Missed appointments.

Is the absence of gay people within the Bush administration a sign of homophobia or a failure on the part of gay and lesbian activists?

If you hadn't heard of Tom Beddingfield until a few weeks ago, you probably aren't alone. Yet inexperience and obscurity didn't stop the 22-year-old opponent of same-sex marriage from claiming in early March that he had been named the White House liaison to gays and lesbians Even though President George W. Bush's closest gay advisers immediately declared the story a hoax, it took four days for the Administration to make an official announcement that "as far as we know," the story is completely groundless.

"It's very hard disprove a negative," says Kevin Ivers, spokesman for Log Cabin Republicans, a gay group. Still, the dustup was a rare strategic lapse for an administration widely praised for its political discipline. And critics say it underscored a vacuum in the White House's political operation: Without a single senior adviser boasting genuine familiarity with gay and lesbian concerns, the Administration lacks connections and expertise to respond quickly and sensitively.

"There is a very real sense of nervousness and confusion in the gay community because there has been no clear direction from the White House," says Len Hirsch, president of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees of the Federal Government which represents more than 4,500 employees. "We don't yet have an indication of any negative turn. This administration simply doesn't want the issue of sexual orientation to raise its head. They are telling people, `Don't do anything on your own, and don't pick any fights,' and that can seem to leave them unprepared at times."

Even before taking office, Bush deep-sixed the White House liaison to gays and lesbians, a position created in the gay-friendly Clinton administration. And by The Advocate's press time, he had yet to appoint a single out gay man or lesbian to an Administration post, including to the White House Office of National AIDS policy. While insiders said several gay people were among the early rounds of political appointments, none were publicly identified as such.

"My gut feeling is that the litmus test will be conservatism, not sexual orientation," Hirsch says. "What we may eventually find is that there will be appointments in areas with nothing to do with gay and lesbian issues. There might be a gay person in Interior dealing with environmental issues, for instance. But they are probably not going to have someone dealing with civil rights or political policy who is openly gay and lesbian."

During his confirmation hearings, Attorney General John Ashcroft was grilled repeatedly about his role as a member of the U.S. Senate in blocking the appointment of an African-American to a federal judgeship. After his approval, the Administration moved quickly to name an African-American as Ashcroft's second in command at the Justice Department. Yet after Ashcroft underwent similar questioning about his role in blocking the nomination of gay activist James Hormel to an ambassadorship, there was no similar move to place an openly gay official in the department's top ranks.

Bush's conflicting statements during the campaign exacerbate the unease about White House hiring in the approximately 3,000 appointed posts. After waffling repeatedly, he finally assured an ad hoc group of 12 gay Republicans that he would not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. But Bush has done little to demonstrate his resolve. On January 20, the day he took office, he signed a memorandum addressed to the heads of executive departments and agencies containing the following clause: "Employees shall adhere to all laws and regulations that provide equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap."

Hirsch says the obvious omission of sexual orientation from the list does not necessarily signal the White House's intention to rescind President Clinton's executive order that includes gays and lesbians in protections against discrimination in the federal workplace. "Every time we ask, we hear the executive order is not going to be rescinded," Hirsch says. "We have not seen the same kind of diversity statements that normally come out of [department] secretaries yet, but that doesn't mean they are going to discriminate. We do hear about gay people being vetted for positions, but this administration is very slow in getting people named."

In December, Bush appointed three openly gay Republicans to serve on his transition team, and at The Advocate's press time he was said to be considering several prominent gay Republicans, including Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona and former congressman Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin, for positions. But negotiations with prospects for the posts have been hindered by the fear that the jobs as described lack clout and a direct line to the president. In addition, some potential appointees have expressed fears that they would become easy targets for both antigay and pro-gay critics.

Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin, says that in discussions with high-level Bush officials, "there has been a willingness to have someone in the White House who has gay issues as part of his or her portfolio. I think the Administration understands that it's important to have gay people who are qualified for jobs and straight people who are friendly."

But Carl Schmid, one of the 12 gay Republicans to meet with Bush, indicates the problem may be more serious. In a conversation with openly gay Bush friend Charles Francis, chairman of the Republican Unity Coalition, a gay-straight alliance, Schmid said, "Why aren't we getting more appointments?" Schmid says Francis answered, "Send me some resumes." Schmid adds, "The fact is that there seems to be a shortage of gay Republicans willing to work in the Administration. It's really sad the president doesn't have more loyal gay Republicans he can turn to and trust."

Schmid blames the gay rights movement for the apparent shortage of suitable openly gay Republicans. "This seems to be a real problem for our community," he says. "We have been so focused on Democratic politics that we need to start maturing gay Republicans, from local leaders on up to the White House. Clearly it's going to take some time."

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