The overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania voters don’t think Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., should resign his U.S. Senate leadership position over remarks he made about homosexuality, according to a new poll released by Quinnipiac University.
According to the poll, 75 percent feel he should keep his job while 17 percent think he should step down. The numbers also show the Republican’s approval rating among his constituents – 55 percent – remains unchanged from an April 10 survey, which was before the outcry over his remarks. However, the controversy may have swayed undecided voters from April’s survey, as his disapproval rating climbed 13 points from 20 to 33 percent.
 Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. |
“The folks back home in Pennsylvania are largely unconcerned about Sen. Santorum’s remarks about homosexual activity. His approval numbers are as strong as ever,” said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
As WorldNetDaily reported, homosexual activists and Democrats last month called for Republicans to remove Santorum from his leadership position for comments they deemed “disparaging” about a Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of a Texas sodomy law, Lawrence v. Texas.
Asked whether he believed homosexuals should be allowed to have sex, Santorum referred to the Lawrence case, telling the Associated Press: “If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.”
WorldNetDaily reported an attorney who was present during the March 26 oral arguments said Santorum merely echoed the argument of the state of Texas, which is defending its law. And a transcript of questions asked during oral arguments indicate justices share his constitutional concerns.
“This is mainstream stuff,” said Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale, Ariz. “This is part of the debate on this case.”
Nevertheless, the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based homosexual rights organization, joined several Pennsylvania groups in calling for Republicans to remove Santorum from his position as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the party’s number three post.
“These remarks certainly do not reflect the tone of compassionate conservatism espoused by President Bush,” said John Partain, president of the Philadelphia chapter of Log Cabin Republicans. “He’s out of step with mainstream Republicans. He’s aligning himself with the fringe right-wing extremists of the party.”
A majority of those surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac University – 58 percent – said they thought homosexual behavior is morally wrong, while 45 percent felt homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal.
Some 27 percent of Pennsylvania voters said they are “less likely” to vote for Santorum and 30 percent said they feel “less favorably” about him because of his comments. But a majority said in response to both questions his comments make no difference in either how they would vote or how they feel.
Santorum’s favorability rating stands at 44 percent, with 23 percent of those surveyed finding him unfavorable, 20 percent mixed and 12 percent responding they haven’t heard enough to form an opinion.
“He’s no Trent Lott, that’s for sure,” said Richards. “The handful who say he should resign from his Senate leadership position because of his remarks are probably diehard opponents. The Senator’s comments caused an uproar nationally, but not back home.”
The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the nation as a public service and for research.
The institute surveyed 952 Pennsylvania registered voters from May 13-20. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percent.
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