Standing
By Their Man
Rick Santorum stirred up a hornet’s nest with his
remarks on homosexuality.
But the GOP—and the White House—still love him
Newsweek,
April 25, 2003
Capitol Letter
By Eleanor Clift
There’s a fine line between stupidity and bigotry, and
Santorum managed both in a flight of prejudice in which he equated homosexual
sex with incest, polygamy, bigamy and adultery. He was commenting on a case
before the Supreme Court to overturn a Texas law that criminalizes sexual acts
between same-sex couples that are lawful between a man and a woman. His remark
prompted an outcry from gay-rights groups and calls from Democrats for his
resignation as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the party’s
policy arm.
Unlike Trent Lott, who imploded last year after waxing
nostalgic for the days of segregation, Santorum is not in any jeopardy of
losing his leadership post. Social conservatives love Santorum. The
44-year-old father of five is an outspoken proselytizer for what he calls the
traditional family. He says he has no problem with homosexuals; it’s
homosexual acts he condemns. The distinction is popular within the evangelical
community and stems from the religious teaching that Christians should
separate the sin from the sinner. It’s a nonsensical position, but social
conservatives are such a powerful force in the GOP that the Republican
leadership right on up to President Bush doesn’t dare cut loose Santorum the
way they did Lott.
Lott was in trouble because the base of the party was not
firmly with him. They thought he made too many deals with the Democrats, and
they didn’t trust him to keep his word. The base identifies with Santorum.
He’s their champion. At the first hint of controversy, powerful figures on
the right flooded the White House with calls warning “not to walk away from
Rick.”
The White House is behind Santorum. More than anybody in
the leadership, he’s their guy. Hardcore and ambitious, he goes to the wall
for every Bush initiative and for every right-wing cause. He’s leading the
party’s fight against reproductive cloning and stem-cell research, and is
working to pass an exclusion to allow faith-based groups that receive federal
money to practice discrimination in hiring that would otherwise be illegal.
Bush knows that to break with Santorum would cost him
dearly with his conservative base. Asked for Bush’s reaction to Santorum’s
broadside against gays, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer reached new
heights of verbal gymnastics. He said the president doesn’t typically
comment on Supreme Court cases. When the reporter pointed out that Bush had
spoken out quite a lot about the Michigan affirmative-action case currently
before the court, Fleischer said, “That’s why I said—typically.”
Fleischer did say, though, that the president thinks Santorum is “an
inclusive man.” When it comes to entertainment, Fleischer is on his way to
matching the Iraqi information minister.
There are few votes in the gay community for Bush. The
key to his re-election is the voters in middle America, who take offense at
picking on any group, whether blacks or gays. “Soccer moms don’t feel
comfortable with a gay teacher for their child, and they’re not too hip
about gays other than watching ‘Will and Grace’,” says a Republican
consultant. “But they hate this mean-spirited rhetoric of the past. Santorum
did a disservice to the party because he makes compassionate conservatism look
like a new title for the same old book.”
This is a familiar dance for Bush. First you please your
base, then you offer gestures to reclaim the center. During the 2000
primaries, he refused to meet with the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay GOP
group. Then he had Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe, who is openly gay, speak at the GOP
convention. Delegates bowed their heads and prayed during Kolbe’s speech.
Bush will stay silent about Santorum and will avoid press availabilities over
the next several days that might result in embarrassing questions. He
doesn’t spend a lot of time with the press anyway, so his absence won’t be
noted. Then in a few weeks or a few months, he’ll do the necessary repair
work, inviting the leaders of gay groups to the White House or meeting with
the Log Cabin Republicans.
Santorum won’t step away from his remarks, and he knows
nobody will rein him in. He has held the flag for the Christian Right
throughout the administration, and for Bush to distance himself from Santorum
would be the equivalent of the senior Bush breaking his “no new taxes”
pledge. Santorum could easily have said that he was misunderstood and still
stand by the legal reasoning that he expressed. He believes the right to
privacy was created by the Supreme Court to justify a woman’s right to
choose an abortion and that extending out this right of privacy to protect
sexual acts outside of traditional marriage undermines the family and invites
deviant behavior.
Texas is one of 13 states with criminal sodomy laws still
on the books and one of only four states that criminalizes sexual acts between
homosexuals that are lawful within the confines of marriage between a man and
woman. Not too long ago, gay-bashing was an accepted vote-getter for
conservative Republicans. Santorum’s office says the calls are running three
to one in his favor. It’s worth noting, since Santorum brought up “man on
dog,” that Texas doesn’t have a law against bestiality.
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