Baume: LGBT Issues At First GOP Debate

OPEN THREAD: GOP Kids' Table Debate

Watch along and weigh in here during the Kids' Table Debate, which begins at 5PM eastern. This and the later debate at 9PM will be streamed live at Fox News, but you'll need your cable system login to watch.

Son Of Frothy Mix Busted For DUI

CNN reports:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum's son was arrested and charged last month with driving while intoxicated after registering an initial blood-alcohol level almost twice the legal limit. Richard John Santorum, Jr., known as John, was stopped at a DUI checkpoint in suburban Virginia at about midnight on July 11, according to court papers. "Upon contact, I detected the odor of alcoholic beverages and the accused had glassy eyes and slurred speech," a police officer wrote in Santorum's criminal complaint. During his field sobriety tests, the 22-year-old Citadel cadet "showed specific signs of impairment," according to the complaint.

The Santorum campaign has declined to comment.

Frothy Spox Has The Debate Sadz

Rick Santorum: I Regret That I Ever Said That "Man On Dog" Thing About Gays

Last night Rick Santorum sat down for a rare and lengthy interview with Rachel Maddow. Raw Story zeroes in on the SCOTUS portion:

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow shot down Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum on Wednesday when he tried to argue that Congress could overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing marriage equality. “You’re fundamentally wrong on civics,” Maddow said. “If there is a question as to the constitutionality of a law, it gets adjudicated. The second syllable in that word means it gets decided in the judiciary. The Supreme Court decides whether or not a law is constitutional. So you could not now pass a law that said, ‘We’re banning same-sex marriage.'” Santorum then argued that “Congress can pass anything it wants to pass,” regardless of the high court’s decisions to justify passing a new ban on same-sex marriages. “So you want them to pass a moot bill?” Maddow asked. “It wouldn’t be moot,” he insisted, saying that the court could find it “misread the tea leaves” between its ruling last month and a possible new bill.

After the above exchange, Maddow asks if Santorum believes that people choose to be gay. Minutes later Santorum said that he now regrets his "flippant" 2003 comment that decriminalizing homosexuality will lead to legalizing "man on dog" sex. He added, however, that he stands by his overall "slippery slope" contention about LGBT rights.

Rick Santorum: We Need A Federal Constitutional Ban On Gay Marriage

Via Bloomberg:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Monday he wants a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman in all 50 states, less than three weeks after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. “I believe we need a national standard for marriage. I don't think we can have a standard from one state to another on what marriage is,” Santorum told reporters at a breakfast in Washington hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, adding that he wants “to define marriage the way it was defined for 4,000 years of human history.” The remarks put Santorum to the right of rivals such as Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who are pushing a different kind of constitutional amendment that would allow states to decide whether to allow or ban same-sex marriage, rather than an amendment that would set a national standard.

Santorum's position may be news to Bloomberg, but it's not to NOM as last week he became the first 2016 presidential candidate to sign their hate pledge. Here's the very first line: "I pledge to the American people that if elected President, I will support a federal constitutional amendment that protects marriage as the union of one man and one woman." In 2012 every major GOP candidate ended up signing NOM's pledge. It's rather interesting that so far only Santorum has signed the 2016 pledge.

Frothy Mix Signs NOM's Hate Pledge

Via press release from Brian Brown:

Sen. Rick Santorum gave the keynote address to NOM's Second Annual Marriage Gala in Washington, DC on July 2nd. Sen. Santorum ripped the US Supreme Court for their illegitimate ruling and pledged as president to work to reverse it, saying "this will not stand," bringing the crowd of nearly 400 people to their feet. NOM's Marriage Gala is an opportunity to bring together many of our strongest supporters from throughout the country to hear from NOM's team of leaders, including our Chairman, John Eastman, and Co-Founder, Professor Robert George. It was announced at the Gala that Sen. Santorum has become the first 2016 presidential candidate to sign NOM's Presidential Marriage Pledge, promising to take specific actions as president to restore traditional marriage and protect supporters of marriage against attempts to marginalize and punish them. NOM expects a number of other candidates to join Sen. Santorum as signatories of the Presidential Marriage Pledge in coming days.

At the gala Santorum was also given NOM's "prestigious Marriage Champion Award."

Frothy Mix: Obergefell Proves That My 2003 "Man On Dog" Warning Was Right

Santorum: America Is World's Moral Leader In Fight Against Gay Marriage

Via the Guardian:

Rick Santorum said on Sunday he would continue his campaign to reverse the supreme court decision that legalised same-sex marriage, because the US “is still the moral leader of the world”. On 26 June, the court voted 5-4 in favor of the plaintiff in the case Obergefell v Hodges, who sought to extend rights conferred by a same-sex marriage in one state to another which did not allow it. Since then, conservative opposition has included calls for a constitutional amendment on marriage, advocacy for laws to ensure religious liberty, and official approval of county clerks who refuse to issue licenses for same-sex marriages. Appearing on CBS, Santorum was asked about a previous statement that the ruling “disrupts the foundation of the world”. He said he was concerned with three things: the role of the court in society – a rallying call for 2016 candidates including Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal – an “assault on religious liberty” and “a further erosion of this founding building block of society, which is the nuclear family”.

Frothy Mix Has The Sadz

"Today, five unelected justices decided to redefine the foundational unit that binds together our society without public debate or input. Now is the people’s opportunity respond because the future of the institution of marriage is too important to not have a public debate. The Court is one of three co-equal branches of government and, just as they have in cases from Dred Scott to Plessy, the Court has an imperfect track record. The stakes are too high and the issue too important to simply cede the will of the people to five unaccountable justices. But leaders don’t accept bad decisions that they believe harm the country, they have the courage of their convictions and lead the country down the better path. Marriage, the family and our children are too central to a healthy society to not fight for what is best. I realized that fact early on and that is why I lead the charge against some in my own party in 2004 to ensure the Federal Marriage Amendment received a vote and I continue to stand for marriage, for families, for freedom." - Rick Santorum, via press release.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

"With the Supreme Court due to rule on marriage any day now, Presidential 'candidate' Rick Santorum says he would fight back against a pro-equality ruling. He says that states allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry is a violation of his religious freedom, which is an argument a lot people made about interracial marriage in the 60s. So do couples need to worry about the possibility that Rick Santorum could stop them."

Rick Santorum: Same-Sex Marriage Is A Violation Of The First Amendment And As President I Won't Enforce It

Rick Santorum called into Glenn Beck's show today to declare that as president he will not enforce a SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage. Because gay marriage is somehow against the First Amendment.

"This is tantamount to government establishing religion," Santorum said. "When the United States government comes in and says this is what you are going to believe, this is how you're going to practice your faith, this is a new religion. This violates, in my opinion, the Establishment Clause in the Constitution that says that Congress shall make no law with respect to an establishment of religion. If the government goes around and tells churches what they have to believe in and what their doctrine is, that is something that is a violation of the First Amendment." Santorum said that he holds out hope that the Supreme Court will rule against marriage equality advocates "because there is no way that the left will stop at mere tolerance, they will demand conformity, they will demand it from the church, they will demand it from every institution, they will demand it from businesses and there will be no tolerance to a different point of view on this issue."

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Details. #MutleyLaugh.

Bill Maher To Conservatives: Stop These Phony Claims Of Christian Persecution

In Their Own Words: HRC Recaps Anti-Gay Positions Of Graham And Santorum

Rick Santorum: The Supreme Court Doesn't Have The Final Say On Marriage

Via NBC News:

When asked whether he would accept the Supreme Court's ruling if they legalize same-sex marriage later this year, he said he would "fight it." "I think it's important to understand that the Supreme Court doesn't have the final word. It has its word. Its word has validity. But it's important for Congress and the president, frankly, to push back when the Supreme Court gets it wrong," said the presidential candidate on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. He went on to say that the country is not "bound by what nine people say in perpetuity" and that he's continued his fight against Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that affirmed a woman's right to an abortion, because he thinks "the court got it wrong." When asked whether he thinks states should ignore the ruling if the Supreme Court does legalize same-sex marriage, Santorum responded, "I don't advocate civil disobedience. I do advocate the role of an informed citizen to try to overturn when a court makes a mistake and gets an issue wrong."

Santorum announced his presidential bid last week.

Rick Santorum Announces 2016 Bid

Via Yahoo Politics:

Conservative culture warrior Rick Santorum launched a 2016 White House bid on Wednesday, vowing to fight for working-class Americans in a new election season that will test his influence — and focus on social issues — in a changing Republican Party. The former Pennsylvania senator may have exceeded his own expectations by scoring a second-place finish in the race for the Republican presidential nomination four years ago. Yet as he enters a more powerful and diverse 2016 field, he may struggle even to qualify for the debate stage in his second run. "I am proud to stand here, among you and for you, the American workers who have sacrificed so much, to announce that I am running for president of the United States," the 57-year-old senator said, flanked by factory workers and six of his seven children in a cinderblock warehouse near his western Pennsylvania hometown. "The last race, we changed the debate. This race, with your help and God's grace, we can change this nation."

Take back America! USA! USA!

Rick Santorum To Make It Official Today

Via Bloomberg:

Rick Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania who was the runner-up for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, is expected to announce his plans about a second try for the White House on Wednesday as he works to broaden his appeal beyond his hardline stance on social issues. Santorum, 57, positioned himself in 2012 as the champion of voters opposed to abortion rights and gay marriage. This year, he's emphasized his eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee and foreign policy with the rise of the Islamic State. He's also touting a message of inclusion. “We are not going be successful unless we have a message that talks to the people who are struggling to rise,” Santorum said May 21 at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma. Six candidates already have declared, while former New York Governor George Pataki, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and former Texas Governor Rick Perry could announce bids in the coming days. Others, including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, are also preparing for the race.

In 2012 Santorum won eleven state primaries.

Rick Santorum To Announce On May 27th

If he enters the race as most expect him to do, that will bring the 2016 GOP field to seven: Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Ben Carson.

Still to declare: Chris Christie, George Pataki, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, Rick Perry, Donald Trump, and Scott Walker - all of whom have registered exploratory committees or formed 2016 campaign PACs.

Of these 16 declared or potential candidates, who do you find least objectionable?

Santorum Waffles On Jenner Comments

"Many of you may have read a story published by the website BuzzFeed where I was asked for my thoughts regarding Bruce Jenner. 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. ‪#‎compassion‬." - Rick Santorum, posting this afternoon to his Facebook page. Catholic blogger Lisa Grass today reports that Santorum said this her today by email: "I am not going argue with him [Bruce Jenner] as to whether he is a man or a woman. He is obviously biologically male and that cannot change. I meant only to be kind to people who are obviously very troubled." The original Buzzfeed quote has generated the predictable outcry across Teabagistan.