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative". National Review.
  19. ↑ LeNior, Monique (June 3, 2021). "KKR Executive Ken Mehlman Joins UNCF Board of Directors". Globe Newswire. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  20. ↑ Texeira, Erin (August 28, 2006). "Republican gains with minority voters threatened by offensive comments, missteps". Associated Press .
  21. ↑ GOP ignored black vote, chairman says – John Rundy, Boston Globe , July 15, 2005
  22. ↑ GOP presses black voters for 'a chance' – Joseph Williams, Boston Globe , August 5, 2005
  23. ↑ Froomkin, Dan (October 13, 2005). "A Polling Free-Fall Among Blacks". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  24. ↑ "NAACP Legislative Report Card, 109th Congress" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  25. ↑ Peter Wallsten and Tom Hamburger, One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century Archived 2008-08-30 at the Wayback Machine (Wiley, 2006).
  26. ↑ Balz, Dan (November 10, 2006). "Mehlman Won't Seek Another Term as Republican Party Chief". The Washington Post.
  27. ↑ Kristof, Nicholas (21 July 2016). "What Republicans Really Think About Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  28. ↑ "The Republicans Opposing Donald Trump — And Voting for Hillary Clinton". NBC News. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  29. ↑ "Granite Status: Meridian to guide Coburn race for governor" Archived 2006-03-23 at the Wayback Machine by John Distaso, UnionLeader.com, March 23, 2006
  30. ↑ Statement From RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine , Republican Party website, April 11, 2006.
  31. ↑ "Out and About to Get Ugly:How many closet cases does it take to reelect a president?". New York Press. November 30, 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Six appeal; plus: Is 'gay' a dirty word?" Archived 2008-02-04 at the Wayback Machine by David Koon, Arkansas Times , November 16, 2006.
  33. ↑ "Mehlman stepping down as Republican Committee Chair – CNN.com". CNN. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  34. ↑ Luo, Michael (August 26, 2010). "Former Republican Leader Ken Mehlman Discloses That He Is Gay". New York Times . Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  35. ↑ "THE ED SHOW for August 26, 2010 (transcript)". MSNBC (via LexisNexis). August 26, 2010. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  36. ↑ Petrow, Steven (August 26, 2010). "In Defense of Ken Mehlman: Former GOP Chair Is No Roy Cohn". Huffington Post.
  37. ↑ "Gay Politics — BREAKING: Victory Fund responds to former RNC chairman's coming out". Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  38. 1 2 3 4 Samuel P. Jacobs, "Gay Marriage's Unlikely Hero", The Daily Beast, June 22, 2011; accessed July 4, 2011.
  39. 1 2 Celeste Katz. "Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Pushes Legalization Of Same-Sex Marriage In Albany" Archived 2011-07-09 at the Wayback Machine , New York Daily News, June 25, 2011; accessed July 4, 2011.
  40. ↑ David Mixner "The Daily Beast: Gay Marriage's Unlikely Hero" at DavidMixner.com Archived 2011-07-01 at the Wayback Machine , June 26, 2011; accessed July 10, 2011
  41. ↑ John Aravosis "Republicans, including Ken Mehlman, played key role in NY marriage victory – Dems beware" Archived 2011-07-02 at the Wayback Machine , AmericaBlog.com, June 27, 2011; accessed July 10, 2011
  42. ↑ Out Magazine "17th Annual Out100: Ken Mehlman, Politician", November 7, 2011; accessed March 12, 2011.
  43. ↑ Adam Nagourney and Brook Barnes. "Gay Marriage Effort Attracts a Novel Group of Donors", New York Times, March 23, 2012; accessed April 3, 2012.
  44. ↑ Matthew Garrahan. "Rich donors back gay marriage", Financial Times, July 24, 2012; accessed July 26, 2012.
  45. ↑ Kevin Hall "Mehlman, Kochel: Support of Same-Sex Marriage is Conservative" Archived 2013-02-06 at the Wayback Machine , The Iowa Republican, January 29, 2013; accessed January 31, 2013.
  46. ↑ Richard Socarides "Ken Mehlman's Gay-Marriage Mission", The New Yorker, February 26, 2013; accessed February 27 2013.
  47. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl (February 25, 2013). "Republicans Sign Brief in Support of Gay Marriage". New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  48. ↑ "Ken Mehlman Launches Project To Build Conservative Support For Marriage Equality". Huffington Post. November 21, 2012.
  49. ↑ "Ken Mehlman". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  50. ↑ "Harvard LGBTQ Conference Speakers". Harvard LGBTQ Conference. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  51. ↑ Ed [@EdLuna] (2 February 2014). ""There's nothing more powerful than coming out and being who you are" -Ken Mehlman #HarvardLGBTQConf" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  52. ↑ Zoë, Carpenter (November 5, 2013). "Will ENDA Be the Next Casualty of the GOP's Internal Crisis?". The Nation. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  53. ↑ Ferraro, Thomas (November 7, 2013). "Senate passes bill to ban discrimination against gay workers". Reuters.
  54. ↑ Peters, Jeremy W. (2019-07-02). "Prominent Republicans File Brief to Support L.G.B.T. Rights in Legal Case". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  55. ↑ Peters, Jeremy (July 2, 2019). "Prominent Republicans File Brief to Support L.G.B.T. Rights in Legal Case". The New York Times.
  56. ↑ Mehlman, Ken (July 2, 2019). "Why Gay Rights Is a Republican Value". The New York Times.
  57. ↑ "Jewish Virtual Library Ken Mehlman Bio". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
Ken Mehlman
2021 11 KKR Headshots KenMehlman 1527 RTCH.jpg
Mehlman in 2022
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office
January 19, 2005 –January 19, 2007
Political offices
Preceded by White House Director of Political Affairs
2001–2003		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Republican National Committee
2005–2007		Succeeded byas National Chair of the Republican National Committee
Succeeded byas General Chair of the Republican National Committee
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