Top Santorum Aide Outed As Gay

San Luis Obispo Tribune ^ | 7/15/2005 | Steve Goldstein

[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."

---

© 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.

[Delphinium]

The difference is, murder is a choice, not a born trait. I believe you are born with a tendency towards homosexuality

Child molestors were also born with that tendency?

Where do you find that homosexuals were born that way in the Bible, that you believe?

[Tarpon]

I have never understood how opposing someone's position on any issue makes you need to hate the person, or makes you disgusted to be associated with a person who has differing views, or life styles. I have known, worked with and had people on my staff who were gay, never disgusted me. Do I support gay marriage, no. Do I support the openly homosexual lifestyle, no. Do I support any public sexual lifestyle, no again.

Pretty obvious what is going on here, isn't it. The Dems waited to out the gay guy until the election so they could get a mean and nasty reaction from the reactionary right.

I could care less who Santorum has on his staff or what they do for their sex life. I vote for the candidate, the issues the candidate supports, not his staff.

[Republican Wildcat]

I posted FACTS.

No, you didn't. Now, it was quite creative. You didn't outright lie in many of the things you posted, but you twisted things to get the reader to draw an inference that was a lie. Creative lying is no more honest than outright lying.

[Albion Wilde]

"I hope you don't have any gay children. How sad for them."


How sad for those children whose parents take such pride in their parenting that they try to rewrite God's plan to suit their limited human understanding. How sad for them on the last day.

[pa mom]

"thanks anyway for describing your stereotype of those "evil" Christians"

I used to hate the term "Christian" right. I defended them until I was blue in the face because I could not believe any one would actually believe the things the media said about them.

In the time I have been on this site, I have a very different view of the "religious right".

I have seen those who want women with children never to work, all artificial birth control banned, those who believe Harry Potter is leading us all to the devil and those who want to purge the Republican party of gays and anyone who believes in evolution.

Darn right my position has changed.

And I never used the word evil. I will not call people names.

[pa mom]

I would expect the justice system to apply the correction.

And you miss my point. I do not equate murder with homosexuality. I believe your sexuality is inborn. I believe there is a range of sexuality, with raging hetero on one side and raging homo on the other. Any extreme can get you in trouble. Hugh Hefner is no better than any gay in a bath house imo.

I think some folks are more inclined to be gay than others. Maybe they can sublimate it if they really want to. Good for them. I just will not consider individual gays evil.

[Eva]

I disagree with your assessment of this issue and frankly, your comments are offensive.

[pa mom]

I think there is a bit of paranoia there, but this could be a generational issue. I don't agree with the gay political agenda, but I differentiate that from individual gay people. I don't like the NAACP, but I don't hate all blacks.

I was not the one talking about keeping government out of the bedroom, so maybe you meant to post that to someone else.

[pa mom]

I just think that's a sad and angry world to live in.

I am a Christian, but I think there is a lot of anger and parnoia in the Christian political agenda, just as there is a lot of anger and paranoia in the homosexual political agenda.

[pa mom]

I don't like abortion, but I think it is tearing our party apart. I teach my children it is wrong and I spent many years working in my churches for the pro-life activities. So much hatred there I have backed away. Makes me uncomfortable to hear hate from supposed Christians.

I am an upper middle class white woman. Most of my friends are Republicans. You will not find a one that wants abortion illegal and are very turned off by rapid pro-life rhetoric. Like it or not, that is the truth of many in the party.

[pa mom]

I didn't say I found it in the Bible. And yes, I think child molesters are born that way. That's why they cannot be rehabilitated.

[Quinotto]

The senior spokesman for Sen. Rick Santorum, R- Pa., Friday confirmed to a web log that he is gay.

Isn't this hilarious? It clearly made no difference to Santorum and his staff that the man is gay, why is it so important to the media and the gay activists? So who are the hypocrites here?

[wingman1]

Thanks for your thought-provoking posts.

I am not a Biblical scholar either.

I can not argue your point and will admit that it is deserving of much more thought (and discussion).

As for my statement that God is equally offended by all sin, I base this on the parable of "The Adulterous Woman" and Isaiah 64:6.

My belief is that our actions in this life should be dictated by the understanding that we will all be judged by a just God, and that any presumption that we are less likely to receive harsh judgment because of what we perceive to be a lesser degree of transgression is dangerous.

[pa mom]

"a person unrepentently engaged in grievous sin should not be given a highly trustworthy position"

I honestly don't mean this sarcastically. Doesn't the above describe just about everybody?

I mean that in all seriousness. Hate, pride, adultery, sex before marriage, overdrinking, overeating, birth control, lying, self-rightousness, and anger, just to name a few, are all sins, grievous ones.

How many of us could be in a high trustworthy post?

[little jeremiah]

Remember Clinton? One of the reasons conservatives loathed him was his disgusting immorality. Gross immorality in ones' private life seeps into the rest of one's life. Doesn't mean everyone who is flatly immoral is unfit for everything. There are degrees of immorality, and some positions are more sensitive or carry more weight than others.

Not all moral failings or character flaws are equal. The understanding that serious moral turpitude renders someone unfit for public service or a position that requres security clearances or other types of heavy responsibilities used to be common cultural understanding.

I am not passing particular judgement one way or the other regarding Santorum and his aide. We are not privy to the particulars. I have other reasons I do not love Santorum, although I like some things about him.

[Dane]

And I never used the word evil(Christian). I will not call people names

But you will sure darn imply them.

JMO, get over yourself, and if you can't do that, join the democrats, where you will be right at home, or should I say left at home.

[pa mom]

I'm sorry if you felt that I implied any Christian is evil. I did not mean that. And I would try to never call anyone names.

I cannot understand your meanspirited attack on me. I am sorry if I offend you in some way.

I have never voted for a Democrat in my life and I cannot understand why you would want me to. I do not agree with anything they espouse politically.

[pa mom]

I don't feel strongly about Santorum either way. This incident does not move me, either, probably because I can't believe there is any other way to handle it.

I voted for him twice and will vote for him again because he votes for what I believe by and large. I don't expect to agree with any politician all the time, I guess.

I do think that all the sins I outlined are equal. Someone who has sex outside of marriage is no worse or better than someone who harbors hate or who abuses their body with food or alcohol. I can't understand why the sexual sins seem to rile folks up more.

[xzins]

Good post.

I'd add the provision that if Santorum knew the guy stood for the opposite of Santorum's public persona, but hired him anyway, then it's fair game to ask what Santorum actually stands for.

Inconsistencies FAIRLY generate questions.

[BibChr]

Sure, that's right.