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Gay half-sister of Republican Gingrich backs Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Kansas City, Missouri in this December 6, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Kansas City, Missouri in this December 6, 2011 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Thu Dec 8, 2011 4:34am EST

(Reuters) - The gay half-sister of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich slammed his position on gay rights on Wednesday and said she will support President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the 2012 election.

Candace Gingrich-Jones, a gay rights activist, told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that she and her older half-brother, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, were "mutually respectful" but disagree on gay rights.

"He is definitely on the wrong side of history when it comes to those issues," Gingrich-Jones said.

She said she would "work really, really hard to make sure that President Obama is re-elected next year no matter who the Republican candidate is."

Gingrich's campaign nearly sputtered to a halt last summer, but he has recently soared to the top of the polls in the Republican contest to choose a nominee to face Obama in the 2012 election.

Gingrich is known for his socially conservative views and has said he opposes gay marriage. Gingrich-Jones, a director at the Humans Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, said he did not attend her wedding.

A spokesman for Gingrich was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Vicki Allen)
Politics
Barack Obama
Election 2012
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Comments (13)
amos033 wrote:
Wow, what a suprise. Obama will get all the gay votes and all the black votes and all the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ votes if they are elgible..they may have a residency problem when registration time rolls around. The republican candidate will only get ALL the Christian and Mexican American votes except Bill Richardson, he’ll probably vote for Obama. I think Obama will lose by a landslide, worse than Carter did against Reagan but we’ll see…

Dec 08, 2011 1:40am EST  --  Report as abuse
vcstant wrote:
It appears that Ms Allen should be writing about which side of history that Ms Candace should be considering. Obama should not be in the next elections if you look at the U.S.Supreme court case “Minor vs Happersett” which clearly shows that he does not qualify per our own constitution.If we are a true “Republic” then we should make every effort to protect our Constitution against those who abuse it, including the “main stream media” who continue to use their media ‘black-out’ to protect his eligibility. “I don’t give people hell, I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell” – President Harry Truman

Dec 08, 2011 1:41am EST  --  Report as abuse
MakeChange wrote:
amos, your statistical analysis is painfully laughable! I am Christian (born again in Jesus), as are my best 4 friends, and my family of 5 siblings, and parents, and we all are more than likely will be voting for President Obama. He was handed a near depression, and staved that off, also, he got Osama! If a flashlight was shown into Newt’s past, it would show so many skeletons, he could open a haunted house… but hey, he cheated on the vows of his marriage because he said he loves his country so much! BARF

Dec 08, 2011 2:03am EST  --  Report as abuse
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