Hi there,

May 1 and 2 are Public Media Giving Days. With lies and disinformation flooding the media landscape, and the Trump administration increasing its attacks on journalists, the need for independent news questioning and challenging those in power is more critical now than ever. We do not take any government or corporate funding, so we can remain unwavering in our commitment to bring you fearless trustworthy reporting on the issues that matter most. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be DOUBLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $30. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

GOP Candidates Debate in Orlando; Audience Boos Gay Soldier

HeadlineSep 23, 2011

Republican presidential candidates squared off in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday night in their latest televised debate. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney took aim at President Obama, linking him to European “socialist democrats.”

Mitt Romney: “Let me tell you this. What President Obama is is a big-spending liberal, and he takes his political inspiration from Europe and from the socialist democrats in Europe. Guess what? Europe isn’t working in Europe. It’s not going to work here. I believe in America. I believe in the opportunity and in the freedom that is American opportunity and freedom. I believe in free enterprise and capitalism.”

During the debate, audience members booed a gay U.S. soldier who asked a question about this week’s repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Rick Santorum answered the soldier’s question with a vow to reinstate the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers.

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. Under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that have been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”

Rick Santorum: “I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top