Paul Ryan waded into the Chick-fil-A controversy when he told a reporter that he associates the fast food chain with \"free speech.\" <\/p>\n
On Thursday, a reporter from Virginia-based CNN affiliate WDBJ, upon finding out that he would only have five minutes with the Republican vice presidential candidate, decided to engage Ryan in a round of word association. <\/p>\n
\"Chick fil-A,\" Orlando Salinas, the WDBJ reporter, offered. <\/p>\n
\"Good chicken,\" Ryan said. \"Free people exercising their free speech rights.\" <\/p>\n
Chick-fil-A sparked controversy last month when company president Dan Cathy said that he and his company support \"the biblical definition of the family unit\" when asked about the issue of same-sex marriage. <\/p>\n
Cathy's remarks were met with backlash, as many LGBT activists called on supporters of gay marriage to boycott the chicken chain. Protesters have organized \"kiss-ins\" at Chick-fil-A locations across the country. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, conservatives jumped to defend the chain's right to condemn same-sex marriage. Mike Huckabee organized a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day earlier this month, which was endorsed by a number of notable right-wing figures including Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann. <\/p>\n
Romney, however, has distanced himself from the controversy, declaring that the Chick-fil-A debate was not \"part of my campaign.\" While he has avoided directly addressing his stance on the chain, his campaign may have made a quiet showing of support. Politico reported earlier this week that the Romney campaign spent $500 in \"meeting expenses\" at the chain last month, just days before Huckabee's appreciation day. <\/p>\n
Also on HuffPost: <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Continued here: Paul Ryan waded into the Chick-fil-A controversy when he told a reporter that he associates the fast food chain with \"free speech.\" On Thursday, a reporter from Virginia-based CNN affiliate WDBJ, upon finding out that he would only have five minutes with the Republican vice presidential candidate, decided to engage Ryan in a round of word association. \"Chick fil-A,\" Orlando Salinas, the WDBJ reporter, offered. \"Good chicken,\" Ryan said. Continue reading
\nPaul Ryan Weighs In On Chick-Fil-A's 'Free Speech Rights'<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"