Said then Congressman Mike Pompeo of the Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage, “I am deeply saddened by the Supreme Court’s ruling that imposes legalized gay marriage on the 70 percent of Kansans who voted to honor and protect the traditional definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman. It is a shocking abuse of power. It is wrong. I will continue to fight to protect our most sacred institutions.”
During Pompeo’s Senate confirmation hearing, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker suggested this sentiment was sufficiently outrageous to make Pompeo unworthy of being named Secretary of State. In 2008, however, Booker pointedly endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton for the presidency despite the fact that Obama’s position on gay marriage mirrored that of Pompeo.
On the campaign trail, Obama was asked by Pastor Rick Warren to define marriage, and he answered, “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian, it’s also a sacred union. God is in the mix.”
Under intense pressure from the left, Obama famously “evolved” his position as did all Democratic office holders hoping to keep their jobs. From Booker’s perspective, Pompeii’s consistency would seem to be a liability. So would his respect for the Constitution. The Pompeo quote above is less about gay marriage than it is about constitutional restraint.
What was curious about Booker’s questioning of Pompeo was the introduction by Booker of the word “perversion.” The exchange went as follows:
Booker: “Is being gay a perversion?”
Pompeo: “Senator, when I was a politician, I had a very clear view on whether it was appropriate for two same-sex persons to marry. I stand by that.”
Booker: “So, you do not believe that it’s appropriate for two gay people to marry?”
Pompeo: “Senator, I continue to hold that view.”
In 2015, Popmpeo had said, “America had worshiped other Gods and called it multiculturalism. We’d endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.” The Washington Post described this comment as a “suggestion that homosexuality was a ‘perversion.’” Suggestion?
Booker then went on a minor rant about the persecution of gays in foreign countries, a persecution that the left has all but sanctioned through its unlikely political alliance with Muslim groups here and abroad.