Unfair and One-sided: Fox News’ Smith Exults That Obama 'Now in the 21st Century' on Same-sex Marriage
On Wednesday’s edition of Studio B w/ Shepard Smith, anchor Smith let slip his personal political views on same-sex marriage with some condescending remarks about how being pro-traditional marriage is an outdated notion. Following the "official" announcement that Barack Obama now supports same-sex marriage, Smith opined that the President of the United States is "now in the 21st century," suggesting of course that the near half of Americans who support traditional marriage are somehow retrograde.
Smith’s true colors became more apparent in the hour during the first of two interviews he conducted with the host of Special Report, Bret Baier: [Video follows page break. MP3 audio here.]
What I’m curious about whether it’s your belief in this time of rising debts and medical issues and all the rest, if Republicans would go out on a limb and try to make this a campaign issue while sitting very firmly without much question on the wrong side of history on it?
After the interview Smith furthered the liberal talking point with what seems to be a veiled reference comparing same-sex marriage to the 1960s civil rights struggles:
Of course, in reality, what really matters is what governors are saying, this makes no legal changes of any kind, this is a states issue for now, at least, which may sound familiar to a couple of generations ago, but that's where we are.
These two comments helped Smith continue his gay rights crusade later on in the show where he again spoke to Baier and commented again that, "Shades of segregation and states rights and the whole thing [are] playing itself out all over again isn’t it?"
See the relevant transcript below.
FOX NEWS
Studio B w/ Shepard Smith
3:06 p.m. and 3:37 p.m.
3:06 p.m.
BARACK OBAMA: But I have to tell you over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are incredibly committed and monogamy relationships, same sex relationships who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and, yet, feel constrained, even now that "don't ask, don't tell" is gone because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I have just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.
SHEPARD SMITH: : The President of the United States now in the 21st century and, Ed Henry on the north lawn of The White House. Ed for him personally, that was spoken with emphasis.
3:37 p.m.
SMITH:: FOR INSTANCE, SOME On the left may have liked him come out and put pressure and say everybody needs to get on this but so far he hasn’t gone that far.
BRET BAIER: Sure and in fact he has gone the other way saying states should have the final call here and if that’s the case we have seen voting in states across the country that have voted down same sex marriage .Now if he takes this is a campaign issue and goes around the country and says I believe as a federal issue, that same-sex marriage should happen, that's a different thing but that’s not what he said today.
SMITH: And there will eventually of course be the matter and as there has been in some test cases of somebody say married in Massachusetts or in New York, once that marriage recognized, in, say, Mississippi or Alabama or anywhere you go, and, then you won’t get the rights that are afforded to straight people that these gay couples got and that will be the test and that will be in a bigger court and that’s when we will get some decisions. Probably. That’s usually how things work.
BAIER: That’s exactly right. And courts have been dealing with this, the California case is still in the courts obviously, and, many people believe it will end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
SMITH: Shades of segregation and states rights and the whole thing playing itself out all over again isn’t it?
BAIER: Well, if the President, an African-American president, the first African-American president, and his party has framed this as discrimination, for him, today to say it is a states rights issue is an interesting thing that we should note as all of these statements come out celebrating this, what they are describing as a major shift in the president's position.
SMITH: Sure. Bret, Bret Baier on Capitol Hill. Bret its great to see you. Thing of framing of that issue, the framing of that issue as discrimination because as the President would put it, a man can marry a woman but that a man can’t marry a man, that's discriminatory. And that's that. That would be the position at least.
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Comments
I want anyone in love with another human being (no sheep).
Submitted by mrwiffle on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 5:55pm.
To be happy and afforded the same rights that I have as a married heterosexual. As for Shepard....(No sheep) who didn't know how he hung? After all the man wears enough eyeliner to make a drag queen question it.
Shep
Submitted by HudsonRiverGirl on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:16pm.
Judging from the poor health condition of Shep I would say there is nothing to exult in the gay lifestyle.
Drugs, diseases, infidelity, and a lack of religious belief is not a great future for anyone.
You know....
Submitted by BBallleaper on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:55pm.
I thought I was the person in America who noticed how incredibly gross he looks on close-up. Heavy, heavy pancake make-up. so much eyeliner and eye shadow you'd think he was in the chorus line for Caberet! And the lipstick!!!!!! He really looks BAD. A gay queen over 40 doesn't age well. I'm uncomfortable just watching him on a TV screen. High-Definition is NOT his friend!
Sheppo has aged 20 years in a few months
Submitted by frank14 on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 7:31pm.
The AIDS is wasting him away just like it did to Dack Rambo.
They try to feign objectivity
Submitted by tcm14 on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:06pm.
They try to feign objectivity by calling him an "anchor" but he injected enough opinion there to make Rachel Maddow proud.
Into the 21st Century ... a good thing?
Submitted by metaphorsbwithu on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:08pm.
The 21st Century is beginning to look more like a devolutionary period than one of advancement and enlightenment.
I think it'd be enlightening for the media to poll some of Obama's biggest backers: African Americans, Muslims, Hispanics, etc. and see what their reactions are to Obama's new support for gay marriage.
meh, us gay folks know sheps gay
Submitted by aaronarnwine on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:11pm.
and shep doesn't need to be fair and balanced on issues, just that the network is balanced overall.
Journalists of Fox News
Submitted by libBuster on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:14pm.
Maybe Smith should rethink his nightly pass off to Bill O'Reilly in which he says "from the journalists of Fox News .... Opinion and Commentary are next.
Shep, I avoid you like I avoid O'Reilly.
Submitted by Mike Bratton on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 12:13am.
Neither of you knows what in the Dickens you're talking about.
--Mike
Lead From Behind
Submitted by ZuccoZoid on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:12pm.
Get behind our Dear Leader, grasp firmly.
Sheppard is one strange bird.
Submitted by CT on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:21pm.
Does this mean the pretty boy is going to come out of the closet now? Personally I can't watch him he turns my stomach..
Funny
Submitted by Dave the mailman on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 12:52am.
Funny you called him "pretty boy"; many years ago a female friend came over to visit and my TV was on FNC. Shep was on at the time, and when she saw him (she'd never seen him and didn't know who he was) the first thing out of her mouth was: "well, isn't he a 'pretty boy'..."
I've always thought he looked odd, and never paid that much attention to his appearance, but I have noticed his noticable bias.
Shepard Smith Is the Most Opinionated News Reader
Submitted by amazd007 on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:36pm.
Shepard Smith is extremely opinionated and unprofessional and doesn't bother to keep his opinions out of the news. He is also the epitome of a bully and repeatedly ridicules and makes fun of people he doesn't like. His bullying victims include the NJ "tanning mom" and former governor Rod Blagojevich.
That's funny. Really really funny.
Submitted by Someone Said on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:43pm.
When the entire station shares the opposite view, Shep makes it unfair and imbalanced?
Shep, you ignorant slut.
Submitted by KyWriter on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 6:46pm.
I'd watch more Fox if I wasn't afraid I'd see your painfully stretched face. Here's a clue: whatever you are doing, cosmetic-wise, ain't workin'.
Well, golly!!!
Submitted by Dan Diego on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:08pm.
Well, golly!!!
What a surprise, NOT!!!
Too Darn Bad!
Submitted by Samaritan01 on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:14pm.
And to think I used to watch him everyday, I will now avoid his program like the plague and personally boycott his advertisers. So Long Shep!
The new meme
Submitted by Tjexcite on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:18pm.
Old and Busted :GOP's war on Woman
New Hotness: GOP's war on Homosexuality
Old and Busted: GOP's war on history
New Hotness: GOP's war on the 21st century.
Smith
Submitted by mmilesll on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:27pm.
This jerk always says at the end of his show "from the journalist at Fox News, and now opinion....". First of all who ever said this idiot was a "journalist". Journalist are supposed to "report" the news, not make it up. He is the only one on Fox I can't stand.
Get him help. Ya know the PC term " Employee Counseling "
Submitted by Fred Gregory on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:27pm.
It is about time MRC has spoken up about this little prissy ass anchor. He has emotional issues. I first noticed it when he was blubbering during his Katrina coverage. One too many Dixie beers, me thinks. Then some negative comments about the 2nd amendment suports. Folowing by his , F bomb dropping, table pounding outburst . " We do not torture.. We are America" .
Then the other evening in his opening of the news he described the persot shot by Zimmerman as " Little Trayon "
Now this. Get the hook and yank his ass off the set. He would feel more comfortable over at MSNBC.
Being American is outdated.
Submitted by GregE on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:47pm.
Being responsible is outdated.
Being honest is outdated.
Being trustworthy is outdated.
Being accountable is outdated.
Being polite is outdated.
Having the greatest nation on the face of the earth is fast becoming outdated, by design.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 7:51pm.
and I think we all know the reason why ol' Shep is so ecstatic about this......
Shep's loafers never.........
Submitted by cbeyer on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 8:56pm.
hit the ground during the broadcast.
Julio was born a female
Submitted by Dan Diego on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 9:10pm.
Obama can now release his "Julio" character on us, that should lock down the Hispanic vote.
Am I the only one that thinks
Submitted by platypus on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 10:25pm.
Am I the only one that thinks Smith is one of the rainbow boyz? I guess every network has to have one. CNN has Anderdaughter Cooper; maybe Fox felt left out.
journolista
Submitted by eckleberg on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 11:30pm.
I find that he reads the news like a disc jockey.Interviewing someone he calls him bro. He would be better off on MTV.
And Shemp was going on and on
Submitted by RR GOP on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 12:01am.
And Shemp was going on and on about how great the economy is doing now towards the end of his show today...as the stock ticker running on the screen shows yet another day of losses, and (from what I remember) rather dismal economic numbers coming out recently. He seemed rather upbeat that this ongoing "recovery" will help The One get re-elected.
I've noticed that he's all cheery when the market goes up, but doesn't have much to say when they go down, or else treats losses as a being completely natural and no big deal. Wish I could remember what he was like when Bush was president and the economy was starting to tank.
Just another Libtard douchebag.
"Under Capitalism, man exploits man. Under Communism it's just the opposite."
"All that Communism needs to make it successful is for someone to feed and clothe it."
What'da'ya expect from
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 1:50am.
What'da'ya expect from another lib queer like Sheep-Hard Smith, anyway?? If I see this tilley on TV, or hear him on the radio, it's KABOOM...............toilet time. Aloha, Shep, you little pansie............
I watch Fox News but I purposely avoid this guy. I DVR...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 2:06am.
O"Reilly and it frosts me that I have to watch the last 20 seconds or so of his show before O'Reilly comes on. I fast forward okay but I still see his stupid face. I'm going to check these comments and see if anybody on this board likes him. I bet not many.
Well, I did it. I read every comment on this page. The verdict is in. NewsBusters readers do not like the guy which makes me wonder why doesn't Fox News dump him?
Hell, Jim, I don't even like
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 3:15am.
Hell, Jim, I don't even like O'Reilly - so you can imagine what I think about Sheep-Herd, Gerry Rivers, Alien Combs, Bob Belcher, and some of the other dopes that manage to finagle their way onto FOX!!!
Shep Smith must be doing something right. He has a some very
Submitted by Rush Fan on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 2:34am.
prominent supporters who are very proud of him for his "wide stance". For example, another "fair and balanced" journalist, MESSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, said of Smith:
Fox News is evolving into another Leftist network. Alan Colmes, Jehmu Greene, Shepard Smith, Santita Jackson. etc. The list of Leftist on Fox News goes on and on. Fox News may have more Leftist on air than CNN or MESSNBC.
Where in the heck can I find a Conservative network?
RedState: Educating Shepard Smith
Fox Business News
Submitted by mikebromo on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 10:58am.
If I'm in front of the TV at 7pm EST I watch Lou Dobbs. Fox Business Network is much more Conservative/Libertarian than Fox News
Shep isn't gay, ... but he'd
Submitted by texastommy on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 7:56am.
Shep isn't gay, ... but he'd sure like to be.
Oh, Shep...
Submitted by mejay on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 9:03am.
He is a semi-open gay. I'm a Mississipian, and it is no secret to us here.
He just won the best Stinking Fox News Anchor award from libs in the media, no doubt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Submitted by mejay on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 9:04am.
No comment.
Come on. We all knew this guy was light in the loafers.
Submitted by JLin on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 11:26am.
But when will he say that I can marry my goat?
Click
Submitted by Utherpend on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 12:26pm.
That is the sound my remote makes the moment Bret Bair's segment goes off. I can't stand watching Sheppard Smith, he reminds me of Entertainment Weekly acting like they are an actual news program.
Click
Submitted by Rush Fan on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 7:40pm.
Me too.