It wasn't me.

I get sole credit for the campaign to redefine Rick Santorum's last name. ("It's one guy," Rick Santorum told Roll Call when they asked about his "Google problem" back in February. "You know who it is.") But the lion's share of the credit should go to SARS ("Sex And Rick Santorum"), the then-23-year-old gay guy who sent me this crazily prescient letter back in May of 2003:

I'm a 23-year-old gay male who's been following the Rick Santorum scandal, and I have a proposal. Washington and the press seem content to let Santorum's comments fade into political oblivion, so I say the gay community should welcome this "inclusive" man with open arms. That's right; if Rick Santorum wants to invite himself into the bedrooms of gays and lesbians (and their dogs), I say we "include" him in our sex lives—by naming a gay sex act after him. Here's where you come in, Dan. Ask your readers to write in and vote on which gay sex act is worthy of the Rick Santorum moniker. It could be all forms of gay sex ("I pulled a Rick Santorum with my straight roommate in college"), or orgasm in a gay context ("We fooled around, and then I Rick Santorumed all over his face"), or maybe something weirder ("We've bought some broom handles, and we'll be Rick Santoruming all night"). You pick the best suggestions, and we all get to vote! And then, voilà! This episode will never be forgotten!

Thanks to you, SARS, this episode has not been forgotten. In nearly every story written in the wake of the Iowa caucuses, reporters have had to explain Santorum's "Google problem," and doing that has forced honest reporters to unpack the 2003 AP interview that inspired its creation. (Dishonest reporters like to claim that we redefined Santorum's last name because of his opposition to gay marriage.) Even the New Yorker is picking apart that 2003 AP interview:

Despite appearances to the contrary, there are Republicans in Brooklyn. Last Tuesday night, twenty-five of them gathered in a storefront in Bensonhurst to watch the results of the Iowa caucuses.... The room was divided among Romney loyalists, Perry supporters, and libertarians who couldn’t quite stomach Ron Paul. But the story of the night was Rick Santorum. One of the men opened a laptop and Googled “Santorum,” and was shocked at what he found. “That’s ugly,” he said. “That’s not politics. That’s just trying to rip someone down.”

A visitor from Manhattan took out his smartphone and e-mailed those words to Dan Savage, the sex columnist and satirist, who was at home in Seattle with his husband and son. “Powerless and marginalized groups have always used humor and mockery as a weapon,” Savage wrote back. He added, “I wish every gay basher in the G.O.P. was handcuffed for life to a gay dude with a potty mouth and a sense of humor. It would serve ’em right.” Savage and Santorum have never met, but you could say that they are cyber-handcuffed together for life.

In April of 2003, Santorum, then a senator from Pennsylvania, sat for an interview with the Associated Press. The discussion turned to Lawrence v. Texas, a case before the Supreme Court, in which the plaintiff argued that anti-sodomy laws were unconstitutional, on the ground that adults have a right to privacy. Santorum disagreed. “If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home,” he said, then “you have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does.” A healthy society, Santorum continued, would not condone sodomy or “man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be.”

“I’m sorry,” the reporter said. “I didn’t think I was going to talk about ‘man on dog’ with a United States senator. It’s sort of freaking me out.”

Santorum’s comments caused a minor stir. President George W. Bush defended him; Howard Dean attacked him. Then everyone seemed to forget about it.

Dan Savage’s readers did not forget.

My readers did not forget that interview—and they made sure no one else did either. Rick Santorum certainly hasn't been able to forget it. Thanks to SARS and to WUTSAP ("Wipe Up That Santorum, Anal Pokers"), the reader who sent in the winning definition, and to the readers who selected for "frothy mix" over the other contenders for the new definition, Rick Santorum is still being made to answer for that infamous 2003 interview. Rick can run (for president, from New Hampshire voters chanting "bigot"), but he can't hide.

Santorum can lie, though—or attempt to.

In an interview with CNN last week, Santorum claimed that he "didn't say it," he never equated consensual gay sex with dog fucking and child rape. (Santorum also said in that interview that he believed gay people should remain celibate all our lives. Followup question, Senator Santorum: You said in Saturday night's debate that you would love your gay son. You said in response to a question from a voter that you would love your gay son "unconditionally." Would you love your gay son if he were sexually active?) But Santorum confirmed that he said exactly that—consensual gay sex is like dog fucking and child rape—and stood by that statement, and deserved praise for making it, in an interview on CNN back in August.

Anyway, didn't mean to go into all this Santorum shit today. I just wanted to toss up a quick post giving credit to SARS before the Santorum storm blows over. (Rick isn't going to do well in New Hampshire, I'm thinking, and things don't look good for him in South Carolina.) I reread SARS letter when I was working on this week's "Savage Love" and that last line—"This episode will never be forgotten!"—leapt out at me. It was was so good, so on-the-money, and so prophetic that I had to share.

Wherever you are today, SARS, I hope you're well and happy and not celibate and registered to vote.