So much for this clown going away quietly any time soon after he stepped in it on Hannity's show last week. Rather than admit that some of what came out of his mouth during his interview with Hannity might (to put it charitably) be considered offensive by wide swaths of our population in the United States, Ben Carson decided to double down instead.

Ben Carson Goes On The Offensive, Lashes Out At "Racist" Critics:

Dr. Ben Carson has pivoted from apologizing "if anybody was offended" by his anti-gay comments to attacking his critics, some of whom he says are "racist[s]" who are trying to smear him as a bigot in order to silence him.

Carson, who has been lauded by the conservative media and treated to dozens of Fox News appearances over the past few months, lashed out at his critics during an April 1 interview on The Mark Levin Show. [...]

After LGBT medical students called for Carson's replacement as the commencement speaker for the class of 2013, he attempted to claim that he hadn't been "equating" gays with pedophiles or those who engage in bestiality, while apologizing "if anybody was offended." He also said he would be willing to step down as commencement speaker.

But on Levin's show, Carson went on the offensive, saying that the criticism he has received proves that he's right that "political correctness is threatening to destroy our nation because it puts a muzzle over honest conversation." He added that "the attacks against me have been so vicious because I represent an existential threat" to his critics, who he says "take my words, misinterpret them, and try to make it seem that I'm a bigot."

After Levin claimed that Carson has been "attacked also, in many respects, because of your race" because "a lot of white liberals" don't like black conservatives, Carson replied, "Well, they're the most racist people there are. Because you know, they put you in a little category, a little box, 'you have to think this way, how could you dare come off the plantation?'"

As the Media Matters post noted, he's right there in Rush Limbaugh territory now. Bravo Dr. Carson. I didn't think it was possible for this guy to marginalize himself any further or faster than he has already with his recent media appearances, but he's managed to do it with this interview. Quite an accomplishment, given Fox was just attempting to sell him as a presidential candidate anyone should take seriously not long ago.

Someone plugged this guy's brain into a "wrong outlet." Sweet Jesus someone please save us from these so-called "Christian" bigots. From our friends over at Right Wing Watch, it seems these televangelists just can't quit carrying on about sex in general and especially those "evil" homosexuals who are doing things that remind them of something blowing up.

Jeffress: Homosexuality Like Plugging a TV into the Wrong Outlet and Blowing It to Smithereens:

Jeffress, who has a history of using virulently anti-gay rhetoric, argued that homosexuality violates God’s design for sex.

“Think about this one time in heaven God was sitting up there with his sketch pad and he said, ‘you know I’m going to design human beings and would it be fun of they started doing this together with one another,’” Jeffress explained. “God dreamed up sex, He thought it up for our enjoyment, He gave us the equipment to enjoy it with.”

He went on to claim that homosexuality is like plugging a TV into a 220-volt power outlet rather than the recommended 120 outlet “because those are antiquated instructions” and “it’s my TV and I can do whatever I want to with it.”

“Well it is my TV to do what I want to with it but I’m going to blow that TV into smithereens if I put it in a 220 outlet,” Jeffress said.

Put me on the list of people who will not be surprised or shocked one iota if we would find out later that Robert Jeffress is taking a page out of George Rekers' playbook and caught with some escort from Rentboy.com.

It seems this wingnut from Tennessee isn't done embarrassing his state yet: ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Sponsor Compares Homosexuality To Injecting Heroin:

Tennessee state Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) is making the press rounds to stump for the new and worsened version of his odious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits teachers in grades K-8 from acknowledging the existence of homosexuality and also requires school officials to out gay students to their families. He has already made it clear he believes homosexuality itself is dangerous, and in an interview with TMZ, he doubled down on that absurd belief. After explaining the AIDS epidemic in Africa by claiming that sodomy was more common there among heterosexuals, Campfield went on to compare being gay to using heroin:

TMZ: If they’re going to engage in homosexual acts anyway, why not teach them how to protect themselves from [HIV]?

CAMPFIELD: You know, you could say the same thing about kids who are shooting heroin. We need to show them the best ways to shoot up. No, we don’t. Why do we have to hypersexualize little children? Why can’t we just let little kids be little kids for a while? Why do we have to have little kids be…?

TMZ: Do you believe in sex education period?

CAMPFIELD: …If you can show me where it works, great.

[...] Sex education actually works when a comprehensive safe sex curriculum is taught, and fails in states that only teach abstinence. Southern states like Mississippi, which has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the country, are starting to realize this. It’s doubtful, however, that Campfield would be interested in such facts. Read on...

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As Karoli already informed us here, Grampy McCain was so busy grandstanding today in front of the media that he couldn't be bothered to go to the hearing on Benghazi and lashed out at CNN reporter Ted Barrett when asked why he missed that meeting. What killed me about the segment is the deference both Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer gave to the hot-headed Senator while discussing his tantrum on The Situation Room.

I've got to wonder what it's going to take before they quit treating him as some senior statesman worthy of our respect, instead of the angry, petulant old man who still hasn't gotten over losing the election to Barack Obama? McCain's behavior over the last week has not just been hostile, it's been downright embarrassing.

But here's the nice friendly gloss-over he received from CNN this Thursday:

WOLF BLITZER: Tempers flaring on Capitol Hill. Senator John McCain lashing out at one of our CNN producers who questioned why he was missing a key hearing on the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. McCain has been a sharp critic of the president and his administration, complaining lawmakers are not getting enough information.

And when asked why he missed that meeting today, he lashed out.

Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, is up on Capitol Hill. She's got more on this sensitive story.

Dana, what happened?

DANA BASH: Well, it turns out, Wolf, that CNN learned that most of the Republicans on this key committee that had a briefing on what happened in Benghazi did not go. In fact, it was three out of the eight Republicans on that committee.

One of those Republicans who did not go to that briefing, it was a classified briefing, was John McCain. Now, McCain at the time was having a press conference yesterday lashing out at the administration for not getting enough information and calling for a select committee to investigate it all. Well, our Ted Barrett caught up with the senator earlier today and wanted to know why he didn't go to that briefing. And to say the least, it did not go well. Listen to what happened.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TED BARRETT: Why can't you comment about that?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment. And who the hell are you to tell me I can or not?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BASH: So John McCain would not comment, would not give an answer to Ted who was trying to do his job, trying to find out just why Senator McCain didn't go to that briefing.

And Senator McCain went onto say he thought Ted was badgering him and not being respectful, which you know Ted Barrett, he is respectful. I will tell you though that later in the day Senator McCain's spokesman contacted us saying that the reason he didn't attend that classified briefing was because of a scheduling error.

I should also tell you that Senator McCain has been inside the briefing that's going on right now. You probably see this podium behind me. That's because we're waiting for the Senate Intelligence chairwoman and ranking to come out of a classified briefing. And again Senator McCain is at this briefing at this hour.

BLITZER: Why couldn't he have just said that to begin with, told Ted Barrett, I had a scheduling problem, a scheduling error, if you will, and I screwed up? That would have ended the controversy.

BASH: That's a great question, Wolf. It's what Ted and I were talking about the minute he told me about this exchange. Why didn't he just say that? He certainly has answers for many of us in the hallways a lot. In fact, he just walked out temporarily of this meeting that's going on right now.

And other reporters were asking why he wasn't at that classified briefing yesterday. And that's what he said. I had a scheduling error. So tempers are flaring here. I think that exchange with Ted Barrett is probably a good example of how heated this issue has gotten, a lot of people, particularly, as we have seen over the past couple days, Senator McCain.

BLITZER: Yes. We all screw up from time to time. People make mistakes and then we move on.

Oh yes, let's just move on shall we? Anyone think they would be "moving on" if a Democrat were acting this unhinged?

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As Nicole wrote earlier today, Dana Milbank took his turn this month helping to mainstream the type of hatred and bile spread by the likes of the FRC's Tony Perkins. This Thursday it was Mrs. Greenspan allowing him air time to defend Todd Akin after the Republican establishment threw him under the bus and to pretend that Joe Biden has ever said anything nearly as offensive as what came out of Akin's mouth.

Naturally we could count on Andrea Mitchell to allow Perkins' lies and obfuscation to go unchallenged, but the bigger problem is that she's allowing him to go on the air at all if she's not going to all and treating him as though he's some respectable member of the beltway establishment. As Nicole explained though, that's exactly the problem because in Mitchell's mind, that's exactly what he is. Just another lobbyist out there running the cocktail circuit with the rest of them.

Tony Perkins downplays ‘legitimate rape’ as a ‘Biden-ism’:

Family Research Council President Tony Perkin on Thursday defended Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), saying that his assertion that women could not get pregnant from “legitimate rape” was the type of innocent gaffe that Vice President Joe Biden might make.

Perkins told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that he met with Akin in private “to encourage him and the stand that he’s taken.”

“This is a challenge for him,” the evangelical leader explained. “It was a Biden-ism that he made. It was inexcusable, it was inappropriate, he has acknowledged as such and he’s moving on. Now, there are some in the Republican Party that want him to get out, he has made his decision that he’s going to stay in.

He continued: “And from my perspective as our organization endorsed him in the primary, we endorsed him based upon the totality of his record. He has been a strong advocate for national defense, a strong advocate for life, for family and for all Americans. And so our position on him and his candidacy has not changed.”

Mitchell wondered how widespread was the view in the anti-abortion movement that women who were “legitimately raped” could not get pregnant.

“I’ve never had a discussion about that,” Perkins insisted. “It’s not something that’s discussed. Look, I see that every human life is sacred, it should be welcomed into our world and protected by our laws …. Todd [Akin] said he misspoke, he apologized for it. Now, I think it’s time to move on.” Read on...

"Biden-ism" huh? Yeah, good luck with that Tony. I think that's going to stick about as well as "Obamaloney" did for Mittens.

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I've got to wonder why CNN thinks interviewing the washed up, flame throwing, race baiting, ex-Speaker of the House is worth putting on the air with little or no rebuttal. But sadly, here was Newt Gingrich defending his buddy Michele Bachmann and her McCarthyism and host Wolf Blitzer doing very little to counter it.

Gingrich Glorifies McCarthyism To Defend His Support Of Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Witch Hunt:

Today on CNN, Newt Gingrich applauded the central tenets of McCarthyism to justify his support for Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) baseless campaign to root out alleged Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the U.S. government. Host Wolf Blitzer singled out Bachmann target Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, telling Gingrich that it’s “ridiculous” to include her and that the whole thing reeks of McCarthyism. But the former House Speaker — and Mitt Romney supporter — wouldn’t back down, praising McCarthyism for rooting out communists and defending Abedin’s inclusion in Bachmann’s witch hunt. “This State Department has been amazingly pro-Muslim Brotherhood,” he said, “American citizens have the right to have the Congress ask the question.” [...]

Bachmann has been widely criticized for her anti-Muslim campaign, including by some top Republicans, particularly for singling out Abedin. But the Minnesota congresswoman has yet to offer substantial proof of any Muslim Brotherhood plot. In fact, actual members of the Islamist group have recently lamented that they can’t even take over the Egyptian government.

You could tell Blitzer was plenty irritated with Gingrich for attacking someone he's friends with, but that didn't stop him from allowing Gingrich from doing his best to justify the witch hunt and with treating Gingrich with a whole lot more deference than he deserved, to put it mildly. I had zero respect for Blitzer before watching this interview. The fact that he could sit there and allow someone like Gingrich attack a friend of his like this without pushing back further is really disgusting. Every time I think CNN can't do something to make sure their ratings tank even further, they manage to surprise me and one up themselves as they did here.

Transcript via CNN below the fold.

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I say good for Jim Graves for calling out fearmongering Rep. Michele Bachmann for her McCarthyism. Sadly, all that money she's raising off of the hatred is exactly why John Boehner won't do anything about it.

Bachmann Opponent Calls Her Joe McCarthy In New Video:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is touting her $1 million fundraising haul last month, which came as she faced criticism from both sides of the aisle over her comments about Muslims in the US government. In response, her Democratic opponent – hotel executive Jim Graves – launched a web video directly comparing her to former Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI):

“I have a message for Rep. Bachmann: it’s nothing to be proud of,” Graves said of his opponent's fundaising in an email to supporters Thursday. “That money was the direct result of a hateful and dangerous witch-hunt that viciously smeared a dedicated public servant. It echoed of a dark time in our nation’s history that we thought was behind us.”

“McCarthyism was dangerous then,” Graves’ video reads. “It’s dangerous now.”

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Good god Michelle Malkin really is a nasty piece of work. Sean Hannity invited her on his show on Fox this Thursday evening to make ad hominem attacks on how First Lady Michelle Obama supposedly "hasn't been vetted yet properly" and to paint her as some corrupt political operative who is heaven forbid, doing things like trying to get our school children to eat healthier.

I don't often agree with too many of the authors over at Mediaite, but Frances Martel actually did a pretty nice take down of Malkin for this segment here. As she noted, sadly they were reaching back to the 2008 campaign and her remarks that “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country,” and blasting the mainstream media for heaven forbid giving her friendly interviews.

I'm not going to copy and paste their post and anyone who wants to read more specifics on the interview that doesn't have the stomach for watching it can just go read it here: Michelle Malkin’s Crusade Against ‘The Bitter Half’ Michelle Obama Hits Hannity.

Media Matters flagged this clip as well tonight and as they reminded readers in the related links to the video, this isn't the first time Malkin has called First Lady Michelle Obama the president's "bitter half." And as they linked in their post, here's more on Malkin's book she was hawking again and some of the lies in that book: Malkin distorts Michelle Obama biography to attack her and her father as corrupt.

The First Lady has approval ratings at 66 percent favorable according to the latest poll by Gallup. I'm not sure what Michelle Malkin thinks she's going to accomplish by trying to rake her name through the mud now, but all she managed to do here is make herself look spiteful and petty. The only people these sorts of attacks are going to resonate with are the racists that Malkin and her ilk feed off of that have been ready to lose their minds ever since America elected a black man to be president in the first place.

With all of the other ad hominem attacks we got from her here, I'm surprised Malkin wasn't still threatening to produce the infamous, non-existent "whitey tapes" these right-wingers were promising we'd get to hear years ago. And if Malkin would like to know what the definition of "bitter" is, all she needs to do is go take a look in the mirror.

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As I wrote about earlier this month, there were protests planned for anti-gay zealot and bigot Pastor Charles Worley after he was recorded preaching this sort of hatred towards lesbians and gay people from the pulpit in his Baptist church in North Carolina: NC Pastor: Put an Electric Fence Around Gays and Lesbians to Make Sure They "Die Out."

Anderson Cooper followed up on those protests on CNN this Monday evening and apparently the pastor isn't quite ready to give interviews to anyone in the media yet, even though he appears to be doubling down with his church members on his prior statements.

I'm glad to see the national media giving this guy some more attention. If he thinks what he said was acceptable and that it's okay to be preaching that type of hatred from the pulpit, he ought to have to answer for his remarks to the press. The fact that he got the standing ovation from his congregation as they reported sickens me, but I guess it should not be too surprising given they have been willing participants in agreeing with or promoting themselves the type of garbage this man has been preaching for who knows how long now.

Given the fact that he was running from the media when CNN showed up outside of his church, I don't expect we'll see the pastor defending his remarks on television any time soon. So basically he's a hate monger and a coward who is not willing to defend what he said once it's put up to public scrutiny.

Here's to the media continuing to stick a camera in this man's face whether it be local or national until he's forced to explain why he thinks it's acceptable to say we should be rounding up gay people and putting them behind electric fences.

Transcript via CNN below the fold.

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Here we go again with another bigoted pastor spewing hate from the pulpit in North Carolina: Pastor wants to fence in gays:

At the rate we're going, we might need to create a special Rewrite category dedicated to North Carolina pastors. Violent rhetoric against gays and lesbians continued to be spewed from the pulpits over the weekend.

Pastor Charles Worley told his congregation at Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, North Carolina he wants to put an electric fence around gays and lesbians in order to make sure they "die out." And that's a quote.

In our book, he officially overtook Sean Harris as the Most Offensive Pastor in the state of North Carolina. In Harris' hot mess hate sermon, as we mentioned before, he encouraged church-goers to vote against marriage equality, make "butch" daughters "smell like girls" and punch effeminate boys. They're making people like Rev. Dr. William J. Barbero of Goldsboro, North Carolina seem like a rarity.

Martin Bashir, filling in for The Last Word's Lawrence O'Donnell brought in Anthea Butler, Assoc. Professor of Religious Studies, University of PA, to discuss the recent increase in this sort of event, ever since President Obama came out in favor of gay marriage. I'd personally like to start seeing some of these churches lose their tax exempt status for this sort of thing, but sadly I don't think we'll ever see that happen.

Raw Story has more on the pastor's remarks and a planned protest of his church as well: North Carolina pastor: Send LGBT people to concentration camps to die:

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