Alan Simpson trashes conservative GOPers for being ‘homophobic’ and ‘anti-women’

Former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson has never been known to mince words, but the outspoken centrist Republican took his party to task perhaps more furiously than ever before during an TV appearance Monday.

Speaking on MSNBC's "Hardball," Simpson laid into conservative members of the GOP for their positions on abortion and homosexuality, calling them "homophobic" and "anti-women."

"Who the hell is for abortion?" Simpson told MSNBC's Chris Matthews. "I don't know anybody running around with a sign that says 'have an abortion, they're wonderful.' They're hideous. But they're a deeply intimate and personal decision and I don't think men legislators should even vote on the issue."

"Then you've got homosexuality — you've got 'don't ask, don't tell,'" the former senator continued. "We've got homophobes in our party. That's disgusting to me. We're all human beings. We're all God's children."

Simpson specifically criticized former Sen. Rick Santorum, who is likely to run for president in 2012, by name, saying he's said "some cruel things—cruel cruel things—about homosexuals."

"If that's the kind of guys that are going to be on my ticket, you know, it makes you sort out hard what Reagan said, you know, 'Stick with your folks,'" Simpson declared. "But, I'm not sticking with people who are homophobic, anti-women, moral values—while you're diddling your secretary while you're giving a speech on moral values? Come on, get off of it."

You can watch the video here, courtesy MSNBC:

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(Screenshot of Simpson via MSNBC)