Chris Matthews And Robert Traynham, Gay Former Santorum Aide, Have Heated Clash (VIDEO)

Chris Matthews had a fiery chat with a openly gay former aide to Rick Santorum, the Republican presidential candidate who has an infamously frosty relationship with the gay community, on his Thursday show.

Robert Traynham, who worked for Santorum while he was a senator, defended his former boss from Matthews' repeated attacks. The "Hardball" host wasted little time getting to some hot-button issues. He replayed an exchange Santorum had with Bill O'Reilly earlier in the week where the candidate defended his view that states have the right to ban contraception. He asked Traynham to explain how Santorum could have a view that was shared by so few people.

Traynham began to talk about Santorum's opposition to abortion, but Matthews immediately cut him off.

"That's not what they were talking about!" he said. "Hold on. You're wrong. Stick to the subject."

"If I could finish--" Traynham said. "No, begin!" Matthews shot back. "Is he against birth control legally?" Traynham said he wasn't sure. Matthews then said that Santorum scared him because "he thinks we should have a theocracy."

He then moved on to the equally sticky subject of gay rights and gay sex. This is perhaps the area for which Santorum is most well-known, with his notorious comments linking homosexuality to "man-on-dog" still following him. Just on Thursday, Santorum compared being gay to being polygamous.

Traynham defended his former boss, saying that he was merely raising a Constitutional question, not a personal one. He acknowledged that, as an openly gay man, he disagreed with Santorum about his right to "fall in love and to be with whomever I choose to."

Things got a little awkward when Matthews asked whether Santorum agreed with "your right to have your orientation and to act on it." He wondered, "doesn't he go further and say that you should not be allowed to be gay in any actual way?"

"Absolutely not!" Traynham said, adding that if Santorum had ever felt that way, he would not have worked for him.

"This is ridiculous," he finally said. "This is absolutely ridiculous."

UPDATE: As Crooks and Liars documented back in October, Santorum did indeed say that being gay was a question of "behavior" and not identity. In an interview on Fox News, Santorum made the comparison while talking about "Don't Ask Don't Tell," which he supported.

"Look, the idea of somehow or another that this is the equivalent of being black and being gay is the same is simply not true," he said. "There are all sorts of studies out there that suggest just the contrary. There are people who were gay and lived the gay lifestyle and aren't anymore... it is a behavioral issue as opposed to a color of the skin issue. And that makes it all the difference when it comes to serving in the military."

WATCH:

Also on HuffPost:

Some of Rick Santorum's controversial views on sex.

Comments

[jacobisrael]

01:54 PM on 01/17/2012

"'Voters in Maine and Washington reject their legislator­­’s initiative­­s to recognize gay marriage.'

Yes, a mere 31% of registered voters managed to usurp those rights. Yet the opposition declared, "The people have spoken!"

Thirty-one percent of registered voters showed up. The other 69% didn't care enough about the issue enough to vote on it, or they supported these rights by not making an effort to usurp them."

You don't seem to understand. In most civilized countries, in most states in this very uncivlized nation, and for most of the last 5,000 years, this is a crime, not a right.

You have zero evidence that the 69% who stayed home were any more excited about giving up their own religious rights than the 31% who voted--and of those who voted, up to 85% of the voters in some states (and almost two thirds in the land of fruits and nuts) said NO.

This is not a right. This is a crime. And an even worse crime, which the jurists will never get away with, is for any court to throw out the will of we the people with California's Proposition 8 where almost 60% of the voters who DID vote said NO! In this case, the polls said that a greater percentage of those who stayed home were MORE opposed to legalizing gay marriage than those who DID vote.

"It's all just a matter of time."

You're right. If we the people don't, He WILL.

[SteveDenver]

01:41 PM on 01/10/2012

It takes a TON of self loathing for a BLAH gay man to stand up for Santorum. I have no clue if he bent over for Santorum or rode cowboy with Santorum, but they deserve each other.

[duyno]

02:55 PM on 01/10/2012

Oh, I see. I did not know that all Gays have to vote Liberal. Or that all Gays have to not support Santorm. But then I do not get the handbook that have all the rules that ALL Gays have to follow. Could it be that this Gay man just has a mind of his own???

[Victor Sweatman]

07:58 PM on 01/10/2012

No, it just means that the money's good. And there is no handbook, but there is a thing called common sense, try it sometimes. Santorum is an bigot and a fool.

[Christine Gallo]

04:41 AM on 01/10/2012

"It's not okay. It's a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."

I'm sure Ricky is going to tell us "how things are supposed to be." More than likely taken directly from the gospel according to Rick.

DUMPRICK !!!

[SteveDenver]

01:42 PM on 01/10/2012

F/F I'm sure Mrs. Santorum hears about things like "or gasms" and wonders what they are.

[Christine Gallo]

12:35 AM on 01/11/2012

Chuckle, good one Steve. By the way, as a former resident of that great city, where in Denver do you live?

[TheTRUTHbyGod]

10:08 PM on 01/09/2012

Did this guy and Santorum make out and stuff?

[Superpac]

01:35 PM on 01/09/2012

Santorum's name alone makes me believe in Karma.

[takemycountryback]

12:17 PM on 01/09/2012

This man obviously had to resign after he and Santorum fell in love.

[ol cranky]

08:55 AM on 01/09/2012

Santorum wants to be known and canonized for being the man that finally delivered the USA to the Catholic Church. I'm surprised the evangelicals, who consider Catholicism to be as heretical and they consider Mormonism to be, are willing to fall in line to support Santorum. I guess they think that they can control the Catholics who want to bring about a theocracy and disregard that Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination in the US and that if the right wingers get their way to force the US to codify the US as a Christian country they'd start another battle between denominations. Ahhhh religious war, what a great way to line republican pockets. . .

[duyno]

02:58 PM on 01/10/2012

Just like the enviromentalist and atheists control the Dems, an line their pockets.

[WalkForward]

04:06 AM on 01/09/2012

Hes not gay why are they encouraging her?

[NaaJane]

11:25 PM on 01/08/2012

didn't know he was gay. i have always wondered how a blackman could defend santorum, but a black gay man working for him is beyond my comprehension.

[Backtalkisahorse]

01:13 PM on 01/09/2012

IT'S JUST A JOB !!!!!! I too applied for the:" black person who gets pushed out in front as a token representative of an entire race to bray and whinny and wring hands grin and tap dance furiously in order to thinly veil the unbridled racism of a particular white candidate and to bring in the Blah vote .." These positions always come up in election years..you should see the lines for applications....
I didn't get the job. It's one of those that you need previous experience for....but it pays good and your family gets powdered milk for the rest of their lives! :-)

[TORAHTID]

02:58 PM on 01/09/2012

No. Its not "just a job'". Not when it involves selling your soul (not to mention your azzzz) for a paycheck.

[Jacob31]

10:44 PM on 01/08/2012

Robert Traynham is an example of a self-loathing gay and a disgraceful black. The mere fact that he would try to defend Santorum is evidence of this.

[SteveDenver]

01:45 PM on 01/10/2012

But being a crier for the Santorum Sideshow is the whitest and straightest Traynham may ever be.

[ellwood145]

09:41 PM on 01/08/2012

I am glad i don't have cable or sat, but chris mathews, i am not sure but wasn't he barney franks x lover? Maybe it was a different chris. :-)

[KeepLivin49]

08:33 PM on 01/08/2012

Traynum... gay, republican and a sellout....mom and dad must really be proud.

[jgdyogiangel]

05:25 PM on 01/08/2012

I love the way Chris keeps them on point. Let me finish, No begin, why? cause you aren't answering the question. Do you remember the debate between Palin and Biden? She never answered the question, just shouted out her talking points and said God Bless America. If Chris had been there he would have interrupted her, and said answer the question and he wouldn't have been afraid to back off until she did.

[FantasticFourFan]

05:23 PM on 01/08/2012

I think it's funny cons make no distinction between contraception and abortion. Because they honestly don't know the difference.

[SteveDenver]

01:48 PM on 01/10/2012

With anti-abortionists, the real issue is ANTI-SEX. That's why they oppose education, contraception and birth control. They want women who have sex to get pregnant and be punished.

If they really cared about "the babies," they wouldn't fight every form of assistance offered to poor parents of newborns and young children.

[joncie]

05:58 PM on 01/10/2012

F&F. Thank you.

[Backtalkisahorse]

09:51 PM on 01/10/2012

PUH leez don't mention baby and Santorah in the same sentence!!! ugh! from a grateful Blah. Courtesy of the Blahs and the whole Blah nation! Sorry! First day on the job after two years of agonizing searching afterglow......Im' being schilly..... :) Fvd

[Absolute]

04:41 PM on 01/08/2012

Self-hatred is a chronic condition among black republicans and gay republicans. This guy has a double dose of it.

[rotinfx16]

05:45 PM on 01/08/2012

It is not self hatred, it is having the courage of your convictions. Something liberals would have no understanding of because they are born to follow.

[rep suck]

07:33 PM on 01/08/2012

Is that what you call it? Out law contraceptives?? Really? You righties are nut's, it will be really nice when all of you get voted out and Pres. Obama will finally get to work with some adults for a change.

[mdbmama]

07:35 PM on 01/08/2012

hehehe

Apparantly, you have never heard the phrase "herding cats?" It is commonly used to describe trying to make a room full of Democrats, also known as liberals, fall in line.

We don't have Rush, Hannity, and Beck telling us what to think. We pretty much are able to do that on our own.

Remember calling us elitists? Because we believe in the importance of education? TRY to keep up.