Posted on 07/16/2005 12:12:46 PM PDT by gopgen
Gay-rights opponent Santorum stands by outed aide
BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The senior spokesman for Sen. Rick Santorum, R- Pa., Friday confirmed to a web log that he is gay.
According to PageOneQ, an online gay and lesbian publication, director of communications Robert L. Traynham, said that he was an "out gay man who completely supports the senator."
Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate leadership has been an outspoken opponent of homosexual rights and a leading proponent of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Santorum, who was traveling in Pittsburgh, released the following statement:
"Robert Traynham ... is widely respected and admired on Capitol Hill, both among the press corps and among the congressional staff, as a communications professional. Not only is Mr. Traynham an exemplary staffer, but he is also a trusted friend confidente to me and my family. Mr. Traynham is a valued member of my staff and I regret that this effort on behalf of people who oppose me has made him a target of bigotry in their eyes.
"It is entirely unacceptable that my staffs' personal lives are considered fair game by partisans looking for arguments to bolster my opponent's campaign. Mr. Traynham continues to have my full support and confidence as well as my prayers as he navigates this rude and mean spirited invasion of his personal life."
Mark Rodgers, chief of staff at the Republican conference, which Santorum chairs, said, "Robert is a tremendous employee and we're all for standing by him." Traynham's homosexuality was not news to the senator or his staff, he added.
In the online interview, Traynham defended his decision to work with the senator. "Sen. Santorum is a man of principle, he is a man who sticks up for what he believes in. I strongly do support Sen. Santorum.
Asked whether he supported Santorum's views on lesbian and gay issues, Traynham told PageOneQ, "Sen. Santorum is a family man. I have been with him for eight years and I am very proud to be with him."
The two-term senator is up for reelection next year. His expected Democratic opponent is State Treasurer Robert P. Casey, Jr.
Traynham began working for Santorum since 1997 as a press assistant and then deputy press secretary. He was press secretary for the senator's 2000 reelection campaign in Pennsylvania. Just prior to becoming communications director in the Senate office, Traynham served as director of communications for the Senate Republican Conference.
Traynham holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, where he currently serves on the Council of Trustees.
In supporting the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would prohibit gay marriage, Santorum has equated homeland security with the sanctity of traditional marriage. He has referred to gay marriage as "messing with the basic family unit."
During an interview with The Associated Press two years ago about a challenge to the constitutionality of Texas's sodomy law, Santorum said that if the Supreme Court allows gay sex at home (which it ultimately did), "you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything."
On the marriage issue, Santorum also said: "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be."
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© 2005, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Visit Philadelphia Online, the Inquirer's World Wide Web site, at http://www.philly.com
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
LOL!
The only thing disgusting here is you.
"Have you ever seen a group called "gays against gay pride parades"."
Scroll back to my post 210 for the URL to an article by a conservative gay activist who is president of a group called "Homosexuals Opposed to Pride Extremism" (HOPE). The author does not agree that the antics of the extreme left are healthy, and calls them "narcissistic".
"Some of my best friends are black!"
No, he's not a libertarian Republican.
No, he's not a conservative Republican.
He is a self_serving, puritan_when_it_suits_him, open minded_when_it_suits_him, pandering, socialism-promoting, hypocritical, arrogant politician.
Some day I will tell you what I really think of him.
You equate homoexual behavior with race?
And I would agree with you.
Define that.
...hypocrisy is not for me. Call it "ugly", but I call it self serving HYPOCRISY!
No, I didn't call "hypocrisy" ugly. I said your attitude is ugly. Spare us all the strawmen and address the issue. What SHOULD Santorum have done?
Ever notice it's liberals who always "out" people? What a bunch of passive-aggressive bigots.
It looks like some of "them" are playing along with the Dems.
Absolutely Agreed.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
I'm not sure.
I guess we are, but I'm just not feeling it.
Now if he were a pedophile or an abortion doctor, I guess I'd feel very, very differently.
Thankfully, most of those are Democrats so we don't have to worry.
Main Entry: adul·tery
Pronunciation: &-'d&l-t(&-)rE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ter·ies
Etymology: Middle English, alteration of avoutrie, from Middle French, from Latin adulterium, from adulter adulterer, back-formation from adulterare
: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband; also : an act of adultery
Gosh, I'm so tired of hearing that excuse, are you? ;-)
You're wasting your time - I've tried until my fingers were ached to explain it, but either folks are too stupid or deliberately vague.
That sound you hear is my point going right over your head.
"(just check my posts: I'm starting to sound like a gay activist, for God's sake)"
Amen to that.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
"Most all of your family members have been married for five centuries, therefore no homosexuals in your family tree. Good for you! Proof positive! "
Just to clear the record, let me state without a doubt, no one in my family has ever been married for five centuries!
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