Rick Santorum: I’m Sorry My Seeming Support Of Bruce Jenner Made You Think I Support Bruce Jenner
Rick Santorum was quick to correct the perception that his “compassion” for Bruce Jenner was actual compassion.
In a shocking interview with Buzzfeed over the weekend, likely GOP presidential candidate and notorious professional anti-LGBT bigot Rick Santorum offered uncharacteristic support for Bruce Jenner.
“If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman,†Santorum said. “My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are. I can criticize, and I do, for what people do, for their behavior. But as far as for who they are, you have to respect everybody, and these are obviously complex issues for businesses, for society, and I think we have to look at it in a way that is compassionate and respectful of everybody.â€
Yes, not a typo. Rick Santorum, the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania.
Santorum added these are “tough issues,” and turned the conversation over to politics and policy, saying, “I don’t think the federal government should get into the whole issue of bathrooms.”
Because, that’s the first issue Rick Santorum thinks of when the topic of transgender people comes up.
Clearly, those on the right were furious.Â
So the 56-year old father of eight took to Facebook to correct the record.
“Many of you may have read a story published by the website BuzzFeed where I was asked for my thoughts regarding Bruce Jenner,” Santorum wrote. “My comment affirmed Jenner as a person, made by God in His likeness as we all are. It was meant to express empathy not a change in public policy.”
He added the hashtag, #‎compassion.
Seeing right through that were many.Â
“It’s amusing when someone has to apologise [sic] because they came across as a decent human being,” one person on Facebook wrote. “Lol. At first I was like wow , and then I was like, wow  . Kinda proves you don’t really know what compassion is,” wrote another. “Never seen someone backpedal so hard from positive publicity,” offered a third.
Wonkette summed it up well, writing, “no, he did not mean to be nice, and no, this doesn’t mean transgender people should actually be treated like human beings.”
Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

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.
![]() |