Leaders of an anti-gay conservative Christian organization on Tuesday endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum ahead the upcoming Iowa caucuses.
The Family Leader CEO Bob Vander Plaats said that while his organization would not endorse a candidate at this time, he could personally Santorum because the former Pennsylvania senator was the "champion for the family" who is the best position to beat President Barack Obama.
Earlier this year, Santorum, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann all signed The Family Leader's pledge, agreeing to opposes same sex marriage, oppose Sharia law and ban "all forms of pornography."
"Everything he brought back to the family," Vander Plaats said during his endorsement of Santorum Tuesday. "He has been a stalwart and a soldier for the sanctity of human life, and God's design for the family and one man, one woman marriage."
"I believe Rick Santorum comes from us," the conservative leader added. "Just not to us, he comes from us. He's one of us."
Chuck Hurley, head of The Family Leader's Iowa Family Policy Center, who also endorsed Santorum Tuesday, said that his group had gotten death threats from supporters of other GOP candidates.
"I do regret that one erstwhile friend and culture warrior has threatened to -- quote -- 'burn Bob's body, drag it through the street and hang it from a bridge' -- unquote -- if Bob doesn't endorse who that person wants him to endorse," Hurley explained, refusing to name the supporter or their preferred candidate.
"What sold me on Rick Santorum?" Hurley continued. "He meets and exceeds the biblical qualifications."
Soon after launching The Family Leader's pledge in July, Vander Plaats was caught on video praising a joke that used the word "fag" in the punchline.
"You know what my wife says?" an attendee at an event in Audubon asked Vander Plaats. "She says: Iowa, the state where you can’t smoke a fag, but you can marry one."
"Oh shoot, that’s pretty good," Vander Plaats replied. "That’s pretty good."
