Former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson
says the anti-gay rights rhetoric of Republicans is “disgusting.”
The Republican who served 18 years in
the Senate made his remarks in an appearance on MSNBC's Hardball.
When host Chris Matthews asked for his
pick among early GOP contenders for the presidential nomination,
Simpson took the opportunity to chide socially conservative
lawmakers.
“I don't know,” Simpson replied,
“but if we're going to talk about social issues … we won a
governorship there in New Jersey, one in Virginia, by not talking
about social issues.”
“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 are a deeply
intimate and personal decision. And I don't think men legislators
should even vote on the issue.”
“Then you got homosexuality, you got
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We have homophobes in our party. That's
disgusting to me. We're all human beings. We're all God's children.
Now, if they're going to get off on that stuff – [former
Pennsylvania Senator Rick] Santorum has said some cruel things,
cruel, cruel things about homosexuals.”
“I'm not sticking with people who are
homophobic, anti-women, you know, moral values while you're diddling
your secretary, while you're giving a speech on moral values. Come
on, get off of it.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of
this page.)