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Media: Pat Buchanan’s Anti-Gay Bigotry Is Bigger Than Pat Buchanan

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Putting people like Pat Buchanan on television legitimizes their hateful worldview and make it much easier for like-minded bigots to find wider social acceptance.

I’m not sure why exactly Pat Buchanan has managed to last so long on MSNBC. I suppose it’s partly because he’s viewed like something of an asshole vaccine — a weakened and inert strain of paranoid Conservative used to help inoculate progressives for encounters with stronger, more dangerous parasites. Somehow over time Pat Buchanan had devolved from rabid right wing warrior, into a rumpled, cartoonish figure whose misguided and bizarre ramblings were easily ignored.

To be honest, I had pretty much forgotten about him. I can’t keep my eye on every wacko who’s given national stage time, and old Pat seemed harmless enough. Perhaps age had even mellowed him a little. Original Recipe Pat Buchanan was prone to Holocaust Denial, or outright racism. Older, wiser, Pat Buchanan could be counted on to write entire books attacking the Neocons. Rachel Maddow calls him “Uncle Pat.” He can’t be that bad, right? Let’s take a look at an excerpt from his new book, as reported by our own David Badash:

In the name of equality, the Supreme Court has declared the practice of homosexuality to be a constitutional right. Vaughn Walker, a gay federal judge in San Francisco, has ruled that same-​sex marriage is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Can anyone believe this absurd notion of equality was intended by or written into the constitution by the Congress that produced the 14th Amendment? Although gay marriage has been rejected in 31 states in referenda, judges continue to declare that such unions be treated as marriages. An idea of equality rejected democratically by voters is being imposed dictatorially. In December 2010, a repudiated liberal Congress imposed its San Francisco values on the Armed Forces, by ordering homosexuals admitted to all branches of the service. Indoctrination of recruits, soldiers, and officers into an acceptance of the gay lifestyle will transfer authority over the military, the most respected institution in America, to agents of a deeply-​resented and widely detested managerial state.

Well, screw you Pat Buchanan. I know one washed up political hack who is officially off my Christmas Card list.

That is classic, 100% USDA Prime anti-gay hate speech. It is also pretty tame for Pat. Here is something he said in an article he wrote for the New York Post back in 1983 about how hilariously ironic he found the AIDS epidemic:

The poor homosexuals — they have declared war upon nature, and now nature is exacting an awful retribution.

Think Progress points out this good example of Pat Buchanan’s love for the gay community, as described by Randy Shilts in his book, And The Band Played On:

Buchanan concluded by saying no homosexual should be permitted to handle food and that the Democratic party’s decision to hold their next convention in San Francisco would leave delegates’ spouses and children at the mercy of “homosexuals who belong to a community that is a common carrier of dangerous, communicable and sometimes fatal diseases.”

With his new book, Pat Buchanan seems to be saying to the world, “Hey guys, Remember how horrible I used to be? Well I’m back, bitches!”

Pat has earned his place alongside the many other prominent homophobes of our day. He is a pioneer in modern anti-gay hate speech, and if he wants to claim that mantle with pride, I’m not here to stop him. He has every right to be a miserable bastard.

The problem isn’t Pat Buchanan. There are now, and will always be, plenty of bigots. Don’t get me wrong, Pat Buchanan is a horrible, horrible person, who believes awful, terrible things. It’s just that Americans, as a culture, do not find his views all that objectionable.

The simple fact of the matter is that in large and varied sections of society, it is perfectly acceptable to hate gay people. While this is changing, and the basic, undeniable humanity of LBGT people is becoming increasingly apparent to even the most apathetic of citizens, the issue of our equality continues to offer countless opportunities for friction. Of course, as the human boll weevils that people the 24 hour cable news landscape can only survive in a world where every single issue on the planet has two equally valid sides, they must give air time to every hate-filled pile of excrement that has some ax to grind with the gay community.

Let’s be clear about one thing: Pat Buchanan is paid by MSNBC to hate gay people. That’s his job. Granted, he’s employed to hate all kinds of other people too, but his history of incendiary rhetoric regarding social issues is a big part of his resume. While I respect and appreciate the effort to get Pat Buchanan fired, honestly, I can’t really see why MSNBC would capitulate. He is doing exactly what they’ve paid him to do. They didn’t hire Pat Buchanan because he’s a hoot at the office Christmas Party, they hired him because he’s been a prominent member of the far right for 40 some odd years, and is guaranteed to stir things up.

This is the only reason why anyone ever hires Pat Buchanan. He got his start working in organized crime, or if you prefer, the Nixon White House. They called him “Mr. Inside” because his job was primarily to write speeches that would communicate directly to the psycho, nougaty center of the Republican Party. He did essentially the same thing for both Ford and Reagan, and has been a professional bigot ever since. It’s not like that history is a secret. He ran for president three times on this platform. He was put on television to be Pat Buchanan.

When does this stop? When do we get our tipping point? If we ask nicely, can we be declassified as a political football? When you put people like Pat Buchanan on television, you legitimize their hateful worldview and make it much easier for like-minded bigots to find wider social acceptance.

Cable news loves these people for the same reason that Morton Downey, Jr. liked to put KKK members and Black Panthers on stage together. They are guaranteed to fight, and a good brawl always makes for good television.

Look at Tony Perkins, Grand Wizard of the Family Research Council, certified hate group and all around anti-gay fun factory. If you go to his website, and I encourage you not to bother, they have posted about 75 appearances this man has made on major cable news programs, and those only represent the occasions they have deemed acceptable enough to consider appropriate marketing material. As of this writing, the most recent appearance is on, you guessed it, MSNBC. This makes Tony Perkins another in their stable of paid bigots. Even if he doesn’t draw an actual appearance fee, he gets a little bit more time to promote his website, or books, or crude chalk drawings, or whatever media he expects his supporters to consume.

Ever notice that there are no out and out racists on television? They exist, to be sure, but you never see them debating Cornel West on Hardball. Ever wonder why? Because being a racist in public is completely unacceptable. You are not allowed to both be openly racist, and participate in polite society. It simply isn’t done. How do we get this deal in the LGBT community? Is there a certain amount of hardship we must endure before we stop letting anti-gay bigots participate in civilized public discourse?

Just this week we have seen hate crimes involving this openly gay bartender, who was beaten and then set on fire, and this gay school kid, who was stalked and then beaten by his homophobic tormentor, in public, while everyone around him did nothing. The violent criminal who administered this hate based beat-down did get a whopping three day suspension, so that’s justice? Right? Anyone? No?

And I’m not even warmed up.

I’ve got another hate crime involving someone setting a homosexual on fire, as well as three separate attacks on gay people living in West Hollywood, CA. All in the last 10 days or so.

Should we bring the guys who lit the match on MSNBC to chat about the importance of Family Values? It might make for good ratings. I suppose we can just let Tony Perkins or Pat Buchanan make the case for why it’s OK to dehumanize and torment homosexuals. You’ve got them on TV fifteen times a day anyway, and who cares if it helps perpetuate the hatred and violence directed toward our community. Why should that matter when we have so much commercial air time to sell?

Yes, Pat Buchanan should be fired. And Tony Perkins should be ridden out of town on a rail. Give me the petition and I’ll sign it. I just don’t want to lose focus on the larger issue. What we really need is a blanket agreement, as a culture, that we will not tolerate anti-gay bigotry, and that we will certainly not put those who fuel these fires on television so they can continue to try and make things worse.

Benjamin Phillips is a Humor Writer, Web Developer, Civics Nerd, and all around crank that spends entirely too much time shouting with deep exasperation at the television, especially whenever cable news is on. He lives in St. Louis, MO and spends most of his time staring at various LCD screens, occasionally taking walks in the park whenever his boyfriend becomes sufficiently convinced that Benjamin is becoming a reclusive hermit person. He is available for children’s parties, provided that those children are entertained by hearing a complete windbag talk for two hours about the importance of science education, or worse yet, poorly researched anecdotes PROVING that James Buchanan was totally gay. If civilization were to collapse due to zombie hoards or nuclear holocaust, Benjamin would be among the first to die as he has no useful skills of any kind. The post-apocalyptic hellscape has no real need for homosexual computer programmers who can name all the presidents in order, as well as the actors who have played all eleven incarnations of Doctor Who.

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News

‘Fear Small Crowds?’: Trump and Team Mocked as ‘Snowflakes’ for Inauguration Move

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January 17, 2025

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When Donald Trump raises his right hand on Monday to swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution as America’s 47th President, he will do so not as most Presidents have done, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., but inside. Amid forecasted temperatures in the mid-20s, Trump has decided to move the proceedings inside, a decision that was quickly met with mockery and prompted speculation about crowd size concerns.

Washington, D.C. suffers from — or boasts, depending on personal preference — a wide range of temperatures. In January, temperatures in recent years have ranged from a balmy 80 degrees (2024) to a frigid 5 degrees (2015). And while temperatures in the mid-40s are average for January, 24 degrees, the forecast for Inauguration Day, is not especially unusual.

“Due to the dangerously cold temperatures expected Monday, President-elect Trump’s inauguration is moving indoors. Expect Trump and Vance to be sworn in inside the Capitol Rotunda,” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported Friday. A short time later she added: “Trump confirms it’s moving inside, citing the danger posed to attendees by the cold. He says guests will be brought inside the Capitol.”

READ MORE: Biden Sparks Legal Battle by Declaring Equal Rights Amendment Is Now ‘Law of the Land’

Trump posted a dramatic explanation: “January 20th cannot come fast enough! Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen,” he claimed.

“It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself. The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump also claimed.

“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” he wrote.

“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather. The various Dignitaries and Guests will be brought into the Capitol. This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!”

The temperature during Reagan’s second inauguration was 7 degrees, with a windchill making it feel like -40, Fox News reports.

The decision surprised many.

“It was 28°F when Barack Obama was sworn in at noon on January 20, 2009 before a crowd of nearly two million people,” observed Aaron Fritschner, Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA). “NOT INCLUDING THE INSANE WIND CHILL!!”

Susan Rice, a former top advisor to both Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, mocked Trump and team: “SNOWFLAKES,” she snarked, using the common derisive term occasionally leveled at Democrats by the right.

READ MORE: Trump Threatens FBI Office, Alleges ‘Corruption,’ Demands They ‘Preserve All Records’

Some critics suggested the issue was not weather but attendance — just like when Trump was inaugurated before a small crowd in 2017, only to make his first White House Press Secretary’s job to denounce those claims and declare, “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period,” he emphatically and infamously insisted — reportedly at Trump’s direction.

“Moving the inauguration inside due to freezing temps takes crowd size ‘off the table’ as Trump’s second term begins,” CNN’s Brian Stelter, citing his colleague Dana Bash, noted.

Sam Stein of The Bulwark suggested that President-elect Trump has been trying to get more people to show up: “Trump has been running twitter ads to get folks to come to the inauguration. If they’re now moving it indoors, you have to imagine folks who booked travel will be left distraught.”

David Axelrod, senior advisor and chief campaign strategist to President Barack Obama, also mocked Trump.

“In ’61, John F. Kennedy was Inaugurated on the Capitol steps, in windchills of 7 degrees. It was almost as cold for Obama in ’09. In fairness, Trump IS more than 3 decades older than JFK & Obama were. Or did he just fear small crowds?”

Former Obama Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton, offering a history lesson, suggested there aren’t a large number of people interested in attending Trump’s second inauguration. He wrote “Tell me you have a crowd size problem without telling me you have a crowd size problem. It was colder for Obama’s and JFK’s inaugurations and JFK didn’t even wear a coat.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘My Eyes and Ears’: Trump Names Ambassadors to Hollywood, Critics Question Motives

 

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Biden Sparks Legal Battle by Declaring Equal Rights Amendment Is Now ‘Law of the Land’

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17 hours ago

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January 17, 2025

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President Joe Biden, just days before he will exit the White House, announced on Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine in the U.S. Constitution equal rights for women, is now the 28th Amendment and “the law of the land.” Although he has some legal scholars backing this declaration, experts say there are still legal hurdles and a legal battle to overcome.

“Today I’m affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” President Biden wrote. “I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years and have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all.”

“On January 27, 2020,” President Biden explained in his statement on the White House website, “the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.”

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“It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”

CNN calls Biden’s announcement “a last-minute move that some believe could pave the way to bolstering reproductive rights.”

“It will, however, certainly draw swift legal challenges – and its next steps remain extremely unclear as Biden prepares to leave office.”

The news network also credits U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) with “making a major push for certification, saying in a memo to interested parties that it would give Biden a way to ‘codify women’s freedom and equality without needing anything from a bitterly divided and broken Congress’ in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.”

In 2020, after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, the necessary requirement of three-fourths ratification may have been met.

As The Brennan Center for Justice noted just days later, “there are still hurdles in the ERA’s path. The ratification deadlines that Congress set after it approved the amendment have lapsed, and five states have acted to rescind their prior approval. These raise important questions, and now it is up to Congress, the courts, and the American people to resolve them.”

READ MORE: ‘My Eyes and Ears’: Trump Names Ambassadors to Hollywood, Critics Question Motives

Congress could try to waive the deadline and try to ignore the states that rescinded their ratification.

President Biden did not order the National Archivist to certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment. Some have suggested neither has the legal authority to do so at this point.

But some have also suggested the deadline was unconstitutional.

The Associated Press called President Biden’s declaration “a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality,” and “unlikely to have any impact.”

“Presidents do not have any role in the amendment process. The leader of the National Archives had previously said that the amendment cannot be certified because it wasn’t ratified before a deadline set by Congress,” the AP added. It noted that the National Archives said, “the underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed.”

READ MORE: DeSantis’ Rubio Replacement Seen as Trump Loyalist and MAGA Culture Warrior

 

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Trump Threatens FBI Office, Alleges ‘Corruption,’ Demands They ‘Preserve All Records’

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19 hours ago

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January 17, 2025

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Just days before he will be sworn into office, President-elect Donald Trump is alleging the FBI has been engaging in “corruption,” after learning the Bureau has shut down its “DEI Office,” officially the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The FBI has a lengthy, ongoing investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol. It also conducted an intensive investigation into Trump’s removal and refusal to return classified documents, including top secret national security materials, and executed a lawful search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and residence to retrieve some of those documents.

“We demand that the FBI preserve and retain all records, documents, and information on the now closing DEI Office—Never should have been opened and, if it was, should have closed long ago. Why is it that they’re closing one day before the Inauguration of a new Administration? The reason is, CORRUPTION!” Trump alleged, offering no proof or evidence, in a social media post Thursday evening.

Trump pointed to a report from Mediaite: “FBI Shuttered DEI Office Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration.”

READ MORE: ‘My Eyes and Ears’: Trump Names Ambassadors to Hollywood, Critics Question Motives

“While on the campaign trail, Trump stated he would end ‘wokeness’ and ‘leftist indoctrination’ by dismantling diversity programs and imposing fines on colleges ‘up to the entire amount of their endowment,” the Mediaite report reads. “More recently, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sent a letter to outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray stating the agency’s DEI practices ‘endanger Americans.’ Blackburn made those comments shortly after the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans.”

The Bureau’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion “was created in 2012 to provide guidance and implement programs that promote a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows all employees to succeed and advance,” according to an archived version of its website. That page, which stresses, “Different backgrounds. One mission,” appears to no longer be accessible from the FBI’s website, and instead forwards to the main page.

“The FBI’s efforts to diversify are crucial to creating an inclusive workforce and to being increasingly effective and efficient in our investigations and keeping the American public safe,” FBI Chief Diversity Officer Scott McMillion said in a quote on that page.

READ MORE: DeSantis’ Rubio Replacement Seen as Trump Loyalist and MAGA Culture Warrior

Apparently baseless accusations against DEI abound.

The New Republic notes that the “FBI came under fire recently as many on the right openly blamed the deadly truck attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans on the agency’s DEI policies.”

“The priority of the last four years has been DEI, not IEDs,” New York Republican Representative Dan Meuser had told Fox News,” TNR reported.

“The ODI office isn’t closing because of corruption,” TNR added, “like Trump is claiming in all caps on Truth Social. It’s likely closing for the same reason Walmart, Meta, McDonald’s, and others are reneging on DEI policy: Trump is back.”

READ MORE: Trump Ran on Promise to Lower Grocery Prices — Few Americans Now Believe He Will

 

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