Gay Soldier Boo'ed at GOP Debate

[manasia]

The Worst Fox News-Google Debate Moment: Audience Boos a Gay Soldier
By Garance Franke-Ruta

They've applauded record executions in Texas and letting a 30-year-old man die. Now a GOP debate audience boos an out gay serviceman.

The last three GOP presidential primary debates have been nearly as notable for the actions of audience-members as for the candidates who appeared before them.

In California at the MSNBC-Politico debate at the Reagan library, the audience applauded mention of the high number of executions in Texas and Rick Perry's defense of the death penalty. "If you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is that you will be executed," the Texas governor said to hoots, whistles, and applause.

In Tampa, Fla., at the CNN-Tea Party Express debate, the audience cheered the idea of letting an uninsured 30-year-old man die (video) without care, greeting the idea with applause and shouts of "Yeah!"

And last night, at the Fox News-Google debate in Orlando, Fla., some audience-members booed a recently-out gay soldier stationed in Iraq who submitted a question through Google's YouTube video-sharing site. His offense? Asking the candidates if they would circumvent the progress made for gays and lesbians in the military.

Watch the interaction with Stephen Hill:

http://videos.mediaite.com/embed/player/?layout=&playlist_cid=&media_type=video&content=NGJNXW3PJXZ5TG47&read_more=1&widget_type_cid=svp

"Any type of sexual activity has no place in the military," former senator Rick Santorum told Hill, saying that the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on out service constituted "special privileges" and "social experimentation."

The audience response led former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer to tweet, "Booing a soldier serving our nation is uncalled for. If I were on stage, I would make that point."

But he wasn't on the stage, and none standing there spoke up on Hill's behalf.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/09/the-worst-fox-news-google-debate-moment-audience-boos-a-gay-soldier/245547/

[finehoe]

I have become used to hearing gay people and our lives either ignored or stigmatized or demonized in Republican debates. It is a function of a political party becoming a religion. And so my skin is pretty thick at this point, and my outrage button eroded by two decades of learning to ignore this stuff and focus on the positive arguments we have to make. It's not that I didn't react at the time:

10.18 pm. Santorum claims bizarrely that repealing DADT means permission for sexual activity for gays in the military. This is a lie. The same rules of sexual misconduct apply to gays and straights alike. And a gay servicemember is booed by this foul crowd. Santorum keeps saying "sex is not an issue." But that's the current policy! This has nothing to do with sex, as Santorum surely knows. And again, the crowd reveals itself as hateful - even when it comes to those serving their country in uniform. This is one core reason why I cannot be a Republican. So many are bigots - and no one - no one - stands up against them. They're a bunch of bullies congratulating themselves on rooting out the queers.

But as I went to bed last night, the scattered boos for an American soldier in the field at any debate began to sink in. And Santorum's despicable lie in response - that repealing DADT somehow means license of gay sexual misconduct in the armed services - was intended to reduce that soldier, his life and work, to Santorum's obsession: the intrinsic evil of gay sex. Again, this is usual. Gays are used to being reduced to sexual acts rather than being seen as full human beings, like straight people, with sexuality sure, but a whole lot of other things as well.

But somehow the fact that these indignities were heaped on a man risking his life to serve this country, a man ballsy enough to make that video, a man in the uniform of the United States ... well, it tells me a couple of things. It tells me that these Republicans don't actually deep down care for the troops, if that means gay troops. Their constant posturing military patriotism has its limits.

The shocking silence on the stage - the fact that no one challenged this outrage - also tells me that this kind of slur is not regarded as a big deal. When it came to it, even Santorum couldn't sanction firing all those servicemembers who are now proudly out. But that's because he was forced to focus not on his own Thomist abstractions, but on an actual person. Throughout Republican debates, gays are discussed as if we are never in the audience, never actually part of the society, never fully part of families, never worthy of even a scintilla of respect. When you boo a servicemember solely because he's gay, you are saying he is beneath contempt, that nothing he does or has done can counterweigh the vileness of his sexual orientation.

And then I think of all those gay servicemembers who have died for this country, or been wounded in battle, or been on tours year after year ... and the fury builds. Even GOProud, the two gay guys who love Ann Coulter, issued this statement:

“Tonight, Rick Santorum disrespected our brave men and women in uniform, and he owes Stephen Hill, the gay soldier who asked him the question about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, an immediate apology. That brave gay soldier is doing something Rick Santorum has never done â€" put his life on the line to defend our freedoms and our way of life.  It is telling that Rick Santorum is so blinded by his anti-gay bigotry that he couldn’t even bring himself to thank that gay soldier for his service.

Stephen Hill is serving our country in Iraq, fighting a war Senator Santorum says he supports.  How can Senator Santorum claim to support this war if he doesn’t support the brave men and women who are fighting it?”

He can't. Apologize, Santorum.

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/

[Tacachale]

Damn embarrassing. They're making their own bed with stuff like this.

[manasia]

Damn embarrassing. They're making their own bed with stuff like this.

Yea Tacahale, I wonder if they even care about that.

[vicupstate]

The job of our military is make war, not love.  Santorum is right, no one in the military should be having sex.  If priests can refrain, why can't they?

[JeffreyS]

Vic we should all be computers is your answer mindless machines who only follow orders. This is a real world we live in.  I attend a Catholic church and I will admit it was stupid and detrimental when church made priests give up sex so the church could keep any money the priest's families would have inherited.  Not respecting our gay soldiers by trying to make them hide is stupid and immoral.  Trying to defend the booing is well I think you can guess.

[JeffreyS]

Thanks Steven sometimes I am slow.

[TheProfessor]

So much hate.  No love in the world.

[Garden guy]

The job of our military is make war, not love.  Santorum is right, no one in the military should be having sex.  If priests can refrain, why can't they?

That's hilarious..every military leader has has sex during war time and priest get everyday with their little boys....the gop hates gays and feels they should all be put on an  island and then they'd blow it up..that's the story i hear alot..."noone in the military should be having sex"...that's hilarious..a bit naive but hilarious.

[simms3]

I have been so torn this whole presidential election cycle.  I recently switched to Democrat because of crap like this and the Tea Party.  On the other hand, the Democrats and those in charge right now are doing everything wrong to right this economy and Obama is showing a lack of leadership abroad, so I, like so many others, have actually become hopeful that some Republican candidates look good for 2012.  I like a couple of them from an economic standpoint, but I I can't stand most of them from a social standpoint.  I like Obama from a social standpoint, but I can't stand him from an economic standpoint.  This is a real dilemna for me.

I know that not all Republicans liked Santorum's answer or the booing, in fact in the video it seemed that at least half were not clapping (glimmer of hope?).  He won't win anyway.  I'm sure Perry feels the same way, unfortunately.  Hope on Romney?  I don't know at this point; I'm torn between giving up my social agenda (completely against the death penalty, too, and we just had that guy put to death here in GA...very tragic) and the economic agenda.  Our economy is so bad right now and getting worse, and there are so many things we can be doing to protect us from the EU's and China's troubles that we are not doing.  The policies of this admin are all head scratchers.  I'm just torn.  I wish there was a really strong candidate on the Repub side who did not care about social issues at all and just focused on the economy at this point.  Sadly, they all seem just as focused on social stuff as economic stuff, and they play to the lowest common denominator of middle America.

[JeffreyS]

I hear you simms I am a democrat who is upset Obama did not focus his energy the first two years on the economy.  I want healthcare reform, equal rights under the law for everyone and to be involved in fewer wars but fixing the economy floats more boats faster than anything else.  Obama is finally getting it now but it may be too late.

[finehoe]

I wish there was a really strong candidate on the Repub side who did not care about social issues at all and just focused on the economy at this point.

Ironically, this was the view the Tea Party was claimed to have had when they first burst upon the scene.  of course, that was shown to be a lie soon enough.

[ChriswUfGator]

I hear you simms I am a democrat who is upset Obama did not focus his energy the first two years on the economy.  I want healthcare reform, equal rights under the law for everyone and to be involved in fewer wars but fixing the economy floats more boats faster than anything else.  Obama is finally getting it now but it may be too late.

+1

[Cricket]

Rick Santorum said in an interview today that he did not hear the hecklers before he answered the question. I believe that Santorum lied. I believe that he did hear the booing but he thought it was coming from a larger portion of the audience. He didn't want to be booed himself by opposing his base.

[Doctor_K]

the gop hates gays and feels they should all be put on an  island and then they'd blow it up..that's the story i hear alot...

I'm starting to see the source of your vitriol for anything remotely not-Democrat.  If this is indicative of the kind of crap you "hear alot" from your so-called 'republican' friends, you're hanging out with some pretty f*cked up people.