Christian Hate Group Leader is Slowly Disappearing from Most Cable News Networks

Here’s some good news: According to Media Matters of America, Christian hate group leader Tony Perkins (of the Family Research Council) used to be a frequent interview guest on all the major cable news networks, but it looks like they’ve stopped asking him for his opinions (well, except for Fox News Channel):

During the 2012 Republican presidential primary season, Perkins appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News a total of 56 times. MSNBC was particularly friendly to Perkins, with Hardball host Chris Matthews praising Perkins as an “honest conservative” who always tried “to find the truth” during a November 2011 interview…

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A new Equality Matters analysis finds that both MSNBC and CNN have largely ended their practice of hosting Perkins in the months since the end of the 2012 GOP primary. Perkins hasn’t appeared on MSNBC since March 2013, when the Supreme Court heard arguments in two marriage equality cases. Meanwhile, Perkins’ appearances on CNN have steadily declined in the last year, and he hasn’t been on the network since February: At Fox News, on the other hand, Perkins’ appearances have held steady and actually increased in the past year…

Media Matters cites a 2012 interview with Perkins as a model for how any news network should deal with him if they choose to have him on — and it’s conducted by Chris Matthews, who clearly learned his lesson after all the complaints:

By the way, it’s entirely possible for news networks to interview conservatives who oppose same-sex marriage. The problem with Perkins and his group is that their attacks on LGBT people involve blatant lies that they keep repeating no matter what the evidence shows.

There’s an argument to be made that Perkins makes evangelical Christians look like assholes, so keep him talking. He hurts his cause a lot more than he helps it. But I think the less we hear from Perkins, the better. His hateful views have no place in any civilized conversation, much less on national television. He represents a dwindling number of evangelical Christian bigots, anyway, so let the networks give that platform to someone more deserving.