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White House expresses support for SantorumSenator faced criticism for comments on gays
By Sean Loughlin
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House expressed its support Friday for Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, who has been under fire by gay rights advocates and Democrats for critical comments he made about homosexuality. "The president has confidence in Senator Santorum, both as a senator and as a member of the Senate leadership," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters. Asked about the president's views on homosexuality, Fleischer said a person's sexuality is "not a matter that the president concerns himself with" and that he judges people on how they act as a whole. The endorsement of Santorum comes after several days of silence about the Pennsylvania Republican, who serves as chairman of the Republican Senate Caucus, the No. 3 position in the GOP leadership in that chamber. And it follows statements by some conservatives who charged that Republicans have been timid in defending Santorum. Advocates for gay rights groups and many Democrats have blasted Santorum for describing homosexual activity as a threat to society and the family. During an interview published Monday with The Associated Press, he lumped consensual gay sex with incest, polygamy, adultery and bigamy.(Interview excerpts) The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest political organization for gays and lesbians, took issue with the White House's support of Santorum. "Senator Santorum's remarks are deeply discriminatory and are antithetical to bringing people together. If this is how the president defines inclusion, then it clearly calls into question the depth of compassion in his conservatism," Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the group, said in a statement. On the other hand, the Family Research Council, a conservative group, maintained its position that GOP support for Santorum has been timid. A spokeswoman for the group pointed to a statement on the organization's Web page. "Beyond a few tepid statements of personal support for Sen. Santorum, no prominent national GOP leader seems willing or able to mount a spirited, principled defense of marriage and family," the statement said. "The question naturally arises: Have Republican leaders been so intimidated by the smear tactics of the homosexual lobby and its Democratic attack dogs that they are cowering in silence?" Also Friday, a Democratic leader in the House released a statement blasting Santorum's thinking as "reminiscent of witch-burning and hanging for heresy." Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, said Santorum should not serve in the GOP leadership. Other Democrats also assailed the remarks. Two moderate Republican senators -- Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lincoln Chafee of Vermont -- called them "unfortunate" and said they did not reflect the views of many in their party. (Full story) But until Friday, the White House declined to weigh in on the matter. In two recent incidents involving controversial comments by lawmakers, the White House stepped in to criticize the comments. President Bush blasted remarks in December by Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, that appeared to express nostalgia for segregation, and Fleischer criticized Rep. James Moran, D-Virginia, for his statement in March that Jews were the driving force behind the war with Iraq. In both incidents, the men were forced to resign their leadership posts in their respective parties -- Lott as Senate majority leader, Moran as a Democratic regional whip. Santorum has said his remarks were not a reflection of intolerance, but merely described laws as they relate to homosexual activity.(Full story) While Fleischer Friday expressed White House support for Santorum, the administration had no public reaction to Santorum's remarks. Fleischer declined to elaborate on Bush's views, saying that the question of gay sex was a matter before the Supreme Court.
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