Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is criticizing rival Herman Cain for his views on same-sex marriage.
During an interview on NBC Sunday morning, Cain said states should set marriage policy and, as president, Cain said he would not seek an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. Santorum calls that a “sad” answer.
“The idea that this is issue should be left to the states is the position Barack Obama takes and it’s not the right position,” Santorum said Sunday evening during an interview with Radio Iowa. “There needs to be a uniform definition of marriage in this country.”
Santorum traveled Iowa last year to join the campaign against the three Iowa Supreme Court justices who were part of the court’s 2009 ruling which paved the way for same-sex marriage in Iowa. Santorum suggests a candidate’s stand on the issue is a make-or-break issue for conservatives.
“Leaders should be out there advocating for what is in the best interest of our society and what’s in the best interest of mothers and fathers and children and I’m going to do that,” Santorum said. “I have done it and I have done it here in Iowa and I don’t know of anybody else in this campaign, including Herman Cain, who has made that kind of blanket commitment to the institution of marriage and the stability of the family.”
Santorum campaigned in Iowa today and he’ll be conducting a series of media interviews Monday before leaving for Nevada. The GOP presidential candidates are scheduled to meet in Las Vegas Tuesday for another debate. Santorum is participating in the debate, “because it is nationally-televised,” but refusing to campaign elsewhere in Nevada until that state moves back the date of its caucuses to make more room on the January calendar for the New Hampshire Primary.