The pioneer in this new convoluted logic was the master himself, former Speaker Newt Gingrich. In an interview with Catholic Radio of San Diego (appearing on an AM station, of course), Gingrich linked what his interviewer termed an “increasingly secular” society in which “the family is under attack” and the destruction of free enterprise.
“You have to recognize that free enterprise is based on free people and…free people are based on faith. The very source of our strength is that we believe these are truths—not theories, not ideologies, not gimmicks, not political consultants, powerpoints—truths, and so there’s a core absolute overlap between free enterprise, freedom and freedom of faith. And if you don’t have freedom of faith in the end you’re not going to have free enterprise because there’s no moral force that defends and protects you.”
And guess whose ideology is being referenced by the thrice-married Newt?
Just in case you weren’t entirely clear on that concept, Rick Santorum amplified it by suggesting the economy wasn’t destroyed by Bush-era tax cuts and overspending or anything to do with actual numbers. The cause was a lack of moral backbone illustrated by all of you marriage-seeking gay couples out to destroy the American family.
In a chat with two of our favorite homophobes—Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association—Santorum philosophized about the impact of “this whole redefinition of marriage debate” and other new-fangled ideas:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“If you think that we can be a society that kills our own, and that disregards the family and the important role it plays, and doesn’t teach moral values and the important role of faith in the public square, and then expect people to be good, decent and moral when they behave economically, if you look at the root cause of the economic problems that we’re dealing with on Wall Street and Main Street I might add, from 2008, they were huge moral failings.”
Personally, we think Santorum should be made to diagram that sentence as punishment for the thoughts behind it.
slanty
Republicans already treat their political party like a religious cult. That must be why they look for a scapegoat in gay people. If you try to leave, or you don’t toe the party line, you get death threats from talking heads. I think Queerty reported on that in July.
christopher di spirito
Quick! Cue Chris Barron at GOProud who will “This isn’t what conservatives mean at all.”
Cam
Funny then that the economy crashed while Bush was president and after the GOP had only recently lost control of Congress after a decade of controlling it.
Remember, McCain STOPPED HIS CAMPAIGN to rush back to Washington to help Bush push through the Gigantic TARP bailout after Wall Street Collapsed.
Funny how the GOP loves to forget that the economic collapsed happened while their guy was in the drivers seat.
slanty
@Cam: Bush’s Southern drawl was too much like a gay lisp. God punished him by giving him early dementia.
peter
oh please
only a brain dead moron would believe any of this crap
Tony Renna
next thing you know the lgbt community wil be blamed for global warming . what can i say there are just no words , to respond to this argument of stupidity , please spread the word on face boook if you got accounts there , i make sure that eveyone is informed on there ignorant topics , one good thing about th ecomputer age is that the lgbt community can fight back in force ! alone we are all just a finger , fingers joined together , make a fist , and with that fist we can strike a huge blow ……..use evey forem you know to spread the word , be part of that fist ……………………peace 🙂
slanty
@peter: As opposed to a moron with a functioning brain?
Jim Hlavac
In a very weird, counter intuitive way, we are the cause — these people against us are spending so much time, effort and money trying to stop whatever it is we’re doing that they can’t do anything productive. Why, the money pulled together by the NO GAYS! movement could fund start ups and hire people. The money could be invested in productive activities. But no, it’s being wasted on fruitless nonsense. Tony Perkins is a failure, morally and politically — for he hasn’t stopped the creation of a gay person, and has lost almost every battle with us he gets involved in. He’s delusional, and hasn’t had a real job his entire life; but is so obsessed with us he’s forgotten how to make stuff to sell or provide a service. And he still can’t find a gay person in a family, despite all the research he claims to do.
Meanwhile, we cut hair and put up drapes and run retail stores; you know, real jobs.
Steve
The economic crash was clearly caused by Republican policy.
The lack of recovery for three years, so far, is clearly caused by the Republicans concerted effort to block every bill that might result in jobs being created.
Gingrich has gone off the deep end.
tjr101
It’s seems par for the course that the GOP candidates talk out of their collective asses when it comes to the causes of the economic mess. The ignorant base of the GOP as usually lap up this kind of nonsense.
Guillermo3
@slanty: Hear.Hear!!
Guillermo3
Wow,since,I’m not married,nor have immanent plans to be married,does that mean the economy will soon improve?Hope so:Wouldn’t it be wonderful if surfeits of $$$ created the proper environment for more INSIDE JOBS?
RE:SANTORUM,I THINK A MORE FITTING PENANCE THAN HIS HAVING TO DIAGRAM HIS DIATRIBE WOULD BE FOR RICK TO INGEST LL THE SANTORUM HE CAN EAT.
ewe
Where in the hell are the openly gay candidates that will take these bufoons head on?
MikeE
funniest thing is, Canada has had marriage equality for years now, and the Canadian economy is VERY strong right now, able to ride out most of the coming shitstorm.
chrissie riot
I don’t even understand the string of words either of them said. Like I understand that they are words and that when you string together words they make sentences but their sentences don’t even make sense. Did they write speeches in other languages and then Google translate them to English because… what?
Robert in NYC
What can one expect from bigoted republican family values serial adulterers such as Gingrich whose three marriages of course didn’t impact the economic crisis? Real republican values for sure. Wiggle out of that one Chris Barron and Ron Paul supporters, the latter recently declared support for DOMA by the way.
The economic crisis started as far back as Reagan. Together with the two “Bushies”, they racked up the debt to $9 trillion, excluding the two wars that weren’t even figured into it which technically brought the debt to $14 trillion+. Bush Jr. thought that the two wars would pay for themselves, but look what happened. Social Security was never part of the deficit, a separate entity that is solvent for at least another 25 years. Now where was all that job creation that was supposed to happen under 8 years of tax cuts for the rich under Bush Jr in a free market non-regulated economy? Why haven’t all of the banksters and their Wall Street cronies who were recipients of the stimulus package not been prosecuted? Not one has gone to jail.
Mike in Asheville
NOTE TO JOHN GALLAGHER: John, as you so correctly point out the incomprehendible nature of Santorum, et al, you then muse, “… Santorum philosophized about ….” Really, “philosophized”? Truly Santorum can hardly put two words together to make any sense at all, again as you yourself point out. It simply is not possible, is it, for someone who clearly has no elevated brain functions higher than a common sewer rat to “philosophize” about anything?
the crustybastard
“free enterprise is based on free people and…free people are based on faith”
Wow.
That’s the dumbest goddam thing I’ve read all month.
slanty
@Guillermo3: Thanks, I liked that one too. =)
GayGOP
Newt stands no chance of winning the primary. This is just a cheap ploy to keep on keeping on in the race.
That being said, Newt, who has a PhD, seems to have crossed the line from genius to crazy.
Seandee
I swear your country is going bat-crap crazy! Well, half of it anyway. I wonder if this was the kind of meltdown that happened before the destruction of the Roman Empire…Or the Greeks…or the Egyptians…of any of the other historical world powers that went down the tubes. I just hope that people see through the bs and find a way to pull the country out of the toilet before it is too late.
xander
Saying that same-sex marriages also cause the US $ to fall against the Euro may be the next rallying cry, lol. It’s a sign of sad times when neither party can verbalise meaningful, concrete ideas on creating more US jobs
/\
@GayGOP : Who do you think Newt will support once he bails? And will that person want it? — that may be the better question. I can’t see NG as running mate material, but your ear is surely closer to the ground than mine. Thx.
Queer Supremacist
Of course gay marriage wrecked the economy. By keeping it illegal, gay couples cannot have their marriages recognized by the federal government and therefore cannot file jointly, and have to pay more in taxes. Therefore we have less money to save or spend (if spent, part of it would be sales tax revenue), and more of it goes into the government sinkhole. Anti-gay Republicans are really closet tax-and-spend liberals.
Juhnuppi
“… – truths, and so there’s a core absolute overlap between free enterprise, freedom and freedom of faith”
I believe the freedom of faith in this context is the kinda twisted one he embrases, nothing else?
And @Seandee I believe the last strong Roman emperor was the one who embraced monotheism, after that it was downhill all the way…
Juhnuppi
“—truths, and so there’s a core absolute overlap between free enterprise, freedom and freedom of faith.”
And the freedom of faith is to believe strictly in what he believes in?
Juhnuppi
For the both posts I got “internal server error”.. Sumthing wrong at the Queerty end?