National Republicans Stand Up to Rick Santorum Attacks; Say He Does Not Represent Washington or Conservative Values

As the opponents of the freedom to marry and Referendum 74 welcome Rick Santorum to two marquee fund raising events this week, two national Republican leaders, Margaret Hoover and Meghan McCain, who often talk about the party’s younger generation, decry the former senator’s harsh and hurtful rhetoric towards gay and lesbian people and their families that has marked his public career.

With Washington United for Marriage (WUM) debuting its latest TV ad featuring Republican state representative Maureen Walsh who eloquently talks about her own marriage and why it’s important to include all loving couples, McCain and Hoover question the choice of Santorum who has equated gay and lesbian relationships with bestiality, polygamy, adultery and incest. Santorum’s appearances, today in Spokane and tomorrow night in Bellevue are closed to the press.

McCain, an MSNBC contributor, columnist for the Daily Beast, and daughter of Senator John McCain, says the choice of Santorum contradicts the Republican Party she and others believe is more broadly representative and welcoming.

“Every day more and more Republicans at the national and state level support the freedom to marry — from Vice President Dick Cheney to Barbara Bush to my own mother,” said McCain.”This is not a partisan issue. Fewer and fewer people in our party support the kind of intolerant rhetoric that Senator Rick Santorum has used through the years to talk about gay and lesbian Americans.”

Hoover, who served in the Bush White House and is currently a CNN political contributor and the author of American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party, says the choice of Santorum reveals a lot about the opponents of Referendum 74.

“It certainly makes sense that opponents of the freedom to marry would choose to feature Senator Rick Santorum for their closing arguments to voters,” said Hoover. “The senator has failed to understand that freedom to marry is consistent with the conservative movement’s emphasis on tradition. Marriage allows gays and lesbians to be part of this most sacred social institution, to form life-long commitments that strengthen families and communities and anchor civil society in self-sufficiency.  Extending freedom to marry to gays and lesbians makes our culture more stable, not less. Senator Santorum simply doesn’t represent the views of young conservatives nor, as the GOP primary process demonstrated, a winnable future for the Republican Party.

“These two national Republican leaders have it right — Referendum 74 is a non-partisan issue and Santorum represents possibly the very worst views of the past when it comes to including loving gay and lesbian couples in marriage,” said WUM campaign manager Zach Silk. “Both Hoover and McCain represent a growing number of Republicans who don’t understand why someone like Rick Santorum, with his extreme views, can still get center stage on this basic question of freedom and fairness.”

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