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Multilateral Foreign Policy > Published by Alex Hern, January 4th 2012 at 1:39 pm

Santorum: The candidate the right loves because he hates gay people

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Former US Senator Rick Santorum made the headlines in Iowa last night as he became the Republican grassroots new “anyone but Romney” candidate in the race for the GOP nomination for the White House, so it’s now worth giving a closer look to Rupert Murdoch’s favourite candidate.

Prior to his presidential run, Santorum was most widely noted for his astonishingly regressive views on homosexuality. Famously in 2003, he shared his views on what homosexuality has in common on the one hand with incest and on the other with bestiality.

Watch it:

The snippet gained notoriety because of the fact that he compares “man-on-dog” to gay relationships, but the full quote is almost worse:

“If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything… It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn’t exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution…

“You say, well, it’s my individual freedom. Yes, but it destroys the basic unit of our society because it condones behavior that’s antithetical to strong healthy families…

“In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That’s not to pick on homosexuality. It’s not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing.”

Santorum is also the candidate who criticised the NHS for causing the fall of the British Empire, liberalism for leading to the Catholic Church’s sex scandal, and the Bush government’s No Child Left Behind act for not mandating the teaching of intelligent design in science lessons.

How delightful.

See also:

• Sign up to our new weekly email on US 2012 and election news from across the globe, The World Outside Westminster

• After Iowa: Bloodied Romney on course for nomination as Obama smiles – Marcus Roberts, January 4th 2012

• Iowa 2012: Meet the candidates – Chris Tarquini, January 3rd 2012

• Romney remains least risible Republican candidate for another week – Alex Hern, November 14th 2011

• Republican elephants enter the room as rivals to Obama – Dominic Browne, May 26th 2011

  • Anonymous

    So if he’s democratically elected, he has a mandate to implement his manifesto.

    Not particularly pleasant is it.

    That’s why government is the problem not the solution.

    Labour needs to learn that lesson.

    It’s quite prepared to legislate on behaviour in the UK, so long its the one dictating.

    However, when Romney says he will dictate on behaviour, according to his view, its wrong.

    You’re just a hypocrite.

    Governments should not legistlate on any such matters.

  • http://www.start.io/ohhhkevin Kevin McNamara

    you type this as if you’re a very progressive labourite and he is just a foolish conservative.

    and yet the only things you challenge are his homophobia. speaking as a gay man myself, on what grounds is homosexuality or so-called gay marriage morally superior to incest (where no-one is harmed), polygamy, polyandry, so on and so forth?

  • Thorgreir

    there’s no mention about moral or ethics in the article……
    anyway, marriage used to be on a consensual basis. I don’t see the mean incest should be considered consensual too. no way mate

  • http://twitter.com/richardangell/status/154586252421763073 Richard Angell

    @RichardAngell The new 'voice of Republican Grassroots' Rick Santorum compared LGBT2incest&adultery: http://t.co/LuXXG37o on @leftfootfwd

  • http://twitter.com/onti57/status/154602706768633856 Frank Hont

    RT @leftfootfwd: Santorum: The candidate the right loves http://t.co/CpmhAAmW – how come a big,diverse country even has him in the race?

  • http://twitter.com/lgbtlabour/status/154615421801209856 LGBT Labour

    Introducing Rick Santorum: The man who sees homosexuality in the same category as incest. Lovely: http://t.co/gh4AyNxk by @alexhern

  • http://twitter.com/william_bain/status/154615731928047616 William Bain

    RT @leftfootfwd: Santorum: The candidate the right loves because he hates gay people http://t.co/npLb0qn5

  • http://twitter.com/smilerish/status/154616335777808384 Alexander Melhuish

    Introducing Rick Santorum: The man who sees homosexuality in the same category as incest. Lovely: http://t.co/gh4AyNxk by @alexhern

  • http://twitter.com/davidhobbs1990/status/154616927317266432 David Hobbs

    Introducing Rick Santorum: The man who sees homosexuality in the same category as incest. Lovely: http://t.co/gh4AyNxk by @alexhern

  • http://twitter.com/mich_mck/status/154617185132748800 Michelle McKenna

    Introducing Rick Santorum: The man who sees homosexuality in the same category as incest. Lovely: http://t.co/gh4AyNxk by @alexhern

  • http://twitter.com/seusssl/status/154633390337966083 seuss

    RT @leftfootfwd: Santorum: The candidate the right loves because he hates gay people http://t.co/npLb0qn5

  • http://twitter.com/manc1965/status/154639657391489024 STEPHEN LAVERY

    Introducing Rick Santorum: The man who sees homosexuality in the same category as incest. Lovely: http://t.co/6wYYyhnA by @alexhern –

  • http://www.start.io/ohhhkevin Kevin McNamara

    there isn’t? then what is the point of this article? it is surely supposing that homosexuality is a valid lifestyle choice (which it is, as i live it) and if that’s not an ethical statement, what is?

    incest shouldn’t be considered consensual? ermmmm

  • http://twitter.com/tjmsheils/status/154681434609684480 tom sheils

    Introducing Rick Santorum: The man who sees homosexuality in the same category as incest. Lovely: http://t.co/gh4AyNxk by @alexhern

  • http://twitter.com/creativecrip/status/154925187702325249 TheCreativeCrip

    @LGBTLabour The new 'voice of Republican Grassroots' Rick Santorum compared LGBT2incest&adultery: http://t.co/LuXXG37o on @leftfootfwd

  • http://twitter.com/nikkicurligirl/status/155038387701678082 Nichole

    RT @leftfootfwd: Santorum: The candidate the right loves because he hates gay people http://t.co/CUw6qfVo

  • http://twitter.com/modditydodds/status/155543262168489984 Knut Cayce

    RT @leftfootfwd: #Santorum: The candidate the #right loves because he hates #gay people http://t.co/Js6IL1As

  • http://twitter.com/kitten_core/status/155552189425782784 Hillary

    RT @leftfootfwd: #Santorum: The candidate the #right loves because he hates #gay people http://t.co/Js6IL1As

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/cameron-must-speak-out-against-canadas-anti-gay-marriage-ruling/ Cameron must speak out against Canada’s anti-gay marriage ruling | Left Foot Forward

    [...] also: • Santorum: The candidate the right loves because he hates gay people – Alex Hern, January 4th [...]

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/us-2012-huntsman-cedes-the-centre-to-romney/ US 2012: Huntsman cedes the centre to Romney | Left Foot Forward

    [...] also: • Santorum: The candidate the right loves because he hates gay people – Alex Hern, January 4th [...]

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/the-british-empire-subsidising-republican-presidential-candidates-since-2007/ How British Empire subsidises GOP presidential candidates | Left Foot Forward

    [...] • Santorum: the candidate the right loves because he hates gay people - Alex Hern, January 4th 2012 [...]

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/02/maryland-14-year-old-girl-birthday-wish-ban-gay-marriage/ Maryland madness: 14-year-old girl’s birthday wish? “Ban gay marriage” | Left Foot Forward

    [...] Santorum: The candidate the right loves because he hates gay people – Alex Hern, January 4th [...]