Slamming Portman, GOP Rep Says He Would Still Oppose Marriage Equality If His Son Came Out

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) attacked Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) for supporting marriage equality at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday.

Speaking in a sideroom, Huelskamp blasted Portman’s announcement this week that he has evolved to favor same-sex marriage two years after learning his own son was gay. “Here’s a senator who couldn’t deliver his own home state in the presidential election,” Huelskamp said dismissively. He continued, “somehow, we’re supposed to believe that if we abandon traditional marriage, that liberals are going to flock to us,” calling Portman’s position a “capitulation.”

ThinkProgress asked Huelskamp whether he would re-examine his own feelings on marriage equality if it turned out he had a gay son like Portman, but the Kansas Republican was unmoved by the prospect. “I support traditional marriage,” Huelskamp simply retorted.

KEYES: Do you have a sense on, if it were your son who came out and told you that he was gay, how you would react to that announcement?

HUELSKAMP: Well, I agree with Sen. Portman when he ran for election. And that’s the principle. The principle is, traditional marriage and family is the foundation of society. It’s been a conservative bedrock principle for many years. And one thing that we have to do as conservatives, I believe, is actually communicate the value of marriage and family for the children. [...] Bill Clinton and myself, Bill Clinton in 1997 had the same position I have today. Actually Barack Obama had the same position two years ago. Isn’t it amazing how you read the tea leaves, you read the polls, and at the end of the day something suddenly changes over night?

KEYES: So, to clarify, you would still oppose same-sex marriage even if your own son came out?

HUELSKAMP: I support traditional marriage.

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Portman: Obama 'compelling' on debt ceiling, but spending cuts necessary

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that while President Obama may have sounded "compelling" as he urged House Republicans to raise the debt ceiling, the president fundamentally misunderstood the need for dramatic budget change.

“It is a compelling message saying we need to pay the bills that we’ve racked up. But it misses the whole point," Portman told Fox News. 

The Ohio lawmaker went on to compare the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling to credit card debt, equating Obama's stated unwillingness to bargain over an extension to a free-spending teenager.

"Think about it in terms of a credit card," Portman said. "If you have a son or daughter who exceeds the limits, what do you do? The first thing you do is probably rip up the card. The second thing you do is say, ‘We need to change our spending habits.’ This is what the president won’t do.” At a press conference Monday, Obama said the threat of default was "irresponsible" and "absurd," demanding that the House GOP extend the debt ceiling separate of negotiations on a comprehensive debt deal.

“They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy,” Obama said. “The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip.”

But Portman said such a step could only be taken alongside spending cuts.

“Yes, we need to raise the debt limit at some point, but we have to do it in the context of getting the spending under control," Portman said.

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