Steele on civil unions: 'Are you crazy?'

In response to a question from radio host Mike Gallagher today, RNC chairman Michael Steele took a hard, dismissive line against civil unions -- which have increasingly become a fallback, compromise position for blue-state Republicans and others who oppose same-sex marriage.

"Do you favor civil unions?" Gallagher asked:

STEELE: No, no no. What would we do that for? What are you crazy? No. Why would we backslide on a core, founding value of this country. I mean this isn't something that you just kind of like, "Oh well, today I feel, you know, loosey-goosey on marriage." I mean, this is a foundational principle of this country. It is a foundational principle of organized society. It isn't something that, you know, in America we decided, "Let's make it between a man and a woman; oh well now, let's change our mind and make it between anyone and anyone." No. GALLAGHER: So no room even for a conversation about civil unions, in your mind? STEELE: What's the difference? GALLAGHER: Well, you're not calling it marriage. STEELE: Is it? GALLAGHER: I don't know. I mean, I... I... STEELE: I mean, like Sarah Palin said, you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.



NB: As close watchers of the 2008 presidential election may vaguely recall, Palin wasn't the one who said that.

Transcript continues after the jump.



GALLAGHER: Yeah yeah yeah, but the argument that Sean Penn is making, and I agree that this is, the squeky wheel doesn't have to get the grease and there's not a state that says, we favor redefining marriage as anything other than one man and one woman. But there are a lot of people who say, "but yet, this country isn't a country that wants to discriminate against two people if they're in a committed relationship. We don't want to deny them benefits, we don't want to deny them opportunities." STEELE: Ok, but wait a minute. Is it going to -- what is it? Is it going to you want the benefits or you want something else? If you want the benefits, there's a little thing called contract law, you've got power of attorney. There's a whole number of ways in which two individuals can care for each other and look out for each other without having to put the impramatur of marriage on their forehead. GALLAGHER: right right. STEELE: So, I don't understand why you need to weaken an institution that is a foundational institution of not just America, of mankind. I mean this is something that as human beings, we have organized ourselves around. This thing called a family unit. This is how we've defined it. And, sure, things have changed over the years. And, sure, you know, gays adopt and all this other...but when you go to that foundational principle of marriage and you're now saying, "well, you know, we're going to backslide away from that." What are you saying as a society of people? What are you saying as human beings? I don't...I guess that's the question that we're going to debate, but all due respect to Sean Penn, I just, you know, I disagree with that view. I don't think there's hate in it. I don't think there's discrimination. It's just a core, foundational principle of our society that this what we believe and this is what we adhere to.

