Rick Santorum on Liberals And Gym Showers

Former Sen. Rick Santorum said that young conservatives aren't pulling their weight in the culture war, because they're not willing to match the fervor of liberal activists -- that apparently means even talking about abortion in gym showers.

While accepting an award for the anti-abortion group Students for Life, according to Right Wing Watch, Santorum said liberals were willing to bring their activism into all aspects of their lives, unlike their religious and conservative counterparts. Because of that, he surmised, even simple tasks like showering at the gym could be a difficult task for conservatives.

"They make it uncomfortable for students who come to Austin to shower at a Young Men's Christian Association -- YMCA -- gym, because they live it," Santorum said. "They're passionate, they're willing to do and say uncomfortable things in mixed company. They're willing to make the sacrifice at their business because they care enough."

Byron York of the Washington Examiner points out that Santorum was referencing an incident reported by KVUE in Texas, where the Students for Life group had arranged a rally against abortion, then attempted to use the local YMCA for everyone to shower. They were asked not to come back after members of the gym complained. The YMCA in Austin issued a statement that said Student for Life protesters created a "disruptive" atmosphere because their presence "caused the political debate to come into the Y." The anti-abortion activists said they were the ones being bullied.

"If any person or group enters our facilities and creates an atmosphere that is disruptive, we have an obligation to our members and program participants to ask that person or group to leave or to refuse them access," the statement said, according to KVUE.

Santorum, who recently said he was "open" to another presidential run in 2016, went on to liken the divide between liberals and conservatives to that like the colonists and the British during the American Revolution.

"We won the American Revolution...because we wanted it more," he added. "We were willing to sacrifice everything for it and we were not going to give up, we were not going to stop. That's how the left has done to America what you've seen in your lifetime, because they simply won't give up."

Watch his speech below:

UPDATED: The Huffington Post notes the context of the KVUE report as provided by Byron York of The Washington Examiner.