Would Be POTUS Pawlenty Endorses Iowa "Same-Sex Marriage Is Worse Than Smoking" Group

The depths to which Republicans will go denigrating gays in the hope of furthering their election chances with the vile, ignorant bigots of the GOP base is truly shocking. The latest example is would be presidential candidate former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (who in my view thankfully has no chance in Hell of getting the nomination) who has endorsed Iowa homophobe Bob Vander Plaats, head of The Family Leader, who is spreading the lie that gay marriage is more dangerous to the public than second hand smoke from cigarettes. Why doesn't Pawlenty wear a sign around his neck stating that he's a shameless whore? Pawlenty and Vander Plaats are shining examples of how and why bigots feel that they have a license to bully gays and often incite violence against the LGBT community. Here are highlights the Iowa Independent on Pawlenty's shameless prostitution of himself to haters:
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Nearly every public policy issue that can be named has a direct impact on the very foundation of American society, according to former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, which is a traditional marriage consisting of one man and one woman.
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Pawlenty, who told reporters before his public remarks on Monday that he is definitely “leaning toward” a 2012 presidential run, spoke on a litany of issues ranging from the economy to freedom of religion to education to health care, bringing each one back to his primary focus on the family.
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The remarks were made on the University of Iowa campus at the first of many lecture events featuring national conservatives hosted by The Family Leader, a state-run advocacy group that acts as an umbrella organization for the Iowa Family Policy Center and the formerly federally funded Marriage Matters. Pawlenty began his public remarks by discussing why he believes the U.S. is a Christian nation.
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Pawlenty applauded Bob Vander Plaats, head of The Family Leader, for “being a champion for saying and doing, and pushing and promoting and leading efforts to try to highlight, encourage and support families.”
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“The Family Leader and other organizations have taken a position in favor of traditional marriage. I don’t distance myself from that position — I embrace it,” he said. “I support the notion that we, as a society, should continue to elevate traditional marriage, that it should remain as between a man and a woman, and that all other domestic relationships are not the same as traditional marriage.
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“It’s not a matter of somebody’s opinion or political discourse,” Pawlenty said. “We know from research, we know from history, we know from the results that if you have an intact family with a mom and a dad that is the most nurturing environment, the most stable form of a family that gives the children the best chance of success.
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When asked to name examples of the research he cited, Pawlenty said he was “speaking about children who are in households that are intact, functioning that have two parents — a mom and a dad, a traditional marriage setting — so there is a lot of research that supports that.” The Daily Iowan then asked specifically about Zach Wahls, a current University of Iowa engineering student that was raised by two lesbians and spoke before the Iowa House in defense of marriage equality. Pawlenty admitted that there are exceptions to his rule.
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Pawlenty’s appearance in Iowa on behalf of The Family Leader was the first in a series of events that Vander Plaats described as “educational opportunities” for Iowans. Others expected to speak to the group’s supporters are rumored 2012 presidential hopefuls Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum.