Rick Santorum and the GOP's Transgender Tolerance Movement
Papilio Merraculous art installation by Poetic Kinetics is seen during day 3 of the 2015 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Weekend 1) at the Empire Polo Club on April 12, 2015 in Indio, California.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CoachellaCOLUMBIA, S.C.—Last week, Olympian and reality TV star Bruce Jenner revealed that he was a transgender woman in transition. More surprisingly, he revealed that he was a Republican, who “believed in the Constitution.” Jenner had never tried to hide this, and anti-tax activist Grover Norquist quickly revealed that Jenner had attended a meet-up for Hollywood conservatives. Given the LGBT community's strong ties to Democrats, though, the fact that an instant transgender icon was a Republican made news.
“We now don't care that you're transgender, because the fact that you're a Republican is yuk,” said radio host Rush Limbaugh, imitating an intolerant liberal. “How could you dare? You can't be a legitimate transgender and be a Republican.”