Hatch: Democrats the Party of Gays

SALT LAKE CITY —  Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) stands by his statement that the liberal wing of the Democratic Party is the “the party of homosexuals,” his campaign manager, Bud Scruggs, said Thursday.

Hatch, who spoke Wednesday in St. George during a campaign swing through southern Utah, said Democrats “are the party of homosexuals. They are the party of abortion. They are the party that has fought school prayer every step of the way. They are the party that has basically, I think, denigrated a lot of the values that have made this country the greatest country in the world.”

Scruggs said the two-term senator does not deny making the statement.

“He said it. It’s true,” Scruggs said.

(The Associated Press reported that Hatch denied late Wednesday that he had made the statement, but it was confirmed by a tape recording made by a radio station.)

Added Scruggs: “And it’s important that the public know that Michael Dukakis, as governor, showed himself to be very responsive to the gay rights lobby.”

He said if Dukakis is elected President, “we can expect much of the same.”