Santorum Lashes Out At Dan Savage: ‘He’s Below The Dignity Of Anybody’

ThinkProgress filed this report from the Western Conservative Summit in Denver, Colorado.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) did little to alleviate his “Google problem” this weekend, lashing out at Dan Savage — who spearheaded the campaign to redefine Santorum’s last name — and calling the gay activist “below the dignity of anybody.”

Santorum and Savage first crossed paths in 2003 when the latter responded to the Pennsylvania senator’s repeated comparisons of homosexuality to incest and bestiality by rebranding the word “Santorum.” The result has been a major headache for the presidential candidate, as the new definition tops Google results every time someone searches “Santorum”.

Now, Savage is threatening to take Santorum’s Google problem a step further. Last month, Savage, who founded the It Gets Better Project in the wake of an epidemic of suicides committed by bullied gay teens, threatened to redefine Santorum’s first name if he continued attacking gay people.

ThinkProgress attempted to ask Santorum about Savage’s challenge this weekend at the Western Conservative Summit. However, before we could get through the question, Santorum interrupted and declared, “I’m not going to talk about Dan Savage. He’s below the dignity of anybody”:

KEYES: I’d love to hear your response, I know that obviously you and Dan Savage have a very checkered history. He’s made a threat recently…

SANTORUM: I’m not going to talk about Dan Savage. He’s below the dignity of anybody. Thank you.

Watch it:

Given Santorum’s response to ThinkProgress, it appears unlikely that he will heed Savage’s call to end his attacks on gays and lesbians in this country.