Petrelis Files

WSJ Omits Gay US Insurance
Czar McRaith's $36K Donations to Dems

The openly gay insurance chief for Illinois, Michael McRaith (above), was named last week to be the head of the Federal Insurance Office, a new initiative within the Treasury Department, according to the Wall Street Journal:

McRaith will become the first person to head the office, which has the task of advising the Treasury secretary on insurance issues. He also will serve as a nonvoting member on a new federal panel created to determine which financial firms present a risk to the financial system and be the U.S.'s public face in negotiating international insurance agreements. ...

The WSJ piece curiously omitted mention of McRaith's federal donations totaling $35,896 since 2000, and all his checks went to Democrats and their affiliated PACs, including $1,395 to Barack Obama. Those figures come Open Secrets.

I would expect this financial publication would provide readers with this info, not because I think in any way his donations played a significant role in McRaith getting his appointment, but simply to give as much info as possible about his political donations and fully vet the man.

Regarding the gay angle, none of the mainstream coverage thus far about McRaith's appointment mention his being out of the closet. The Advocate's site mentioned his new federal position and that he served on the board of the Chicago AIDS Foundation, but like their straight media colleagues, the Advocate omitted his political contributions.

A search of the Treasury Department's press office's site turned up no release on McRaith's appointment. Anyone know if it's standard operating procedure for the department to refrain from issuing a release and biographical info on significant appointees?

Here's are a few radical notions. Let's have the mainstream and gay media mention McRaith's qualifications, his almost $36,000 in federal political donations and the fact that he's openly gay. Oh, an official news release from Treasury that references the gay angle. That's not asking too much, is it?