Another target for the gay lobby

By Cliff Kincaid

The brouhaha over "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson is revealing the massive power of the homosexual lobby and their determination to destroy influential figures standing in the way of a forced acceptance of their lifestyle.

Robertson, attacked for "anti-gay" comments in GQ Magazine that have been labeled by the "progressives" as "shocking," has now been suspended from the program, the A&E Network's biggest hit in history.

His announced "preference for heterosexual sex over homosexual sex," as one publication put it, included the graphic comment, "It seems like, to me, a vagina – as a man – would be more desirable than a man's anus."

In addition to this explicit reference to how male homosexuals have sexual intercourse, Robertson repeated the biblical view that homosexual behavior is sinful.

Robertson is known as the "Duck Commander" for creating a popular duck call and other products for duck hunters. His company is called Duck Commander and his newsletter is devoted to "faith, family, and ducks."

During a July appearance at Saddleback Church in Southern California in July, Robertson quoted America's founding fathers and their belief in God.

After suspending Robertson from the reality show, which emphasizes outdoor and family activities, A&E Networks said it has "always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community." LGBT refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.

An article about the controversy by conservative writer Gary DeMar said Robertson is saying "what millions think but are afraid to say."

Whether these people stay silent remains to be seen. The fate of their program hangs in the balance.

Speculation is mounting that the homosexual lobby will now demand a halt to production of the entire program in order to demonstrate that criticism of the homosexual lifestyle will absolutely not be tolerated by anyone with a significant presence in the media.

One of those homosexual groups, GLAAD, boasts that it is "changing culture by working directly with news media, entertainment media, cultural institutions and social media."

GLAAD declared, "GQ Magazine's profile of Phil Robertson included some of the vilest and most extreme statements uttered against LGBT people in a mainstream publication."

The far-left Huffington Post called the comments "vulgar," while the liberal Washington Post called them "homophobic."

Robertson has not been afraid to stand up for his faith and has been outspoken about the way Christians are depicted in the media.

Alluding to attempts by A&E producers to eliminate references to his family's Christian faith on the air, Robertson had said, "You gotta remember it's spiritual warfare. I mean, you've got people with no moral compass."

Robertson also told a Christian magazine called Sports Spectrum that network producers and editors started inserting fake bleeps in the show's dialogue, even when the characters didn't curse, in order to make it edgy.

Calling production of the show "A Real Life Hollywood Drama," MovieGuide reported that the producers also asked the family to stop saying "In Jesus' name" during their dinner-table prayers. Robertson explained that the producers wanted to eliminate references to Jesus because they "don't want to offend some of the Muslims, or something."

A&E Networks is a joint venture of Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation. Hearst and Disney-ABC are financial sponsors of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, as are most of the major media companies.

While Robertson has been suspended from the show for expressing his disapproval of homosexuality, less attention has been devoted to some of his other comments, which are also controversial in "progressive" circles.

GQ reported that Robertson believes "that the gradual removal of Christian symbolism from public spaces has diluted" the nation's founding principles, and "sees the popularity of Duck Dynasty as a small corrective to all that we have lost."

While he criticizes "homosexual behavior," "bestiality" and "sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men," he told GQ that those who have to answer to God for their behavior include "the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers...."

Defending Christianity and traditional values, he went on, "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. That's 80 years of ideologies that have popped up where no Jesus was allowed among those four groups. Just look at the records as far as murder goes among those four groups."

GQ Magazine asked, "How in the world did a family of squirrel-eating, Bible-thumping, catchphrase-spouting duck hunters become the biggest TV stars in America? And what will they do now that they have 14 million fervent disciples?"

The more important question, in the wake of the manufactured controversy by the homosexual lobby over the GQ comments, is whether these "disciples" have any real clout in the major media and can save this popular show.

In response to the controversy, Robertson released a statement reaffirming his Christianity, and saying that "women and men are meant to be together," but adding that "I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me."

© Cliff Kincaid