Santorum, Occupy Tacoma, and gay marriage
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was confronted by Occupy Tacoma protesters in the state of Washington Monday, the same day that Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed a same sex marriage bill into law, The Associated Press reports.
Mr. Santorum’s visit to the state occurred with more than two weeks remaining until the upcoming Washington Republican caucuses, where there will be a total of 43 delegate votes up for grabs.
The appearance was set up by the Washington Republican Party, as the former senator gave a speech on the steps of the state capital building Monday evening.
There were chants heard from the Occupy Tacoma protesters throughout Mr. Santorum’s speech, and police had to remove some of them at one point, according to the Occupy Tacoma Twitter account.
“Two @OccupyTacoma people arrested, one tased, for defending woman reading #miccheck from rabid republicans,” tweeted the Occupy protesters Monday.
Mr. Santorum did address the Occupy protesters though, on the same day that he had intentionally traveled to Washington to protest the Democratic governor’s historic signing of a same sex marriage bill that makes Washington the 7th state in the nation to recognize same sex marriages.
The former senator has stated that he is staunchly opposed to same sex marriage laws throughout his campaign.
Following a top tier finish in Iowa, college students and gay rights activists in New Hampshire often showed up to his campaign appearances after a video went viral of Mr. Santorum arguing with a student regarding same sex marriage.
In the video, the former senator compares gay marriage to polygamy, and appears to become engaged in a back and forth exchange with a student.
On Monday Mr. Santorum wanted to encourage opponents of the governor’s gay marriage law to keep trying to get it the decision to sign the bill into law reversed.
“I encouraged them to continue the fight,” said Mr. Santorum, referring to a privately held meeting with conservative religious leaders in Washington.
The timing of Washington recognizing gay marriage on Monday, two weeks prior to the upcoming caucuses provided an excellent opportunity for Mr. Santorum to appear in the state and rally support against the Democratic governor’s gay marriage law.
Washington holds its caucuses on March 3rd, the Saturday prior to Super Tuesday when 10 state primary elections will occur across the nation.
Mr. Santorum is the first candidate to visit Washington and hold a major campaign appearance. He also met with state Republican lawmakers in Washington on Monday.
“There are ebbs and flows in every battle, and this is not the final word,” added the former Pennsylvania senator.
Santorum calls Occupy a ‘radical element’
Mr. Santorum’s encounter with Occupy protesters Monday certainly wasn’t the first time a Republican presidential candidate has been shouted over by Occupy protesters in the 2012 Republican primary race.
The former senator’s remaining rival candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul have all seen Occupy protesters at different campaign appearances in 2012.
Occupy Tacoma is one of many Occupy grassroots groups across the nation that has turned the Occupy Wall street protests into a movement that has brought national attention to income inequality in the U.S.
The Occupy Tacoma protesters, like all Occupy protesters, refer to themselves as the “99 percent,” a reference to the large gap between wealthy Americans and the middle class in the U.S.
“I think it’s really important to understand what this radical element represents,” said Mr. Santorum on Monday. “What they represent is true intolerance.”
The Occupy protesters have not explicitly stated any particular political party affiliations, however they have been a constant presence at campaign appearances protesting Republican presidential candidates, as they did to Mr. Santorum Monday.
