MSNBC's Chris Matthews Sides With Tony Perkins

[The Philosopher]

from Advocate.com

Chris Matthews said he doesn't believe in "silencing people," and that includes Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and other activists have launched a campaign to keep off the air the Family Research Council, which is labeled a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its habit of spreading misinformation about LGBT people.

Matthews was confronted during a book signing in Massachusetts this month by a group called Faithful America that has made ridding cable television of Perkins a top priority.

"I don't believe in fatwas, I don't believe in silencing people," Matthews said when confronted. "I don't believe in it, OK? I want Rush Limbaugh on the air. I want him on every day. I want people to hear, I want everybody to hear all the arguments. It's a free country."

Click Here To Read More

[Ian David]

1. FWIW,, Chris Matthews was at the Human Rights Campaign gala with Stephanie Miller.

I don't think Chris understands the difference between hate speech and free speech, and the difference between censorship versus giving someone a microphone.

Or, if I was going to be less generous and more cynical, I would say that Tweety knows his paycheck depends on sensationalism, confrontation, discord and pitting one side against another.

If I was going to be even MORE cynical, I'd say Tweety gets off on it.

[William769]

2. I'm beginning to think that the case with most people. n/t

[Jamaal510]

4. That's definitely the case with the MSM.

Media ratings go up whenever both sides of an issue, or two clashing ideologies duke it out. It's no wonder they love to talk about approval ratings and rising gas prices every single day. It almost makes me sick.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Chris is a religious guy, and it shows a lot.

And I find his contention that he wants many arguments heard contradicted in his constant reuse of the same old, tired professional political hacks. He does not put new and interesting ideas on the air, he puts the same, mostly male, mostly white and always straight shouters on the air, and he does not mind presenting hate mongers as his equal.

[joeybee12]

5. Does he want the Grand Wizard of the KKK on the air asshole?

Probably not..Chris is a major asshole.

[libinnyandia]

6. I wish MSNBC would get rid of Matthews or at least have him on for only 1 hour per day and bring

back Keith Olbermann.

[LostinRed]

7. I happen to agree with Chris Matthew

put these idiots on the air so everyone hears how moronic they are. H watch his day almost everyday and he actually does a good job of advocating for equality. When Tony Perkins is on he makes him seems like an idiot.

[stevenleser]

12. "put them out there so people can see how bad they are" doesnt work with these folks

That is because of two things:

1. In your mind, (feel free to correct me if I am wrong) you are thinking the majority of people will think they are crazy. And in the beginning stages, you are right. The problem is, they dont need to reach a majority. It was a long time before the Nazi party had a huge membership in Germany. All these groups need is to convince a fraction of 1% of the population to support them to reach a critical mass that becomes hard to stop.

Give you an idea, here are dates, number of votes in millions and percentage of total vote. From 810,000 votes and 2.6% of the total vote in 1928 to 17 million votes and 43.9% of the vote in 1933.

May 20, 1928 0.81 2.6%
September 14, 1930 6.41 18.3%
July 31, 1932 13.75 37.3%
November 6, 1932 11.74 33.1%
March 5, 1933 17.28 43.9%

If we go back just a few years before that, the Nazis werent even at 100,000 votes.

2. It is by now pretty established how these groups appeal to people. A certain percentage of the population is vulnerable to hearing the things they have to say. They tell people who are not successful and happy that there is a reason why that has nothing to do with themselves. That is of course a very reassuring thing to hear for people who are struggling. Then they say, the reason is 'those' people, replace 'those' people with whatever minority you feel like, immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, the LGBT community, Jews, Muslims, etc.

-----
To my way of thinking, the GOP has already been operating this way with regard to the LGBT community. Various conservative leaders have blamed all kinds of things on the LGBT community from the decline of the family to priest pedophilia to 9/11.

These things arent working for the GOP right now, but that is in no small part because everytime someone attacks a minority community, there is a vigorous response and that response includes trying to get that person off TV and other media. Where that hasnt happened, for instance, with Muslims, a huge segment of the community has accepted the slanders as true. There is a huge amount of Islamophobia in this country.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Giving these people a platform does not work and is not the way to go.

[LostinRed]

14. Hmmm

I think you comments are correct. I may be giving the audience too much credit. As others have stated, if he was a KKK member, he wouldn't be tolerated and Mathews would take a lot of heat for allowing those opinions on air. Thank you for your well thought out argument. You pursueded me.

[Bohunk68]

8. Ah, yes,

Tweety, the Mandibular Masturbator. Never shuts up, just goes on and on and on and on with the endless question. I've stopped watching him and his RC viewpoints. I switch over to watch whatever is on Link TV.

[ilikeitthatway]

9. It's be a different story if it was the KKK

I'd like to see Matthews run and defend them on the air.

[Fearless]

10. What a surprise!

[stevenleser]

11. Someone else nailed it re: Free speech vs Hate speech. I think an amendment is needed.

If you or your group advocates discrimination or the denial of equality or rights to other people without due process, speech in furtherance of those goals is not protected. That is the 1st draft of how I would phrase that amendment.

Then we can stop those idiotic marches by the Neo Nazis and KKK and other similar matters would be settled.

I forget who said it, but Democracy and personal freedoms does not imply the idea that we have to hand other people the keys to destroying us.

[Smarmie Doofus]

13. Hmmm. Including David Duke?

"I don't believe in fatwas, I don't believe in silencing people," Matthews said when confronted. "I don't believe in it, OK? I want Rush Limbaugh on the air. I want him on every day. I want people to hear, I want everybody to hear all the arguments. It's a free country."