Is Chris Matthews changing his mind about hate group leader appearing on his show?

It seems that Faithful America may be getting through to Chris Matthews in regards to hate group leader Tony Perkins appearing on his show Hardball:



From Faithful America:

Last month, some Faithful America members caught up with Chris Matthews at a book signing and asked him directly about their campaign asking MSNBC to stop booking hate group leader Tony Perkins on their network.

In that interview, Matthews initially protested but ultimately admitted that “you may be right. I may agree with you, but not right now.”

Yesterday, Matthews was asked again about the problem, and he expanded on those concessions:

MATTHEWS: Why don’t you think I should have him on my show?

Q: You said that you wouldn’t have Franklin Graham on your show earlier this year because he tells hateful lies and I was wondering if you thought that was a different standard.

MATTHEWS: Well you got to make your case, you know. I talked about this with my producers last night and we’re trying to decide how to deal with it. My view is I don’t like censoring opinion and Tony Perkins has been on this show and he hasn’t said something like that on my show, he doesn’t talk like that on Hardball.*

Q: Do you think it gives him credibility when he’s on Hardball though, for what he says off Hardball?

MATTHEWS: You know I think that’s an argument — that’s a good argument. I’m thinking about it. You’re doing the right thing, you’re doing the right thing keep it up. You know where I stand on the issues that I care about, you know. And I’m probably with you on these issues but I got to think it through.

In what will likely come as a disappointment to the right-wing activists who have been celebrating Matthews’s comments as an endorsement of their “right” to spread lies on TV, Mathews clearly indicates that he’s taking these concerns seriously, doesn’t have a good answer, and has already begun conversations with his producers about it.

Faithful America, GLAAD and the other organizations and individuals who are working to educate the media about the problems with hosting spokespeople who tell hateful lies should take this as a sign that they’re making real progress and should keep up their efforts.

*As before, Matthews seems to have forgotten about his November 2010 show in which Perkins specifically cited debunked research to claim that gay men are more likely to molest children.