In an interview with anti-gay, anti-bear activist Bryan Fischer, potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said “I would support reinstating” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Pawlenty (R-MN) was on Fischer’s radio show yesterday and touted his social conservative credentials and support of “of the family, of pro-life positions, of traditional marriage positions.”
“I mean, families and traditional marriage is so important to that and I don’t believe all other domestic relations should be on the same platform as traditional marriage, I just don’t buy it,” he said.
Pawlenty added that he thinks Roe v. Wade was poorly decided, and emphasized that he has “been a public supporter of maintaining Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I would support reinstating it as well.”
Watch:
Pawlenty’s interview shows just how important Fischer remains to social conservative politicians, who frequently appear alongside him at events like the Values Voter Conference.
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet The 2012 GOPers: Ex Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)]
But Fischer’s writings represent a combination of the staunchly right wing and the just plain bizarre. He’s previously argued that there should be “no more mosques, period” in the United States, said that the Medal of Honor has been “feminized” because “we now award it only for preventing casualties, not for inflicting them,” advocated for making gay rights groups pay for AIDS research, and, of course, declared that it’s time to get rid of the “curse” that is the Grizzly bear.
h/t Right Wing Watch.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
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