Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who represents a strong socially conservative district, signaled Sunday that Republicans won’t make a big issue of same sex marriage in the 2012 election.
On ABC’s This Week Sunday, she was asked about Rick Santorum’s advice that Mitt Romney “step up” and use President Obama’s support for gay marriage as a “weapon.”
Her exchange with George Stephanopoulos:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Representative Blackburn, should Mitt Romney follow Rick Santorum’s advice?
BLACKBURN: I think that what you’re going to see Mitt Romney do is put the focus on jobs and the economy. And, George, you’re talking about this is Mother’s Day. We’ve got nearly 858,000 women that have lost their jobs under this president. And you have women that are concerned about the loss in household income under this president, nearly $4,000 per household. Those are the issues that are first and foremost in front of people, is making certain that jobs and the economy is the focus.
With that said, I think that you can go back and look at Supreme Court cases, you can look at the institution of marriage, and you know that Mitt Romney, who has always fought for traditional marriage, is going to continue to do this.
