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political views on same-sex marriage with some condescending remarks about how being pro-traditional marriage is an outdated notion.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.
