For Santorum Gays In The Military Reveals Commander In Chief Inadequacy
Why Rick Santorum’s behavior — and that of every Republican presidential candidate last night — was so un-American, un-patriotic, and unacceptable.
Rick Santorum has a gays in the military problem that reveals deep inadequacies for any Commander in Chief. Santorum appeared on Fox & Friends this morning to explain his comments at last night’s GOP Fox News/Google presidential debate, during which a gay Army soldier, Stephen Hill, just days after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed, bravely asked, “Do you plan to circumvent the progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?â€Â The Republican-filled crowd booed.
WATCH:Â GOP Debate: Audience Boos Gay Army Soldier Asking Santorum About DADT
The question was directed to Rick Santorum. In fairness, it was the Fox News moderator, Megyn Kelly, not the soldier, who directed the question to Santorum. But Santorum’s response reveals far more about Santorum than many might ever have guessed.
On Fox & Friends today, Santorum claimed that gays in the military will make soldiers will feel “uncomfortable†and “odd.” Santorum needs to be reminded that current estimates put the number of gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members currently on active duty in today’s military at over 60,000. Perhaps the desirous Commander In Chief would like to be responsible for losing 60,000 soldiers?
Santorum claimed this morning that America hasn’t “even begun seeing the consequences†of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In a way, he’s right. There will be few consequences — negative, that is, — and many more positive ones.
“The men and women who sign up for the military are now going to be placed in very difficult and uncomfortable personal situations, very close quarter situations,” Santorum claims on Fox & Friends, falsely, in the video below.
“We got to recruit people who would want to do this and now you’re going to put them in a very odd and uncomfortable environment,” Think Progress quotes Santorum saying. “A lot of people, I believe are going to leave a lot of people aren’t going to join who otherwise would have joined, and that’s going to hurt our ratings, it’s going to hurt our ability to defend this country, and we shouldn’t be playing social experimentation… There is no role for playing sexual experimentation games in the United States military.”
WATCH:Â Santorum To Piers Morgan: Calling My Bigoted Views On Gay Marriage Bigotry Is Bigotry
Last night, after the debate, unfazed, Santorum continued his attacks, and actually had the gall to claim that repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has been detrimental to gay, bisexual, and lesbian soldiers.
“We executed a policy that I think was detrimental to everyone, including them, in my opinion because sex and sexual preference should not be an issue in the military, period,” Santorum insisted, according to The Huffington Post. “And it should not be something that is demonstrated in any shape or form in the military, and it shows how much our culture has changed that this is even a subject to be debated within the military.”
Santorum has never served in our nation’s military.
There are 98 countries with volunteer militaries around the world. Santorum says that most of the militaries around the world that allow open service of gay soldiers — there are 43, by the way — are not volunteer militaries. Perhaps, but at 44%, it’s close. What’s more important, are cultural issues, something Santorum has built his political career on, and which militaries. If Santorum wants America to be like Pakistan, like Iraq, like Oman, well, then he’s on solid ground.
But if Santorum wants an America more like Albania, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Peru, the Phillipines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Urguay, and, the United States — yes, 24 countries have volunteer militaries and allow openly-gay service members — then he needs to change his tune.
Santorum should also remember that a federal court judge has found Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to be unconstitutional. That should mean something to a lawyer, which Santorum happens to be.
A word to Santorum, and to each and every one of the nine so-called presidential candidates who stood on that stage in Orlando, Florida last night while members of the audience (yes, Republican voters,) booed a U.S. service member: shame on you. Each and every one of them, had they been worried about being a good Commander In Chief, and not just pandering to right-wing voters, would have tripped over themselves to say, “Wait a minute. That’s a member of the U.S. military you are booing. If I were Commander In Chief, that’s something I would never allow.”
It would be worth the five votes they would have lost, and the thousands more they would have earned.
Yes, earned.
Because you know who in America boos soldiers? The Westboro Baptist Church. Yes, the “God Hates Fags” people are the only people in America I can think of who boo American soldiers. Well, and now, Republicans.
Last night, a gay soldier asked a question about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the audience booed, and then the question went to Santorum. And Santorum’s first response — which is what is often most-telling about a person — was to talk about sex.
Santorum’s first response was, “I would say, any type of sexual activity has no place in the military.”
Sexual activity.
Santorum, like far too many right wing religious extremists, hears, “gay,” and thinks, “sex.” And he proved it last night.
If this was a question about heterosexual relationship, Santorum would have thought something entirely different.
For the record, also, Fox host Gretchen Carlson said, “President Obama got rid of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell a couple of days ago.” Not exactly fair or accurate, but given that Fox has nurtured a low-information audience, and rarely airs any stories (compared to all the other major news networks) on LGBT issues, their audience I’m sure didn’t blink. DADT, Gretchen, was repealed by an act of Congress. Obama initiated it, and deserves credit for helping make it happen, but it was not something he, alone, “got rid of.” Additionally, Gretchen, over 70% of Americans (yes, real Americans,) wanted DADT repealed, the one thing most Americans — except Santorum — can agree on.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=z6jnr5FI-qU%3Fversion%3D3%26hl%3Den_US
There’s a petition at Change.org demanding Santorum apologize. You should sign it.

Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
![]() |