It should come as no surprise that MSNBC's socially liberal anchors are biased in favor of gay marriage -- saying it's an issue of "marriage equality." But on Friday’s MSNBC Live, anchor Thomas Roberts dropped all pretext of being a neutral journalist by explicitly telling viewers how they should vote on the controversial issue.
Speaking on Friday with Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, openly gay host Thomas Roberts actually told his audience how to vote on ballot questions in the states of Maryland, Maine, Minnesota and Washington. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
Roberts, who has a lengthy history of running one-sided soft interviews and stories showing his support for gay marriage, is now squarely acting as an activist, with just 11 days to spare before the election.
Responding to Roberts’ question about which of the four states has the best chance of passing gay marriage, Chrisler commented that:
And that means in Washington, Maryland and Maine, we'll see marriage equality for the community and in Minnesota they'll be able to beat back this really hurtful, hateful constitutional amendment that just basically tells kids and families who are LGBT in Minnesota that they are different and should be treated differently in the constitution.
Roberts concluded by telling his audience (emphasis mine), “in Minnesota you need to vote no and the other three states you need to vote yes.” This shameful example of activism further demonstrates that MSNBC is no longer an actual news network but instead a 24-hour outlet for promoting liberal causes, and in the case of Thomas Roberts, actually telling its viewers how they should vote.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC
MSNBC Live
October 26, 2012
11:49 a.m. EDT
THOMAS ROBERTS: A recent headline from "The Boston Globe" reveals when Mitt Romney was Governor of Massachusetts he rejected new birth certificates for gay parents and ordered a legal review for each child they claimed to be theirs. Meanwhile, voters in four states have their say on Election Day for ballot initiatives to legalize marriage equality in the states of Washington, Minnesota, Maryland and Maine, the president supports those initiatives, Mitt Romney is opposed and supports DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act.) Joining me now is Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Editor of the -- Executive Director, excuse me, of the Family Equality Council. Jen, it's great to have you here and as we look at those headlines, and I want to dig deeper out of this out of The Boston Globe, Mitt Romney and this report it’s saying that the governor rejected creating accurate birth certificates for gay parents in Massachusetts where marriage equality has been legalized over the last nine years, this despite a Department of Public Health lawyer saying the places that those kids at an unfair advantage in the long run, though, the Romney campaign has declined to comment on this report. Is that what people should expect from a Romney presidency, look at how he governed Massachusetts for how he could govern the country?
JENNIFER CHRISLER: Yeah. Look, at Family Equality Council what we talk about is advocating for families, and I think you only need to look at the records of these two candidates, you know, ignore the polls, ignore the ads and really look at their records because if you do that, when you go into the voting booth, I think if you're voting for your family, you'll have a really clear choice. I know, you know, when I go into the voting booth I'm going to be thinking about my sons, Tim, Tom, and Matthew and saying, who's the best choice for them, for the 2 million kids who are being raised by 1 million LGBT families in the United States today.
ROBERTS: Jen, as we look at the research for the four states, the ballot initiatives where marriage equality is taking place, is it likely that marriage equality will become a reality in those four states?
CHRISLER: Absolutely. I think there is no doubt that the polls are trending very favorably in those four states.
ROBERTS: Who has the best chances?
CHRISLER: Oh, well I think all four of them have great chances to have positive wins. And I think that's because we're seeing these stories of our families, the connections that we're making with our community and our neighbors, and that's really changing the hearts of people in those four states. So I think you're going to see a win in all four of them. And that means in Washington, Maryland and Maine, we'll see marriage equality for the community and in Minnesota they'll be able to beat back this really hurtful, hateful constitutional amendment that just basically tells kids and families who are LGBT in Minnesota that they are different and should be treated differently in the constitution.
ROBERTS: Right. In Minnesota you need to vote no and the other three states you need to vote yes. Jennifer Chrisler, executive editor of the Family Equality Council, executive director, excuse me, I keep saying editor, Jen, and it’s great to see you. Thanks so much.
