Furor
Fails to Faze Santorum
Not budging on gay views, despite critics
Philadelphia
Daily News, April 24, 2003
400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19101
Fax: 215-854-5691
Email: dailynews.opinion@phillynews.com
By Catherine Lucey, luceyc@phillynews.com
Sen. Rick santorum has long been known as a hard-line
conservative and an ardent Catholic who’s often all too plain-spoken about
his faith.
So most experts say they aren’t that surprised by the
national controversy swirling around Santorum, 44, who recently compared
homosexuality to bigamy, incest, polygamy and adultery.
His statement is being debated on the nightly news, and
he’s been attacked by Democratic leaders, including Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. Gay-rights groups are demanding that
Santorum be removed as Senate conference chairman, the No. 3 GOP role.
But he’s not budging.
“At the end of the day, he is a Roman Catholic,” said
Sean Reilly, Santorum’s state director and political director from 1999 to
2002. “He lives those beliefs every day. I’ve been in hundreds of those
interviews with him and he does speak his mind.”
The teachings of the Catholic Church, which opposes
abortion and says that a sexually active gay lifestyle is sinful, have greatly
influenced Santorum’s political beliefs.
During Santorum’s time in office, he has voted down
several pro-gay pieces of legislation, including a bill for same-sex marriage.
And he has maintained his anti-abortion views; even when his wife was faced
with a life-threatening pregnancy she did not have a termination.
He touts his stance as pro-family, and he wants to
support two-parent families and give religion a greater role in government.
Along the way, the son of an Italian immigrant has grown
friendly with Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and, with his
family—wife Karen and six children—visits the cardinal’s residence
several times a year.
But he has not made friends in other communities. In
2000, many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists rallied behind Ron
Klink, Santorum’s Democratic opponent.
“If Senator Santorum is really concerned with what’s
best for American families, he would show compassion and actively promote
policies that support all families, including lesbian and gay families,”
said Stacey Sobel, head of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights.
Still, despite views that some say are extreme,
Santorum’s rise to power has been swift and remarkably smooth overall.
Santorum, a Pittsburgh lawyer and legislative aide, was
elected to Congress in 1990. Then in 1994, at age 36, he beat Democratic
incumbent Harris Wofford to gain a place in the U.S. Senate.
He quickly gained a reputation for his far-right views
and brash ways, earning the nickname “Senator Slash.”
At the time, he defended his style, saying, “some rules
of decorum are fine, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t speak the
truth.”
He eventually tried to temper his demeanor.
“After he was criticized in the Senate, he seemed to
moderate himself in personality,” Pittsburgh radio talk-show host Jerry
Bowyer said.
But Bowyer added: “In ideology, he has become more
conservative.”
Santorum earned the most attention in the Senate early on
as a vigilant anti-abortion crusader, leading a fight to ban a midterm
termination procedure that opponents call partial-birth abortion.
Then in 1996, when his wife was five months pregnant with
their third child, his abortion views faced a test.
When the fetus became infected, doctors told the
Santorums that she could die without an abortion. But Karen went into
premature labor before they had to make a decision. The infant, who had a
fatal abnormality, died two hours after birth.
Santorum has said that his views on abortion were only
reinforced by the experience.
“I’m not suggesting that abortion is never medically
called for,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But my son’s fetal
abnormality was never a threat to Karen. You don’t abandon him because
there’s something wrong with him.”
Also during his first term, he voted against legalizing
same-sex marriage and opposed a bill that would prevent businesses from
discriminating against gay job applicants.
He also worked on former President Clinton’s
welfare-reform bill and voted for increases in the minimum wage.
When Santorum ran again in 2000, he continued to try to
moderate his public image, portraying himself as a more of a
middle-of-the-road politico than he had in the past.
Since his re-election, Santorum’s power in the party
has only increased, with his election to Republican Conference chairman, the
No. 3 GOP job.
But despite his attempts to present a more friendly
front, gay groups continue to have a troubled relationship with Santorum.
Last year he tried to include language in the
president’s “faith-based” legislation that would allow religious groups
that receive federal funds to discriminate in hiring. So a church that
believes homosexuality is a sin could reject a gay applicant.
But recently Santorum dropped that provision.
“I would have liked to have gotten the whole
enchilada,” he told the Washington Post. “But in the United States Senate
this year, you’re lucky to get anything, and I’ll take anything.”
But after spending years trying to moderate his image, he
slipped up this week, insiders said.
“This seems to be reversion to an earlier Rick
Santorum,” Bowyer said.
Santorum says he made the comments about homosexuality to
an Associated Press reporter during a discussion about a pending Supreme Court
case over a Texas sodomy law. He says the remarks were specific only to the
case.
While it might not have been a politically savvy move, no
one near Santorum thinks he will back down.
“He’s always a person of very great candor and
honesty, and he’ll always tell you how he feels,” said Reilly,
Santorum’s former political director, adding, “I don’t think [he] will
apologize.”
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