President Ronald Reagan's son Michael,
a Republican strategist and commentator, recently deflected questions
about the lack of GOP support for gay rights by suggesting that
Republicans were better on the issue than Iran or Adolf Hitler.
During an appearance on Politicking
with Larry King, host Larry King asked Michael Reagan, who heads
the Reagan Legacy Foundation, why the GOP is behind on gay rights.
“Your party seems to go backwards,”
King said.
“I don't think it's going backwards,”
Reagan
answered. “It's been pretty much the same for a long time.
They don't agree with gay rights. They don't agree with gay
marriage. But I don't think there's a problem with that, for
standing up for what you believe in.”
“Well, Hitler believed in what he
believed in,” King pointed out.
“Yeah, but we're not killing 6
million gay people. By the way, it's really interesting, there are
people talking about the Republicans and they lift up Iran. What
does Iran do with gays? What does Iraq do with gays?”
“I mean, my god, in this country we
have more freedoms for gay Americans, black Americans, everybody else
on the planet than any other country in the world.”
“What's the Republican Party's image
in the gay community? Poor,” King noted.
“It is poor,” Reagan admitted.
“What have you got against gay
people?” King asked. “Your party is anti-gay.”
“This election should not be about
social issues. This election should be about jobs,” Reagan
responded.
“But if you want the presidency,
you'd better advance on the social issues,” King said.