Gov. Bobby Jindal jumped to defend fellow Louisianan Phil Robertson of A&E’s Duck Dynasty after Robertson was suspended for making derogatory comments about gays and lesbians. “It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended,” Jindal said.
It began when Robertson ranted against gays and lesbians (not to mention Muslims) in an interview for next month’s GQ. “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he said, continuing on to paraphrase Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
Robertson continued: “All you have to do is look at any society where there is no Jesus. I’ll give you four: Nazis, no Jesus. Look at their record. Uh, Shintos? They started this thing in Pearl Harbor. Any Jesus among them? None. Communists? None. Islamists? Zero.” He added: “Just look at the records as far as murder goes among those four groups.”
In response, A&E announced that Robertson would be suspended from the show. “We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty,” the network said in a statement. “His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”
Naturally, a number of conservatives jumped to Robertson’s defense, arguing that A&E’s decision violated his First Amendment rights. First there was Jindal: “Phil Robertson and his family are great citizens of the State of Louisiana,” he wrote in a statement. “The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with. I don’t agree with quite a bit of stuff I read in magazine interviews or see on TV. In fact, come to think of it, I find a good bit of it offensive. But I also acknowledge that this is a free country and everyone is entitled to express their views. In fact, I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment. It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended.”
But Jindal wasn’t the only one:
“Free speech is an endangered species. Those ‘intolerants’ hatin’ and taking on the Duck Dynasty patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us,” said Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and reality TV star in her own right.
“In a free society, anyone is free to disagree with him — but the mainstream media should not behave as the thought police censoring the views with which they disagree,” wrote Sen. Ted Cruz, controversy-courter and Texas Republican.
And then of course there was Glenn Beck, who even graciously offered the Duck Dynasty clan a home on his online network, “The Blaze,” should A&E decide to cancel it. “Duck Dynasty, we would be proud to have you,” he said.
All the huntin’, fishin’ and hangin’ out in the woods you could ever want is on the Pursuit Channel via FilmOn:
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