Non-Senator Rick Santorum has announced his intention to combat the Senate confirmation of Chuck Hagel for Defense secretary. There's a lot to that sentence, so let me re-state: Rick Santorum, who as a regular, non-elected citizen has no more power than you or me or Bobby McGee, is going to attempt to hold up Chuck Hagel's nomination as Secretary of Defense. Because Congress needs help to be inert and unproductive.

President Obama has formally nominated Hagel, a Republican former Senator from Nebraska, to replace Leon Panetta. His nomination must be approved by the Senate, a process to which all cabinet positions like this one are subject. While the President's nomination of a white, male Republican to a top government position would, theoretically, please members of the GOP in the Senate, to some Hagel is not Republican enough. He has come under fire for allegedly hating Israel and loving Iran; he does neither.

This is where former-Senator Santorum comes in. Santorum, who has not been elected to public office in 7 years, does not approve of Hagel and will be leading a lobbying effort to encourage actual politicians not to approve Hagel for Secretary of Defense. Basically, the nonprofit that supported Santorum's failed 2012 presidential bid, Patriot Voices, will be running online ads and maybe Rick himself will make some phone calls to his friends who actually managed to retain their elected seats.

Former senators Santorum and Hagel actually have something in common, however. They are both noted bigots. Which inspired us to create this game called, "Which Homophobe Said It?" The answers are at the bottom, the prize is a whole lot of pride, gay pride.

  1. "I think it is an inhibiting factor to be gay - openly aggressively gay like Mr. Hormel - to do an effective job."
  2. "Is anyone saying same-sex couples can't love each other? I love my children. I love my friends, my brother. Heck, I even love my mother-in-law. Should we call these relationships marriage, too?"
  3. "I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts. As I would with acts of other, what I would consider to be, acts outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. And that includes a variety of different acts, not just homosexual. I have nothing, absolutely nothing against anyone who's homosexual. If that's their orientation, then I accept that. And I have no problem with someone who has other orientations. The question is, do you act upon those orientations? So it's not the person, it's the person's actions. And you have to separate the person from their actions."
  4. On coming out: "I think you do go beyond common sense there, and reason and a certain amount of decorum."
  5. "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything."

[Image via Getty]

Answers: 1) Hagel, 2) Santorum, 3) Santorum, 4) Hagel, 5) Santorum