The Last Word
By Melanie Nathan, May 14,2012.

For years the anti- same-sex marriage lobby has taken the form of extreme right wing fundamentalists such as Tony Perkins and others who I am loathe to name.  At every turn and opportunity LGBT bloggers have fought their rhetoric and we have never considered them as “the experts” worthy of the title of legitimate opposition to equality.   Yet they have been given a voice on mainstream TV as the opposing experts and have barely been challenged. Let us hope that with recent discredits we have seen the final round.

Now since President Obama has come out openly in support of same-sex marriage, main stream media has had the opportunity to call its ‘experts’ on the other side of the debate  and unfortunately all they can find, by virtue of years of an insidious overt presence on the issue, are the likes of Tony Perkins, who, together with his cronies, have yet to put forth a legitimate argument against marriage equality.

This time the deconstruction of their warped views are being elucidated with realistic force and vigor. It is akin to a boxing match. If a fighter keeps kicking below the belt he must be disqualified.  While Tony Perkins was recently caught doing just that, he was allowed to fight on – but was knocked out cold, in the ring!

Their views are just that – mere views – with no truth -neither based in science nor reality. They have re-written history and spewed their lies.

Perkins was on CNN with Piers Morgan, stating that his own kids are not likely to be gay, because “we are teaching them the right ways that they are to interact as human beings,” and “we are not allowing them to be indoctrinated by the education system.”

Chris Matthews invited Tony Perkins on to his CNN show Hardball, with Congressman Barney Frank and took Perkins to task on this statement.

To my wild eye it played out like a boxing match with the referee Mathews so incensed by the below the belt tactics of Perkins, he could all but take sides.  Perkins did not get away with a single old rhetorical trick.  When caught, Perkins tried to sidetrack, but Referee Mathews was not having any of that.

Mathews replayed what Perkins had said and Frank went in for the kill. The discussion was a round one knock out for Frank.  Perkins lay unconscious on the ground as referee Mathews instead of blowing the whistle and calling it a win, went for a stomp in the stomach.  Perkins lay writhing on the ground.   Now that should end Perkins’ career once and for all!

Well after the knock out Lawrence O’Donnell last night on the Last Word, had his go at it; notable Perkins and his lies not there – perhaps relegated to a different league now,no longer worthy of another main stream match, as O’Donnell recalled five thousand years of history on traditional marriage and finally someone on mainstream sets the record straight (ahem amen!) Not quite the right wing version fed to Americans by so called experts given voice by our mainstream Television media.

While I am one who usually prefers to not lend voice to these fringe lunatics, I came to realize I could applaud this one last round – a final knock out – rendering them unconscious in the hope that Chris Mathews Piers Morgan and others will now realize that Perkins and his type, with lies and misinformation, fully discredited.  They have lost and are banished to the lower leagues never to be seen or heard of in the center ring again!

So I suggest next time Chris Mathews, Piers Morgan or any mainstream and cable TV show wants an expert – find an expert who makes sense, who can truly put forth a counter argument, one based not on lies made up by divisive hate and hurtful rhetoric. I know that you will have to go a long way to find such – because there is no logical or fact based argument against equality – the only opposition, albeit illegitimate, is hate! I also suggest Barney Frank, Joe Solmonese, Andrew Sullivan et al, all refuse invitations to enter the ring with those unworthy of center ring.

Let this be the last we hear of these types as having any legitimacy forged by mainstream’s fever for ratings; they have been discredited loudly and clearly and any further voice by the likes of Mathews and Morgan will render these show nothing g more than Jerry Springer version 2.

Here is the Match : Barney Franks v. Tony Perkins Round 1- Knock out, Ref, Chris Mathews:-

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 Here is the Summation by Lawrence O’ Donnell:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Melanie Nathan
melanie@gayusathemovie.com
twitter- @melanienathan1
Melanie on Facebook