Rick Santorum Responds To Foster Friess's Controversial Comment On Birth Control (VIDEO)

"It was a stupid joke."

That's how former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) described a controversial comment made Thursday by one of his biggest backers.

Foster Friess, a major contributor to a super PAC that supports the GOP candidate for president, was discussing Santorum's stances on social issues like contraception and women's reproductive rights in an interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell when he declared: "Back in my days, they used Bayer Aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly."

Although Hogan Gidley, a spokesperson for Santorum, told Talking Points Memo that the campaign would not comment on Friess's statement, the candidate himself decided to do so.

On Thursday night, during an interview on the FOX News program "On The Record W/Greta Van Susteren," Santorum brushed off Friess's comment.

"Foster is known in political circles as telling a lot of jokes and some of them are not particularly funny, which this one was not," Santorum said.

Santorum then went on to praise Friess and distance the campaign from the controversial "joke."

"He's not creepy. He's a good man. He's a great philanthropist. He's a very successful businessman," Santorum said. "He told a bad, off-color joke and he shouldn't have done it, but that's his business."

Santorum thinks contraception should be available, but states should have the right to ban it. He has touted his votes for Title X funding as a senator, but now supports retooling it to exclude certain Clinton-era regulations.

CORRECTION: This article originally incorrectly stated that Santorum favors banning federal funding for contraception. The sentence has been edited to reflect his stance.

Comments

[SocratesSiddhartha]

11:47 PM on 02/21/2012

Van Susteren is a whackadoodle Scientologist

[mindman]

07:50 PM on 02/20/2012

Stop attack ads on Democrats by the US Chamber of Commerce. Sign the petition at change.org

[mindman]

07:41 PM on 02/20/2012

Fries sounded like he doesn't even know what his candiate stands for, Didn't know Santorum is against birth control. Really tasteless comments people don't make anywhere but in bars. Santorum shouldn't have to explain Fries but it looks like Fries is just a money man for S.

[JehudahBenIsrael]

02:28 PM on 02/19/2012

Wow!!

[serdelp]

02:27 PM on 02/19/2012

He may have told us that it was a bad joke but that's exactly what this man believes. If it was up to him he would ban all form of contraception because he and his religion doesn't approve of it. This is the kind of person the republicans are now making their front runner. A man who wants to take us back to an era when women had no control over their sex lives. A time when women in the work force were considered "bad" mothers for having to work to help support their families. Yet Santorum doesn't even realize what he is saying. Women will be running for the hills to get away from this throwback from the last century.

[Dezembrr]

01:50 PM on 02/19/2012

They want women to be forced into pregnancy as a penalty for having sex. As Ricky himself has stated, contraceptives lead to people using sex just for fun!?!

[TTD21]

03:34 AM on 02/19/2012

I would think this was just a bad joke, but there are people who actually think Friess' comment is right.

[ulliegirl312]

11:36 AM on 02/19/2012

Only ignorant people that think this is the 14th century

[Maria Paredes]

11:20 PM on 02/17/2012

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ! 
http://tinyurl.com/879xhc7 
Jon Stewart swung by Late Night with David Letterman and naturally the topic turned to politics. During the discussion, Stewart explained exactly what it is that the GOP doesn't like about Mitt Romney: he's trying to be Rick Santorum and failing miserably. 
http://tinyurl.com/6ttoxdn 
“vulture capitalist,” and article ¡¡ 
Santorum is being outspent in Michigan by a margin of 40 to 1. (FORTY TO ONE , By ROMONEY OF COURSE ) IT WILL NOT WORK ! 
Romney is spending millions to brainwash michiganders . Look for Romney TRY to do to Santorum what he did to Gingrich . 
Millionaire Meg Whitman tried to buy California, Californians REJECTED HER AND HER MONEY BIG TIME !  

[ibsyboy]

09:59 PM on 02/17/2012

Yeah, All of this expert opinion about SEX, from a guy who has had intercourse at a minimum, 8 times in his life. Yes, he is my first choice to go to, to discuss women's health issues. The idea that this guy has the audacity to speak about contraception, he is obsessed with SEX, frustrated maybe? He pontificates on all of the sinning that goes on in people's private lives, due to contraception. He practices the most ancient form, the Rhythm Method, if you must enjoy yourself while having SEX check the calendar first then pretend you're procreating. Only a bunch of men who wear black (inquisitional) dresses could have concocted this primitive form of pseudo-sexual pleasure for married Catholic men and women. And FATTY Limbaugh, from the same tribe as Ricky, comes out with a statement; " mindless sex with none of the consequences." Now is that a knock on babies as being a consequence. From a guy who has been married more than thrice, and not one baby to show for it. He is either celibate or a big fat hypocrite. I go with hippo-crite.

[cqtestk4xs]

01:13 PM on 02/18/2012

Easy answer. If you were a woman, would you want to consumate your marriage to Rush. No sex, no kids. See, abstinence works!

[McGyver1]

08:57 PM on 02/17/2012

The concept of abstinence ...is it so far fetched? I guess as a culture we have just given up on the idea that we should or even could just say no. We expect so little from ourselves any more..anything that would test our will is just objectionable. Not that contraception doesnt have it's place, but as an observation... since our dependence on contraceptives, it seems there is no need to foster any reliance on strength of will...and so goes some of the character. Keep in mind, we've only had contraception since the 1950's.

[MoscowMoo]

11:42 PM on 02/17/2012

Okay, obviously Mr. McGyver has not been able to find anyone to have sex with him, and he thinks as punishment, all the rest of the people in the world (including married couples) should just rely on their "strength of will" for birth control. Yeah, that works really well. Before the 1950s and contraception, families had 10 or more kids until the woman died in child birth. Good plan, McGyver.

[Kathie Wilson]

01:50 AM on 02/18/2012

And we've only had unwanted pregnancy since 65,000 BC. Do you really think the first pregnant woman gave birth on a wholly committed basis? Or did she give birth at all? Did she know the consequences of sex when the father of her child dragged her into his cave? Did she know what she was in for when she 'accepted' him as he forced her to her knees and entered her body with his? Did he?
Oh, wait - we've only been humans for 6000 years...................................................................

[bsdiana94]

08:09 PM on 02/17/2012

"Foster is known in political circles as telling a lot of jokes and some of them are not particularly funny, which this one was not," Santorum said.



DID ANYONE ELSE HEAR A CHECKBOOK CLOSING?

[Kathie Wilson]

01:54 AM on 02/18/2012

Actually, I distinctly heard tacit approval of the sentiment, if not the delivery.

(Did I say 'delivery'? Not in either Santorum's or Foster's experience, but what the hey - it's an election year.)

[gtgr68]

07:57 PM on 02/17/2012

no, unfortunately friess was not joking when he uttered those words, that's what he and santorum really think. but "stupid" and "joke" are two words most thoughtful people immediately associate with santorum.

[sudey2]

07:34 PM on 02/17/2012

Too late, Santorum. Damage done. Your money maker not only blabbed a truly braindead and contemptible comment, but he mentioned on The Last Word that he is in touch with you and talks to you frequently. Isn't that against the Super Pac super cash cow rules?

You've used mean and disingenuous soundbites far too often about others and now you have to deal with a crass comment that actually mirrors your own oft stated views about women's rights to controling their bodies and their reproductive health.

[time2talk]

07:05 PM on 02/17/2012

Santorum's motto: Don't listen to anything Friess says. Just give me the money.

[WUSRPH]

05:37 PM on 02/17/2012

I think my Irish First Cousin (several times removed) Oliver St. John Gogarty had the best response to the Santifiedtorums, Friesses and Catholic bishops….when he said:

"I think it is high time the men of this country found some other way of loving God than by hating women."

He was fighting a censorship law in the Senate of the Irish Free State at the time, but what he said then is more than appropriate for today’s situation. And I say that even thought I have a retired Reverend Mother in the Ursuline Order as an aunt and am also a First Cousin (several times removed) of the first Roman Catholic Cardinal in the U.S., John McCloskey of New York.

I think it will make a good bumper sticker and will look into having some made up.