Megyn Kelly Challenges Mike Gallagher About Inviting Westboro Baptist Church Members On His Show

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by Alex Alvarez | 3:37 pm, January 13th, 2011

» 40 comments

On this afternoon’s America Live, Megyn Kelly spoke with conservative radio host and Fox News contributor Mike Gallagher about the decision to allow the members of Westboro Baptist Church radio airtime for agreeing not to demonstrate at the funeral of nine-year-old Arizona shooting victim Christina Taylor Green. Kelly asked whether giving this group a platform on two conservative Christian radio stations was, in essence, rewarding them for their bad behavior – behavior such as protesting at funerals for fallen soldiers carrying signs reading “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

Gallagher viewed the deal as something of a necessary evil to prevent an even greater evil from having transpired. “I think any American,” he said, “if they had the tool at their disposal to prevent these grieving families from being subjected to these vile people… Who wouldn’t do this?” Gallagher then said he views the Westboro Baptist Church as neither Baptist nor a Church but, rather, an extended family (the Phelps family, specifically) with a mission. A family, Gallagher pointed out, made up of First Amendment lawyers.

Gallagher added that an hour of airtime on his station this coming Monday is “insignificant” compared to the fallout the group may have caused had it gone through with its plans to protest Cristina’s funeral. As for arguments that giving the group airtime only encourages them or ends up amping up the “vitriolic rhetoric” so often mentioned in the wake of this weekend’s shooting, Gallagher said the Church will be “challenged” by noted Christian public speaker Dinesh D’Souza of New York’s King’s College. In a manner that is neither vitriolic now sensational, one hopes.

As it turns out, this decision is something of a personal one for Gallagher, who shared with Kelly that the Westboro Baptist Church had been toying with the idea of protesting his own wife’s funeral. It is perfectly understandable, then, that he would strike a deal to keep the group from causing further anguish to the grieving families in Arizona.

Arizona shooting, Funeral Protest, Megyn Kelly, Mike Gallagher, radio interview, Westboro Baptist Church

The Real Royal King

Megyn. The Westboro folks were the moderates who give FOX “News” its balance.
BlackWidow

This man did a good thing!
Oregon Conservative

Yes he did.
Oregon Conservative

The Real Royal King said:
Megyn. The Westboro folks were the moderates who give FOX “News” its balance.

Do you ever tire of being the most vile person you can be?
Latin2

The Real Royal King said:
Megyn. The Westboro folks were the moderates who give FOX “News” its balance.

Did you know that Westboro Baptist people are registered Democrats?
libra blue

Call it what it is, a cult. I can understand Gallagher’s point, but the problem is these nuts are going to expect this type of offer every time they want to pull one of their stunts.

I would say boycott the program.

The families deserve their privacy from the media as well.
Latin2

The Real Royal King said:
Megyn. The Westboro folks were the moderates who give FOX “News” its balance.

http://www.yourcelebquestions.com/which-political-party-do-those-lunatics-of-westboro-church-support-more/

They even supported Gore.
Latin2

The Real Royal King said:
Megyn. The Westboro folks were the moderates who give FOX “News” its balance.

Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (born November 13, 1929) is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas. The church is monitored as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. Phelps is a disbarred lawyer, founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm, a past civil rights activist in Kansas, and a Democrat who has five times been a candidate for political office in Kansas Democratic Party primaries.

These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15 percent of the vote in 1998.[27] In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31 percent of the vote.[28] Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993[29][unreliable source?] and 1997.[30]

Support for Al Gore

Phelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election. In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a “gay bill of rights” and stated that homosexuality was not something that “society should affirm”. Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments. According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore’s 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps’ son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser at his home in Topeka and was a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment, saying “We are not dignifying those stories with a response.”
writer

If you keep expecting the King to back up his rants with facts, you’ll force him to catch a plane again.
Bunny

As despicable as the Phelps cult is, I would give them the whole day on air to keep them away from that precious little angel’s funeral.

I’d also lock them in the studio, take the heaviest bible I could find, and beat the UNholy shit out of them.
The Real Royal King

Bunny said:
As despicable as the Phelps cult is, I would give them the whole day on air to keep them away from that precious little angel’s funeral.

Agreed.

Bunny said:
I’d also lock them in the studio, take the heaviest bible I could find, and beat the UNholy shit out of them.

I’m less violent. I would give them Cajun Spice potato chips and Clamato and stream in the Gordon Blower Show.
The Real Royal King

writer said:
If you keep expecting the King to back up his rants with facts, you’ll force him to catch a plane again.

Odd you should say that. I am making a last minute trip to Memphis tomorrow. Memphis! In the name of all is holy, Memphis! Fortunately, I’ll be back early Saturday morning. Memphis!
sticks

The Real Royal King said:
Megyn. The Westboro folks were the moderates who give FOX “News” its balance.

This is where you want to go with that ?… To infer that FOX is less moderate than Westboro ?… You really are a friggin loon !!!…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Blair-Maury/1027829552 Blair Maury

The Real Royal King said:
I’m less violent. I would give them Cajun Spice potato chips and Clamato and stream in the Gordon Blower Show.

That is a national service you’d be performing there. You’d get him up to the mid 150s or so in total views of his last YouTube upload.
Latin2

sticks said:
This is where you want to go with that ?… To infer that FOX is less moderate than Westboro ?… You really are a friggin loon !!!…

…and then, like Liberals these days, has egg on his face when the truth comes out that the Westboro bunch are DEMOCRATS.
Seeing 2012 From My Window

I really like Mike, but I disagree with this. I’m totally appalled by this group, but this wasn’t the way to handle it in my opinion. I think it would’ve made a much stronger statement to let them have their stupid demonstration and being surrounded and drowned out by the AZ tea party. They were planning a counter demonstration.
timzank

The Real Royal King said:
Odd you should say that. I am making a last minute trip to Memphis tomorrow. Memphis! In the name of all is holy, Memphis! Fortunately, I’ll be back early Saturday morning. Memphis!

Yeah yeah, sure. In my 53 years on this planet, everytime I’ve encountered someone like you that makes such an overt attempt to tell everyone over and over again how important they are, how wealthy they are, well traveled they are, it’s always turned out to be a 10 cent millionaire .

You go waaaay too far out of your way to name drop and use far too much detail about locations (sounds like over-research) to be for real. That and the obvious fact you don’t use a real name pretty much makes you unbelievable.
redleaf

OK, honestly, let’s do a test.

Let’s put all our bullshit aside and agree on one thing: The Westboro Church people are vile, disgusting human beings and a stain on humanity.

Seriously, right, left, liberal, conservative…can we agree on that?
timzank

Bunny said:
As despicable as the Phelps cult is, I would give them the whole day on air to keep them away from that precious little angel’s funeral. I’d also lock them in the studio, take the heaviest bible I could find, and beat the UNholy shit out of them.

Bunny, that is priceless.
Seeing 2012 From My Window

Totally Vile and disgusting.
Seeing 2012 From My Window

That being said, based on your posts Redleaf, I think the same thing about you.
timzank

redleaf said:
OK, honestly, let’s do a test. Let’s put all our bullshit aside and agree on one thing: The Westboro Church people are vile, disgusting human beings and a stain on humanity. Seriously, right, left, liberal, conservative…can we agree on that?

I certainly can.
WilsonTheHeretic

Good for Gallagher. I agree with him completely. And reading that Dinesh will be there to have a little verbal go-round with those haters makes me want to listen, but every time I hear the voice of a member of the Phelps family it makes me want to pour quick drying cement in my ears.
Pablo

The Real Rabid Kook said:
Megyn. The Westboro folks were the moderates who give FOX “News” its balance.

I’m sure Fox has other Gore delegates on, Kook.
Pablo

redleaf said:
OK, honestly, let’s do a test.

Let’s put all our bullshit aside and agree on one thing: The Westboro Church people are vile, disgusting human beings and a stain on humanity.

Seriously, right, left, liberal, conservative…can we agree on that?

That should go without saying. Nobody likes ghouls.
mcf1757

Chris Christie says Palin Will “Never be President” http://bit.ly/h51o17
Pablo

Seeing 2012 From My Window said:
I really like Mike, but I disagree with this. I’m totally appalled by this group, but this wasn’t the way to handle it in my opinion. I think it would’ve made a much stronger statement to let them have their stupid demonstration and being surrounded and drowned out by the AZ tea party. They were planning a counter demonstration.

A little girl’s funeral is no place to be making statements. They need to be left alone to grieve.
Pablo

libra blue said:
Call it what it is, a cult. I can understand Gallagher’s point, but the problem is these nuts are going to expect this type of offer every time they want to pull one of their stunts.

I would say boycott the program.

That would be an excellent outcome. Give them the airtime and then nobody listens. I’ll like Gallagher’s plan even better if he tells everybody not to listen to his show while these loons are on it.
Tucker P.

I don’t know what to think about all this . I loss a son when he was 4 . He’d be 26 the 20th of this month .
Don’t know what I would have done had a group protest his funeral .
Folks it not just losing someone you love that hurts . It losing someone who loved you so much .
Pokerdude777

The Real Royal King said:
Odd you should say that. I am making a last minute trip to Memphis tomorrow. Memphis! In the name of all is holy, Memphis! Fortunately, I’ll be back early Saturday morning. Memphis!

Actually I live in Memphis. Care for a meeting over a cup of coffee? I’m serious.
Pokerdude777

Tucker P. said:
I don’t know what to think about all this . I loss a son when he was 4 . He’d be 26 the 20th of this month .Don’t know what I would have done had a group protest his funeral .Folks it not just losing someone you love that hurts . It losing someone who loved you so much .

Wow.. I’m really sorry for your loss. I have 2 kids. I can’t even imagine that kind of pain.
CosmosDan

libra blue said:
Call it what it is, a cult. I can understand Gallagher’s point, but the problem is these nuts are going to expect this type of offer every time they want to pull one of their stunts.

I would say boycott the program.

The families deserve their privacy from the media as well.

I think his intentions were good but you have a point. I think a lot of people will turn them off that day. They have nothing to offer.
SYS

Latin2 said:
…and then, like Liberals these days, has egg on his face when the truth comes out that the Westboro bunch are DEMOCRATS.

Let’s get the facts straight on this, okay? Wikipedia says:
Phelps has run in various Kansas Democratic Party primaries five times, but has never won. These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15 percent of the vote in 1998.[35] In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31 percent of the vote.[36] Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993.

There’s a reason for this. Again from Wikipedia:
Phelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election.[39] In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a “gay bill of rights” and stated that homosexuality was not something that “society should affirm”.[40] Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments.[41] According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore’s 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps’ son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser at his home in Topeka and was a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention.[4] Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment, saying “We are not dignifying those stories with a response.”[42]

Phelps’ alignment with the Democrats is NOT because he believes in Democrat party ideology, but because of Al Gore’s comments that Phelps seemed to like so much. The entire thing boils down to Phelps’ drive to seize any sort of anti-gay theme no matter where it comes from. It should be noted that Phelps’ seeming fondness for Gore didn’t last too long:

During the 1992 presidential campaign, Phelps protested Hillary Rodham Clinton during a campaign speech in support of the Clinton-Gore ticket at the University of Kansas on October 14, 1992. In Bill Clinton’s second presidential campaign, Phelps and the Westboro church also opposed Clinton and Gore because of the administration’s support for gay rights. The entire Westboro congregation picketed a 1997 inaugural ball,[43] denouncing Gore as a “famous fag pimp.”[44] In 1998, Westboro picketed the funeral of Gore’s father, screaming vulgarities at Gore and telling him, “your dad’s in Hell.”[44]

Westboro doesn’t support the Democrats OR the Republicans. They support their own hate-cult ideologies. If you read that article all the way through, you’ll see the list of politicians and organizations targeted by Westboro includes those on both the right AND the left. His whole thing is anti-gay. If you’re not anti-gay enough to suit that wacko Phelps, you’re on his list. Regardless of your party.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps
Seeing 2012 From My Window

Pablo says:

A little girl’s funeral is no place to be making statements. They need to be left alone to grieve.

I do agree, but I still like my suggestion. Having hundreds of people surrounded these nuts with peaceful messages would be very powerful. It’s quieting them and a giant show of support for the family without silencing even deplorable speech. It’s the whole slippery slope thing. Especially right now, you have Sharpton’s bid to silence conservative radio and the media’s concerted effort to make an arguement for that by blaming this shooting on the right. It just worries me.
Gasket

Let Gallagher do whatever he wants. I don’t like the guy but it was a good compromise. (Sorry Catholics) Kelly, you seemed to have no problem inviting New Black Panther Party members to your show! You did it several times too! Was that “rewarding” their bad behavior? Sounds to me the real reason you object is because they make Christians look bad. If other “bad behaving groups” make Muslims, hispanics/latinos, blacks etc look bad, then they are welcome on FNC or conservative media outlets.

Oh, and the Westboro Baptist CHURCH is a virulent anti-gay denomination. Hmmm…which party has the most members who run for office on that platform? Republicans. Case closed.
gjp

Latin2 said:
Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (born November 13, 1929) is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas. The church is monitored as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. Phelps is a disbarred lawyer, founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm, a past civil rights activist in Kansas, and a Democrat who has five times been a candidate for political office in Kansas Democratic Party primaries.

These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15 percent of the vote in 1998.[27] In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31 percent of the vote.[28] Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993[29][unreliable source?] and 1997.[30]

Support for Al Gore

Phelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election. In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a “gay bill of rights” and stated that homosexuality was not something that “society should affirm”. Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments. According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore’s 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps’ son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser at his home in Topeka and was a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment, saying “We are not dignifying those stories with a response.”

I believe the daughter Shirley is the one who has served as past Shawnee County Democrat Treasurer. Currently the Phelps legal practice has a financially rewarding contract granted by the Democrat controlled County Commission representing the biological parents in social services and family courts, returning children to crack addicts and removing them from loving foster parents.
gjp

SYS said:
Let’s get the facts straight on this, okay?His whole thing is anti-gay. If you’re not anti-gay enough to suit that wacko Phelps, you’re on his list. Regardless of your party.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

I cut out a big chunk only to save space. You don’t know what you’re talking about. The Phelp group ARE Dems. Active in the party (HERE!) in Shawnee county.

Fred Sr made his spurs in civil rights cases. He made a small fortune sueing (I can’t remember if it was Sear, Pennys or Wards) because someone in their family bought a bike on layaway, didn’t pay for months and months (counter to the store policy). When they went in to pay off the bike way late, the bike had been sold to someone else. Even though the store offered a MUCH more expensive bike at the same price they sued and won a big judgement. Yes they talk a big story “against all parties” but they are still very big with the Dems and have pockets of influence throughout our area.
Also for those of you who appreciate Karma, the ‘word’ is 2 of the children who have left the clan have adopted a lifestyle not endorsed by Fred (read into that what you will)
Bottom line is the Phelps group ARE Democrats.
Grammie

ALEX SAID:

“In a manner that is neither vitriolic now sensational, one hopes. ”

I can’t imagine Dinesh D’Souza being anything like that.

You identified him as “a noted christian speaker”. Do you have any details about that. I’ve read a book or two of his and have seen him often on Cspan and that description of him would never have come to my mind.

I’ll let others decide which approach would be best. They both have merit and I’m just glad it’s not my decision to make.

I did read about one incident this summer where the town coordinated an effort that succeeded in filling the entire roadside with the help of Rolling Thunder (?). All the spaces were taken and shortly after arriving they loaded everything back in their vans and left b/c they weren’t visible over the local folk and their big flags. It was so gratifying to know about it.
td7456

Mike Galagoof!
Garro

Hey guys. I just want to comment on the Wesetboro Baptist Church being liberal or whatever. Fred Phelps is a registered democrat, not sure if anyone else is or not. He has stated that the party does not stand for what it meant when he joined it.
He did support Al gore back in the eighties, because Al gore opposed a gay bill of rights and said homosexuality of not something that society should condone. When Al Gore had a change of heart, Fred Phelps turned on him and even picketed his fathers’ funeral.

Bottom line, the Westboro protests are religious demonstrations, not political. It is misleading to call them political when they do not support any politician or any party today. These are not Obama supporters, they hold signs that say “Fag Obama” on them and they even have a website called beastobama.com where they explain how Obama is the Antichrist. I hope that clears some of this up.