The religious right’s continued loyalty to Donald Trump should have been enough evidence in and of itself that it is morally bankrupt. But any doubt that this is the case should be put to rest with the numerous cases we’ve already seen of mask-off homophobia being directed at Pete Buttigieg.
Lately, the homophobic comments that have drawn the most notice of late in the mainstream media have come from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sebastian Gorka. But to get a sense of how deep this trend really runs, we have to take a deep dive into religious right media. I did so twice recently at RDTDaily.
For instance, after Mayor Pete’s unexpectedly strong performance in Iowa, American Family Radio afternoon drive time host Bryan Fischer blew a typical homophobic dog whistle—Buttigieg was not fit to serve as “a role model for America’s children.” This coming from a man who has openly and shamelessly defended Trump. Fischer has gone as far as to call for fundies to be a “stone wall” around a man who openly called women “dog” and “horseface,” and who had few qualms about firing off hateful and degrading memes about his foes.
And on Valentine’s Day, Charisma magazine columnist Bert Farias wailed that Buttigieg’s rise, and the larger trend of growing tolerance and acceptance of LGBT people, can only be described as the “death rattle” of the United States. This coming from a man who claimed Trump had the chops to oppose “the hordes of demonic forces that were intent on destroying our nation,” and who claimed he was only being opposed by “unregenerate, wicked, and unreasonable men.”
So let’s see if we’ve got this right. Buttigieg served our country for eight years in the Navy, and has more honor and integrity in his finger than Trump has in his entire body. And yet, the fundies are turning him into a bogeyman—while worshiping a man who plasters private cell phone numbers on social media, mocks the disabled, condones violence, revels in degrading women, and knowingly spews racial slurs at lawmakers of color.
Your hypocrisy is showing, fundies. I may be an Amy Klobuchar supporter, but I’m of the mind that Democrats of all shades must call this out. We cannot let the fundies get away with turning Mayor Pete into the scary gay man while they’re simultaneously bowing down to the Orange Calf.