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American Morning
Sen. Rick Santorum in Some Political Hot Water
Aired April 23, 2003 - 07:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is in some political hot water right now. During an interview with the Associated Press, he compared homosexual behavior to polygamy, incest and adultery. Santorum doesn't dispute the accuracy of the quotes in the story, but calls them misleading. Some Democrats and gay rights groups are calling for Santorum to resign his Republican leadership position.
What kind of fallout will he and his party face?
For that, we turn to our senior political correspondent in Washington this morning -- hi, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: Just wondering, let's go ahead and maybe set this up first. Let's take a look at what Santorum said. We have the quote. We can put it on the screen. "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual gay sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery, you have the right to anything."
I also want to show you what he said in trying to defend himself after that statement. He said, "My discussion with the Associated Press was about the Supreme Court privacy case, the constitutional right to privacy in general, and in context of the impact on the family. I'm a firm believer that all are equal under the constitution. My comments should not be misconstrued in any way as a statement on individual lifestyle."
Does this make any sense to you, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: No. I believe the statement he originally made, that first statement equating consensual gay sex with bigamy, incest, polygamy, those things are crimes, clearly, under the law. They're prosecutable crimes. And adultery, at least, is widely considered an immoral act, even if it's not a crime. He is essentially criminalizing or saying the Supreme Court should endorse the criminalization of consensual gay sex.
That is a statement that a lot of Americans would regard as prejudiced. The problem is a lot of Americans regard it as prejudice, but a lot of Americans regard it as a statement of morality. It's a statement that divides the country more or less down the middle.
COLLINS: Gay rights groups and Democrats alike are comparing this to the comments that Trent Lott made about segregation. What do you think? Are there differences in what he said and what Trent Lott said?
SCHNEIDER: Well, many people would condemn both of them as statements of bigotry. The difference is that bigotry against homosexuals is still widely accepted in the United States, primarily because to many Americans it's based on religion. A lot of religious Americans of different faiths and creeds believe that homosexuality being condemned by the bible is something that is immoral and unacceptable.
Senator Santorum tried to get out of it by saying, I think somewhat puzzlingly, that he likes or accepts homosexuals, he just condemns homosexual activity or behavior, which is a very strange distinction to make. But a lot of Americans agree with that particular form of prejudice and say it's a statement of moral principal.
In the case of racism, well, to a lot of Southerners 75, 80 years ago, racism was a statement of moral principal, buildup it isn't anymore.
COLLINS: You raise an interesting point. I actually heard some of the Republicans who were defending him say last night on television morality is not bigotry.
What's your reaction to that?
SCHNEIDER: That is exactly the problem. About half the country -- I'm not sure of the percentages here -- a lot of Americans consider it bigotry. But some Americans consider it a statement of morality. That's the difference between this and the race issue. And the basic problem here is that to many Americans this is a religiously dictated statement of morality and when thing are deeply rooted in religion, like people's views on abortion, for instance. It's very hard to say that's simply a prejudice.
COLLINS: All right, Bill Schneider this morning, thanks for your insight.
Appreciate it, Bill.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 23, 2003 - 07:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is in some political hot water right now. During an interview with the Associated Press, he compared homosexual behavior to polygamy, incest and adultery. Santorum doesn't dispute the accuracy of the quotes in the story, but calls them misleading. Some Democrats and gay rights groups are calling for Santorum to resign his Republican leadership position.
What kind of fallout will he and his party face?
For that, we turn to our senior political correspondent in Washington this morning -- hi, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: Just wondering, let's go ahead and maybe set this up first. Let's take a look at what Santorum said. We have the quote. We can put it on the screen. "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual gay sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery, you have the right to anything."
I also want to show you what he said in trying to defend himself after that statement. He said, "My discussion with the Associated Press was about the Supreme Court privacy case, the constitutional right to privacy in general, and in context of the impact on the family. I'm a firm believer that all are equal under the constitution. My comments should not be misconstrued in any way as a statement on individual lifestyle."
Does this make any sense to you, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: No. I believe the statement he originally made, that first statement equating consensual gay sex with bigamy, incest, polygamy, those things are crimes, clearly, under the law. They're prosecutable crimes. And adultery, at least, is widely considered an immoral act, even if it's not a crime. He is essentially criminalizing or saying the Supreme Court should endorse the criminalization of consensual gay sex.
That is a statement that a lot of Americans would regard as prejudiced. The problem is a lot of Americans regard it as prejudice, but a lot of Americans regard it as a statement of morality. It's a statement that divides the country more or less down the middle.
COLLINS: Gay rights groups and Democrats alike are comparing this to the comments that Trent Lott made about segregation. What do you think? Are there differences in what he said and what Trent Lott said?
SCHNEIDER: Well, many people would condemn both of them as statements of bigotry. The difference is that bigotry against homosexuals is still widely accepted in the United States, primarily because to many Americans it's based on religion. A lot of religious Americans of different faiths and creeds believe that homosexuality being condemned by the bible is something that is immoral and unacceptable.
Senator Santorum tried to get out of it by saying, I think somewhat puzzlingly, that he likes or accepts homosexuals, he just condemns homosexual activity or behavior, which is a very strange distinction to make. But a lot of Americans agree with that particular form of prejudice and say it's a statement of moral principal.
In the case of racism, well, to a lot of Southerners 75, 80 years ago, racism was a statement of moral principal, buildup it isn't anymore.
COLLINS: You raise an interesting point. I actually heard some of the Republicans who were defending him say last night on television morality is not bigotry.
What's your reaction to that?
SCHNEIDER: That is exactly the problem. About half the country -- I'm not sure of the percentages here -- a lot of Americans consider it bigotry. But some Americans consider it a statement of morality. That's the difference between this and the race issue. And the basic problem here is that to many Americans this is a religiously dictated statement of morality and when thing are deeply rooted in religion, like people's views on abortion, for instance. It's very hard to say that's simply a prejudice.
COLLINS: All right, Bill Schneider this morning, thanks for your insight.
Appreciate it, Bill.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
