Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson caused quite a controversy last week when GQ published an interview with the reality-show co-star. After Robertson targeted gays, blacks, Muslims, and “idolaters,” among others, the show’s network, A&E, suspended the celebrity, causing a right-wing backlash, led in part by former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).
This week, however, the failed vice presidential candidate made an interesting admission.
Turns out Sarah Palin, who has been one of Duck Dynasty’s biggest defenders, hasn’t actually read the GQ interview that includes cast member Phil Robertson’s controversial comments on homosexuality and other subjects.When pressed by Fox News host Greta Van Susteren whether the language Robertson used when talking about his opposition to homosexuality was graphic and offensive, Palin admitted she didn’t know what Robertson had said.
Specifically, Palin conceded, “I haven’t read the article. I don’t know exactly how he said it.
Look, it’s pointless to get caught up in every minor Palin dust-up, and as a rule, I tend to ignore the various Palin-inspired stories of the day.
But there’s something wonderfully emblematic of this week’s gem. Sarah Palin took it upon herself to lead the Outrage Brigade, condemning A&E for taking offense to Robertson’s bigotry, and using her platform to position herself as a leading national defender of the reality-show personality.
Palin did not, however, think it was worth taking a few minutes to do the one obvious thing: read the remarks she was defending.
Incidentally, in the same Fox News interview, Palin added that Robertson “was quoting the Gospel, so people who are so insulted and offended by what he said evidently are offended by what he was quoting in the Gospel.”
Here’s the follow-up question: if Palin didn’t read the interview, and has no idea what Robertson specifically said, how does she know he was “quoting the Gospel”?
Indeed, has she ever read the Bible to know whether or not the Good Book was being “quoted” properly? If Palin doesn’t know what Scripture says, and doesn’t know what Robertson said, then why is she so eager to stoke the fires of this odd culture-war skirmish?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."