
“Mike Pompeo pledged to me over and over again that he would treat all those under his leadership with respect and treat them equally.
But I am not sure how you truly lead others — not to mention “love they neighbor” — and still view a fundamental and innate part of who they are as a perversion.
He and I are Christians. We believe in the ideal and mandate: Love thy neighbor. There are no exceptions to this.
I fail at this standard often.
I struggle to live in accordance to this ideal.
I have to consciously work at it every day.
Love is not easy.
Love is work.
Love is service.
Love is sacrifice.
Love demands humility.
And love mandates that we see the worth and dignity of others and understand that our worth and dignity —our justice—is intricately and inseparably tied to theirs.
For these and many other reasons, I will not vote to confirm Mike Pompeo.”
I want to be fair here. Mr. Pompeo does not agree with the SCOTUS on same sex marriage. He has been outspoken about it and said that he would do what he could to work to over turn said decision. (Listen, I don’t know how a senator does this, but whatever.) This is no different than those who worked to make same sex marriage legalized in the nation when it was not. We are all free to advocate for the laws which we want or do not want. People should not be demonized for thinking that marriage is a matter of state licensing, which is the crux of Pompeo’s legal disagreement, and not a matter of federal law or implied constitutional rights. Mr. Pompeo did indeed say that homosexuality was a perversion. There is no getting around it. His words were perhaps ill chosen and harsh, but they are in line with the belief of the majority of Christians world wide. He also spoke these words not as a political statement, but at a Christian event. When Mr. Booker questioned him about his comments, he was questioning what a man said, speaking about his faith, at a Christian event. How is this anything but a religious test? More over, Mr. Booker’s comments quoted should frighten anyone who cherishes religious freedom as it is not just about Mr. Pompeo’s beliefs, but because they are different from his own views. The fact that Mr. Pompeo pledged to treat all the same, and the fact that there is nothing in his history of service that would suggest otherwise don’t seem to actually matter. He thinks different than Mr. Booker, and that is enough to be disqualified. It’s worth noting that, b a vote of 66-32 he was confirmed to be the head of the CIA…so he can apparently be trusted to be at the head of the nations premier intelligence gathering agency. I’ve got to be honest, I have a lot more concern over what the CIA might do than the Secretary of State.
I want to end this with a quotation that I think sums up our nation, at least the ideal of our nation, beautifully. It captures the spirit of our founding father’s exceptionally well: “Our nation was not founded because we all looked alike, or prayed alike, or descended from the same family tree. But our founders, in their genius, in this, the oldest constitutional democracy, put forth on this earth the idea that all are created equal; that we all have inalienable rights. And upon this faithful foundation we built a great nation, and today, no matter who you are – rich or poor, Asian or white, man or woman, gay or straight, any religion or none at all – you are entitled to the full rights and responsibilities of citizenship.” Those full rights and responsibilities include public and political service. Going forward, we can only hope that all of our elected and appointed officials remember these words. Especially Cory Booker, as he is the one who spoke them.