Former Senator Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) was asked on MSNBC last night what he thinks of the Republican presidential field. After calling New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie - who says he is not running - "quite awesome," Simpson lambasted his party's social conservatives for their positions on abortion and homosexuality.On the flip side:
Simpson, a fiscal conservative and pro-choice Republican who co-chaired last year's bipartisan commission to address the federal deficit and debt, complained that there are "homophobes" in the Republican Party. He went on to say that likely GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum has "said some cruel things, cruel, cruel things about homosexuals."
"We won a governorship there in New Jersey, one in Virginia, by not talking about social issues," Simpson said. "Who the hell is for abortion? I don't know anybody running around with a sign that says, 'Have an abortion, they're wonderful.' They're hideous. But they're a deeply intimate and personal decision, and I don't think men legislators should even vote on the issue."
Rick Santorum's appearance on Fox News's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" on Wednesday night is expected to shed light on his next steps toward a potential White House bid, possibly including the formation of an exploratory committee.While I don't expect Rick to get any traction in the next election cycle (with Michelle Bachman and/or Sarah Palin in the race there'd be little room for Rick's frothy brand of teh crazie) I could be wrong. Perhaps running an anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-any religion but Rick's platform might garner him some votes. Who knows? Crazier things have been known to happen. I mean a struggling single mother smuggled her new born baby from Kenya to Hawaii 50 years ago in order to fake his citizenship in order to make him President of the United States in order to destroy the country with his radical socialist Muslim agenda!
The former Pennsylvania senator has already said he plans to participate in the first presidential debate of the campaign season, one that requires participants to have formed a presidential committee first. The May 5 debate, sponsored by the South Carolina Republican Party and Fox News, will be held in Greenville, S.C.
Whew - sorry. Caught a little of teh crazie myself just then. I'm better now, thanks.
But honestly, when it's a surprise to hear a prominent Republican point out the cruel homophobia in God's Own Party, one has to wonder how deep the intolerance, in fact, is.
2 comments:
Rick is a special form of politician. There are plenty just like him, but he is a good exemplar.
To wit.
Rick has made a career out of being a pol. He has no real skills and little intellectual ability. He is a failed lawyer who discovered, quite early on, that he had a talent for spin and blather, rather than sense. And he found a willing constituency and a talented partner in John Brabender, who has crafted his political "brand." He apparently filled a niche that at least some PA residents found wanting...
Can Rick really make a splash on the national stage? Possibly. The fact that Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman and Donald Trump have their acolytes is amazing to this writer, so I find it no more incredible that Rick might gain traction. His loss to Bob Casey has little import in this race. Few people care or remember, except the Progressives who applauded that day. Indeed, Rick will use his defeat as a rallying cry, "People voted me out because they hated Geo. Bush -- but how do they feel now, with this faux President in DC?"
So don't count him out yet. He is a "pure" Conservative and has none of Romney's health plan baggage...
Overall, a pretty scary thought....
I could not agree more about Santorum's actual chances in the coming primary. While we may be in the midst of a Republican resurgence, it is certainly not one based on social conservatism, but that of the fiscal nature.
But a straw poll does have him in the lead in South Carolina, which can be an important state to capture. Though I cannot imagine that he would have much luck anywhere else.
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