The new demagogue of the week is Pennsylvania's US Sen. Rick Santorum, the leading proponent in that chamber of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Santorum hasn't quite reached Tom DeLay levels of vitriol yet, but he appears to be making a renewed push in that direction.
As unfortunate as this amendment is in its own right, Santorum could've at least advocated it in a reasonable manner. But that's not his style.
Last year, Santorum equated homosexual sex acts with bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery. He has declined to apologize for those remarks, noted a Philadelphia Inquirer article.
Then, he tried making the martyr route. "This has been an incredible few days for me... it is not easy standing up against this popular culture in which we live."
In the debate over the amendment, Santorum insisted that he was not a bigot, that the amendment "was not about hate.... It is simply about doing the right thing for the basic glue that holds society together."
That contention would've been slightly more believable if he hadn't compared support of the amendment to the fight against terrorism.
"I would argue that the future of our country hangs in the balance because the future of marriage hangs in the balance," said Pennsylvania's junior senator. "Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"
Though he did accept the controversial nature of his role. "You've got to go out there and say what you believe and accept the consequences of your actions," Santorum said. "I'm perfectly willing to take the consequences of that in the next election. I'm not going to hide who I am or what I believe in."
But terrorist gays, of course, should hide who they are and what they believe in. Lest they threaten the fabric of society.
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