The people in the audiences for these GOP primary debates really are the lowest common denominators of this society. First they pawed themselves with rage, in support of the state executing innocent people. Then at the next debate, they got all excited about letting people without health insurance die. And now, in tonight’s Fox News/Google debate, a gay soldier asked Frothy Mix whether he would reinstate DADT as president. So of course, the wingnut crowd [which usually attires itself in the garb of troop-loving patriots, even though they don't even know what they're "supporting" when they "support the troops"] booed the gay soldier:
At Thursday night’s Fox News/?Google Republican debate, one question, posted to YouTube, came from a U.S. Army soldier serving in Iraq. Stephen Hill, donning a gray tee-?shirt emblazoned with the word “ARMY” on the front, asked Rick Santorum if he would try to “circumvent the progress” that has been made in allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly, effectively reinstating Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The audience actually booed him. Hill, apparently, is gay, and was concerned for his future. The idea that anyone would actually “boo” a U.S. service member, serving his country, risking his life in Iraq, is beyond comprehension.
“Do you plan to circumvent the progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?” The crowd booed.
Morons. Santorum’s answer makes it even worse. He clearly has no respect for or understanding of our military, but that’s to be expected:
Answering Hill, Santorum said that “sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military,” and said the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which took effect this week, was injecting “social policy into the military.”
“What we’re doing is playing social experimentation with our military right now, and that’s tragic,” Santorum said.
Asked how he would answer soldiers like Hill, Santorum said he would not “throw them out.”
“But we would move forward in conformity with what was happening in the past, which is, that sex is not an issue,” he said. “Leave it alone, keep it to yourself, whether you are a heterosexual or a homosexual.”
Oh god, he is so stupid. First of all, DADT has nothing to do with “sexual activity in the military.” Moreover, it’s not social experimentation when pretty much every single one of our first world allies allows openly gay soldiers to serve without incident. And on top of that, is he saying that he would put a Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in place for straight soldiers?! I know that Santorum doesn’t consider or understand a damn word that comes out of his own mouth — that’s where his funny Google problem came from — but does he not realize that when a male soldier mentions his wife, he is implicitly stating that he is a heterosexual? With DADT gone, a male soldier is also free to mention his husband or put a picture of said husband on his desk, or in his quarters off in some war zone that we wouldn’t be in in the first place if pansy-ass Republicans like Rick Santorum didn’t support going to war willy-nilly in order to prop up their own fledgling manhood.
To their credit, the gay wingnut group GOProud actually decided to take the gay guy’s side in the argument for once, releasing this statement:
“Tonight, Rick Santorum disrespected our brave men and women in uniform, and he owes Stephen Hill, the gay soldier who asked him the question about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, an immediate apology.
“That brave gay soldier is doing something Rick Santorum has never done?–?put his life on the line to defend our freedoms and our way of life. It is telling that Rick Santorum is so blinded by his anti-?gay bigotry that he couldn’t even bring himself to thank that gay soldier for his service.
“Stephen Hill is serving our country in Iraq, fighting a war Senator Santorum says he supports. How can Senator Santorum claim to support this war if he doesn’t support the brave men and women who are fighting it?”
Because he’s a moron who cares more about his bizarre, uncomfortable obsession with homosexuality than really anything else in this life.
GOProud should just leave their heads up their asses, instead of pulling them out to make this statement, being as they’ve already announced they would vote for Santorum (or any Republiturd) over President Obama. And it should be noted that not a single Republiturd candidate tonight said it is unacceptable to boo an active-duty soldier. They would all rather get a vote from a Republiturd than tell a Republiturd it’s wrong to boo a soldier. And GOProud supports them all. f**k GOProud.
These wingnut crowds at these debates could be a good thing. They could show just how extreme Republicans are.
Can you imagine if this happened at a Democratic debate? Fox News would have been going over the top about the audience booing a soldier. These yahoos are disgusting.
That is the face of the republican party which includes civil libertarians and tea party scumbaggers. In good conscience, how could any gay man or woman support a party that clearly doesn’t want them or their equality? Only 8 of them voted for repeal, what does that say about them?
With DADT repealed, there is still much more work to be done to make it truly equal. Currently, a gay man or woman serving in the military who is partnered either through marriage or civil union, still does not have any recognition as a legitimate couple. Their partners are not allowed to live on base and do not receive any benefits unlike their heterosexual counterparts. Our closest ally, the UK, grants identical rights to its gay servicemember partners and so should we. Currently, if a gay American serving should die or be killed, his or her surviving partner still does not quality for benefits because the federal government simply does not recognize our unions. It’s a disgrace. This isn’t equality at all, a step forward but not enough.
Becky (the real one) – I was thinking the exact same thing when I read about this. Shame on the Republican candidates for remaining silent. Shame on them for their hypocrisy in “supporting the troops” and then allowing this blatant disrespect to go unanswered. Shame on the right-wing media (aka Fox) for not calling this behavior out. And shame on LGBT Republicans for supporting these guys.
Conservatives are becoming more and more disgraceful and morally bankrupt. What’s next, cheering while they lynch someone or shooting someone and cheering while they bleed to death? Imagine the social reengineering that will envelope our nation if they get back in power?!?And thank you, GoProud, for speaking out.
I am a Republican and must say unequivocally that in the past decade my desire to remain a Republican has died like a tomato plant in the first frost. Never have I felt such disgust at my party. The whole gay equality issue has been steered by the religious nut cases and adopted by the party. The Republican Party has become a haven for all sorts of social/political whackjobs. Even the moderates in the party have no place in it anymore – just see how Mr. Boehner has lost control of the House Republican majority to the nut core of the Tea Party.
Rick Santorum is a classic case of religion gone loopy. There are actually not enough words in the English language to describe how pathetic, bigoted, and twisted this man’s thinking is. However, he does look great stuffing that “thing” into his mouth in public, no less. :)
The stridency of the anti-equality, anti-gay crowd is only going to increase as they veer willingly into the far-right radicalism. We better be ready to slug it out big time.
[...] I wrote late last night about the GOP debate, where a gay soldier asked Rick Santorum via YouTube whether he would reinstate DADT if he were somehow elected president. Members of the crowd booed the soldier and Santorum gave the dumbest, most bigoted answer he possibly could have in that moment, living up once again to the redefinition of his name. It’s refreshing, then, this morning, to see that at least some conservatives are slamming Santorum for his answer. Jim Geraghty at the National Review: Rereading the transcript of last night’s debate, I am struck that Rick Santorum did not thank Stephen Hill, a gay soldier in the U.S. Army currently in Iraq, for his service. Nor did anyone else on that stage. [...]
Does anyone know how you can write to Stephen Hill? I know American’s can write to soldiers stationed in Iraq. I think this guy needs to hear from some SANE straight people. I think by now he knows what happened. He must be so hurt. That was just horrifying! First they cheer death now they boo our soldiers? WTF is WRONG with these people!?
While in some ways I’m glad Santorum and the other GOP candidates got criticized for this I’m upset that it’s obscured the even more disturbing and offensive things that Santorum actually said. There’s been so much attention on the booing that there’s been little focus on the really nasty “answer” to the solider’s quesion.
What will be the next inappropriate reaction be at the next GOP debate. I have some ideas:
1. Booing a female’s question about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?
2. Booing a minority that asks about affirmative action.
3. Booing a question about the success of the auto bail-outs?
4. Cheering an endorsement of Westboro Baptist church
Santorum never even had the decency to thank this young man for his service to the country and putting his life on the line so that Santorum can spew his venom in freedom. Disgustingly vile GOP, totally unAmerican.