Over the past several debates, crowds’ reactions have made headlines instead of just the candidates. They applauded Gov. Rick Perry’s execution record and cheered for a hypothetical, dying man without insurance.
Here’s the transcript of what happened:
(Army’s Stephen) Hill: “In 2010, when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was, because I’m a gay soldier, and I didn’t want to lose my job.
“My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to cir vent the progress that’s been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”
(BOOING)
Santorum: “Yeah, I — I would say, any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military. And the fact that they’re making a point to include it as a provision within the military that we are going to recognize a group of people and give them a special privilege to — to — and removing ‘don’t ask/don’t tell’ I think tries to inject social policy into the military. And the military’s job is to do one thing, and that is to defend our country.
“We need to give the military, which is all-volunteer, the ability to do so in a way that is most efficient at protecting our men and women in uniform.”
(APPLAUSE)
“And I believe this undermines that ability.”
(APPLAUSE)
Moderator Megyn Kelly: “So what — what — what would you do with soldiers like Stephen Hill? I mean, he’s — now he’s out. He’s — you know, you saw his face on camera. When he first submitted this video to us, it was without his face on camera. Now he’s out. So what would you do as president?”
Santorum: “I think it’s — it’s — it’s — look, what we’re doing is playing social experimentation with — with our military right now. And that’s tragic.
“I would — I would just say that, going forward, we would — we would reins ute that policy, if Rick Santorum was president, period.
“That policy would be reins uted. And as far as people who are in — in — I would not throw them out, because that would be unfair to them because of the policy of this administration, but we would move forward in — in conformity with what was happening in the past, which was, sex is not an issue. It is — it should not be an issue. Leave it alone, keep it — keep it to yourself, whether you’re a heterosexual or a sexual.”
According to a Pew Forum poll conducted last year, “By a two-to-one margin, most Americans support allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military (60% favor vs. 30% oppose). The level of support has been consistent in recent years. Majorities of Democrats (67%) and independents (64%) favor allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military, while Republicans are more divided (47% favor and 43% oppose).”
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