Dan Savage and Rick Santorum spar again
By Peter SmithJuly 22nd, 2011, 3:00 pmComments (34)
Dan Savage appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher this week and continued his brutal (yet deserved) assault on former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum, attacking Santorum for signing the "Marriage Vow" cooked up by Iowa Republicans in protest of gay marriage. (The gist: gay marriage will destroy America, black people were better off during slavery, etc.) As we all know, Savage led a successful online campaign to redefine the word "santorum" as "the frothy mix of fecal matter and lube that is sometimes the product of anal sex." (Ew. To this day. Ew.) On the show, Savage told Maher, "I sometimes think about fucking the shit out of Rick Santorum … I'm up for whipping up some santorum in Santorum."
Santorum seems to have finally hit a breaking point over the whole thing, taking to the radio to respond thus:
"It's filth. It's, you know, this man has, has gone out there and tried to destroy my integrity. I mean, you've heard the whole issue of the Google issue. That's Dan Savage. You know, it's, it's the lowest, you know, debasement of public discourse. It's, it's offensive beyond, you know, anything that any public figure or anybody in America should tolerate, and the mainstream media laughs about it. They, they, they kid about it. They write about it. They say: Oh, Santorum's got a Google problem."
Boy, he sounds pissed, doesn't he? And understandably so; if I were Santorum, I'd be enraged. But I'd also be an asshole, so maybe it evens out.
Savage also told Maher that he wished all Republicans were dead, which is a really dumb thing to say or believe; he later apologized:
"...I want to apologize for… um… wishing all Republicans dead. I don’t feel that way. My dad is a Republican. (Well, he says he’s an independent, but he hasn’t voted for a Democrat since JFK. My dad is a Republican.) It was a stupid, rude, thoughtless remark. I regret it and I retract it and I apologize to anyone watching at home."
This is the second controversial thing Savage has done this week, after he mocked homophobe Marcus Bachmann for maybe being secretly gay himself. Dan, you rascal!
Commentarium (34 Comments)
Dear Rick;
YOU NEVER HAD ANY INTEGRITY.
Schmuck.
You preach hate, you forcefully judge everybody in the world, and you happily join forces with self righteous and deceptive demagogues: you think somebody is vile? Look in the mirror.
We're thrilled to hear that you're upset.
Gazbo - You make all that sound so negative. I call douche.
LC , I call troll.
I don't like Santorum either, but Dan Savage really crossed the line on this one. Saying you want to rape someone is absolutely unacceptable.
Did he technically say he wanted to rape Santorum? You can want to "fuck the shit" out of someone and not necessarily have it be non-consensual.
At least Savage is prepared to use lube, so he is being a gentleman about the whole thing, and frankly Santorum should feel flattered that Savage is willing to fuck him. Dan's not exactly desperate these days.
I notice he didn't offer a reach-around, so how much of a gentleman could he be?
Violence is often perpetrated under the guise of sex. In fact, it's pretty much the definition of rape. I'm surprised you aren't more aware of that, profrobert.
...it was a joke. did no one read the second sentence in that quote? he was being FUNNY. Besides santorum isnt exactly attractive and Dan pretty much hates the guy, he was making a joke and trying to make Rick even MORE uncomfortable than he already is. I say: mission accomplished.
"it was a joooooke!" : Rollback of douches everywhere when somebody calls them on their bullshit.
It wasn't bullshit, Dan never said he was going to rape him. You can fuck the shit out of somebody completely consensually. Just because you know Santorum would never do it doesn't mean Dan is saying he'll rape him that's a huge and convoluted exaggeration. He didn't cross the line and it wasn't a joke, it was simply a way to make Santorum more uncomfortable as MC said. Also, Arbiter, violence wasn't perpetrated under the guise of sex. And that isn't the definition of rape anyway. No violence was perpetrated, it wasn't even threatened. Commenters, you often disappoint me.
Well, you're a douche, Rj. The fact that you think you can accurately extrapolate what was implied makes me want to comment: eat my santorum, asshat.
Savage didn't say he was GOING to 'fuck the shit' outta Santorum. He said he THINKS about, is 'up for' doing so. Not threatening that he will.
Kindly read for comprehension, not for knee-jerk reactions, and we'll all get along fine.
Ohh, much better, phee. He isn't going to actually assault Santorum, he only wants everyone to be impressed since he's THINKING about it.
Much better. Savage is an idiot.
LiquidCourage is a troll. Best to ignore him. You'll see he comments on everything and flips his opinion just to try and 'catch' someone.
Oh come off it. How many times have you heard someone say something along the lines of "Oh that guy makes me so mad, I could just kill him!" ? Do you really take that as a threat? Do you honestly believe someone's life is in immediate danger? Does the person then become a 'victim' of simple rhetoric? Or what about "Dude, if you make that shot I'm totally gonna shit." Does that mean the person is actually going to drop trou and leave a pressie right then and there? No, of course not. People think things. People say things. People say what they're thinking about. It doesn't mean they're going to act on those thoughts. Quit being disingenuous just to try and create an issue where none exists, thanks.
Rick Santorum doesn't need anyone's help in destroying his alleged integrity.
I know who Rick Santorum is - becoming a Senator will put you on the map - but who is Dan Savage?
GAY
Yes, he is gay. He works at Hooksexup and writes a sex column every week answering peoples questions (Savage Love). He also started the "it gets better" campaign.
He's actually working for The Stranger, a Seattle newspaper. His column is just picked up in a lot of additional places, like here. The Stranger is also where the "Savage Love" podcast is available for download, as well as Savage's pretty much daily blog.
Witness: "Who is...?" He's a sex advice columnist, but he's also got a long, fascinating history of political activism. I've always enjoyed his political commentary... tho I have to admit I was disturbed (and surprised) by his death wish comment on Maher; mostly because it seemed so out-of-character for him.
One of my fave memories was when he infiltrated and worked for a fundie candidate 14-or-so years ago (forget the name). The most amazing thing about the piece is that he worked the phones a bit, and had this wonderful story about an exchange with a woman who lacked a truly reasoned "pro-life" position toward her favored candidate (not Savage's)... and Savage reasoned with her on behalf of "his" candidate, and brought her over. It was a heartwarming tribute to the idea that a little reason goes a long way, JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE.
I consider Savage a nation treasure.
I understand. Savage is a loudmouth self-promoter who attacks people who have actually accomplished something in the hopes of his 15 seconds of fame.
Thanks.
Savage is really just a bully. Keep in mind that if Santorum wasn't a public figure, what Savage was attempting to do would actually be criminal. You don't have to agree with Santorum or even like him to understand that the real idiot here is Savage.
+1 Well put.
Rick Santorum is not a real idiot, or that he is not "the' real idiot in this story? Are you implying that there can only be one idiot? How unfair of you.
What would be "criminal" about Savage's verbal attacks on Santorum were the latter no a public figure? Not only are vituperative insults not a criminal act, they cannot form the basis for civil liability. They are protected opinion under the First Amendment.
If Santorum didn't build a political career on attacking homosexuals, Savage never would've gone after him.
Hypotheticals are fun!
I'm disappointed in Savage. You ought not say things that gain sympathy for people who deserve no sympathy.
Senseless circular logic from a right-wing douche.
Troll alert.
lol and it can be identified not only by the name 'LiquidCourage' but the repetitive use of the word 'douche'. How fitting.
^^ That wasn't me.
Rj, you can lay off your own trolling now, please.
santorum is so scary and me thinks anyone who is so far right and afraid of the gays doth protest too much , remember haggerty?
Now you say something