Rick Santorum borrows slogan from poem by gay rights advocate

A former Republican senator who warned that acceptance of homosexuality could lead to "man on child, man on dog" relations borrowed his presidential campaign slogan from a pro-union poem written by a gay rights advocate.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum announced Thursday that he would be setting up a fundraising committee to take the first steps toward a 2012 presidential campaign.

"It's time for America to be America again — an America that rewards innovation and hard work, that stands by our allies instead of our enemies, that protects even the most vulnerable of our society, and an America that says every life is to be cherished," he told supporters in an email.

As the progressive blog ThinkProgress noted, the phrase "let America be America again" was first used by legendary jazz poet and columnist Langston Hughes.

Hughes, who was was accused of being a Communist-sympathizer by Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1953, was a vocal advocate of social, racial and economic justice. His poem "Cafe: 3 a.m." criticizes a police raid on a black gay establishment.

In contrast, Santorum likened homosexuality to "incest" and "adultery" in April 2003. He told The Associated Press that acceptance of gay sex could "undermine the fabric of our society."

Former Wyoming Republican Senator Alan Simpson recently criticized Santorum for his "foul" remarks. "Santorum has said some cruel things—cruel, cruel things—about homosexuals," the former congressman said on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.