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Rick Santorum has not ever been known to be a friend of LGBT individuals. He's compared the LGBT lifestyle to beastiality, and has said that the redefinition of his name to a crude sex term is evidence of the LGBT community "waging jihad against him". Last night at the Fox News/Google debate, Santorum said the following about Don't Ask Don't Tell:
It's sad that I expect this behavior from Republicans and their conservative followers. Soldier Stephen Hill has just been shamed by a culture of people who highly respect military service.
This isn't the first time that someone who served was shamed for their service. Senator John Kerry had his military service called into question during the 2004 election by a 529 group called Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. They ran ads like this one:
What about the late Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA)? In a House debate in 2006, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) called this veteran a coward:
It seems like if you're not conservative in the military, that your service means nothing to Republicans. For a party and culture that likes to promote how much they love the troops, these examples make you wonder if that is really true. I think it is an absolute shame that Stephen Hill was booed at the debate, and Rick Santorum validated that response. If you served honorably in the military, you deserve the same respect as anyone else who did. If Republicans and conservatives really love the troops, that would mean they would embrace anyone who served. If they would stop using it as a political pawn, it would probably be greatly appreciated by the American people.
9:37 AM
Mike Brownstein
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