Cognitive Dissonance: Fox & Friends declares “social issues have not been front and center in the last 18 months of discussion”

Written by Julie Millican

Published

Sometimes I wonder if the hosts of Fox & Friends are completely clueless or just plain dishonest. Today, I think I got my answer. While hyping up the Republicans' new “Pledge to America,” the Fox & Friends crew marveled that social issues weren't a huge part of the pledge, except for “abortion rights and federal funding.” Co-host Gretchen Carlson said that it made sense because “social issues have not been front and center in the last 18 months of discussion.”

First, they must not have read the Pledge very closely, because the signatories do indeed touch on some social issues other than abortion: “We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.” And second, social issues haven't “been front and center in the last 18 months of discussion?” If that's true, it certainly isn't due to Fox & Friends' lack of trying. Nary a day goes by that the Fox & Friends crew doesn't fan the flames of bigotry surrounding some social issue. This is a show, after all, that can't help but let its anti-Islam, pro-Christian God complex pop up at some point during the program, not to mention the fact that it frequently promotes and endorses anti-gay views and “some might say” seems to have an issue with the occasional slip into a little sexist commentary.

Let's take a look at some of the lowlights of the “last 18 months,” shall we?

Religion:

Fox & Friends hosts have been at the forefront in protesting the proposed Park51 Islamic community center in New York City. They and their guests have gone into overdrive smearing the imam associated with the project as a terrorist-supporting slumlord who threatened the U.S. with terrorism should his community center be moved. They've repeatedly demanded that the Park51 planners stop being “so stubborn” and act like “good neighbors” by giving up their First Amendment rights, and they've framed the entire debate about the Islamic center's location as being centered on “the fight for ground zero.” Take a look (and trust me, this list is hardly exhaustive):

After ginning up anti-Muslim rage, Fox & Friends naturally had to spend some time denying that there was a rising tide of anti-Muslim hate crimes occurring in this country -- or, at the very least, blame the incidents on Muslims themselves:

Another favored anti-Muslim topic of theirs is Sharia law -- an issue where they appear to have no real knowledge, so they just turn to right-wing hacks to fearmonger about the savageness of it all:

And if you happen to be an anti-Muslim bigot, Fox & Friends will likely come to your defense. Take, for instance, their treatment of Franklin Graham, whose invitation to speak at National Prayer Day was rescinded because of his inflammatory views of Islam. Fox rushed to his side:

Yes, if one thing is clear, it's that Fox & Friends is pretty convinced that if you're a Muslim, there's a good chance you're also a terrorist:

But lest you think that their religious wrath is limited strictly to attacking Islam, don't worry, Fox & Friends is always more than happy to take up the sword and fight their nonexistent war on Christians -- or to take a stab a liberals who ever express their Christian faith (because we all know that liberals hate Jesus. Duh):

Gay rights:

A regular viewer of Fox & Friends knows that when it comes to gay marriage, the Fox & Friends crew are not fans. They bravely propped up former Miss USA Carrie Prejean's crusade against “opposite marriage” and have warned America of gay marriage's slippery slope:

And their support for anti-gay policies doesn't end there:

Race:

Fox & Friends regularly attacks the NAACP as a “pathetic” organization with “racist sentiments,” yet seem to think that Democrats have invented racism to “keep the blacks voting Democratic.” And, don't forget, it was on this show that Glenn Beck called the President a “racist”:

They were also quick to jump on the phony Breitbart-fueled smear that USDA employee Shirley Sherrod made racist remarks at a local NAACP meeting. After the story disintegrated, Fox & Friends rushed to cover their and their network's rush to premature judgment, and even tried to find a way to attack the NAACP over the incident:

Fox & Friends also staunchly defended Arizona's controversial immigration bill by stubbornly insisting that the bill did not allow for racial profiling:

In general, Fox & Friends seems to have a difficult time dealing with race, as evidenced by their insistence on referring to undocumented immigrants as “illegals,” their children as “anchor babies,” and demanding that they all “learn English”:

Women:

And, of course, the Fox & Friends gang has been known to engage in what “some might say” is sexist commentary when talking about women:

If only Carlson were right -- that social issues hadn't been “front and center in the last 18 months of discussion.” I'd probably have a much more civil show to watch in the morning. But then again, I may just be out of a job.

From the September 23 broadcast of Fox & Friends: