Bush:
Embattled Sen. Santorum Is ‘Inclusive Man’
Reuters, April 25, 2003
WASHINGTON—The White House on
Friday came to the defense of embattled Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of
Pennsylvania, praising his job performance and pronouncing him “an inclusive
man” despite comments he made equating homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy,
incest and adultery.
Santorum’s comments prompted calls for him to resign
from his post as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the No. 3 job
in the party’s leadership.
“It’s up to individual senators, of course, to make
decisions about their leadership post,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer
told reporters.
“But the president believes that the senator is an
inclusive man. ... The president has confidence in Senator Santorum and thinks
he’s doing a good job as senator—including in his leadership post,” he
added.
The flap over Santorum comes four months after Sen. Trent
Lott of Mississippi was forced to step down as Senate Republican leader for
racially charged remarks.
In an interview with the Associated Press published on
Monday, Santorum discussed a Texas sodomy law now being challenged before the
U.S. Supreme Court.
“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,” Santorum was quoted as saying. “You have the right to
anything.”
The court is considering whether the Texas law violates
privacy rights and unfairly targets same-sex couples or if the state has a
legitimate interest in setting moral standards.
His comments ignited a firestorm of criticism from gay
rights groups. The controversy highlights the dilemma that politicians face
when trying to follow teachings of their religion while making public policy
for a country with diverse religious beliefs.
Religious conservatives came to the defense of Santorum,
a Catholic, saying he made a distinction between his objections to homosexual
acts and his acceptance of homosexuals as individuals which is in line with
church teachings.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee called on
Santorum to step down as chairman of the Republican Conference. A spokesman
for the committee called his comments “divisive, hurtful and reckless.”
In an interview with the Fox news channel, Santorum said
he would not step down.
“I didn’t say anything that needs to be apologized
for,” Santorum said. “I talk a lot about this issue of activism in the
courts. I talk about the issue of privacy and the extension of the right of
privacy to a variety of different areas that I think would be injurious to our
country.”
Many Republicans supported him and Senate Republican
Leader Bill Frist called him “a consistent voice for inclusion.”
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