2011-07-27 "Bachmann Ally and Anti-Gay Minister Sues Rachel Maddow for Slander"
by Jessica P.
[http://www.care2.com/causes/bachmann-ally-and-anti-gay-minister-sues-rachel-maddow-for-slander.html]
he head of a far-right Minnesota-based ministry with ties to Rep. Michele Bachmann is suing Rachel Maddow and The Minnesota Independent for $50 million over reporting on the group’s extreme anti-gay beliefs [http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bachmann-ally-bradlee-dean-sues-rachel-maddow-50-million]. Bradlee Dean heads up You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, a ministry that believes gays are responsible for the Holocaust and that gays should be executed and is claiming the reporting on his group was slanderous.
A full copy of the complaint is posted here [http://www.dumpbachmann.com/2011/07/bradlee-deans-complaint-against-msnbc.html]. Be warned: it reads as a rambling, poorly-written and tangentially tied to reality screed on a perceived persecution. It is noteworthy for just how bad it is. That’s it.
The heart of Dean’s complaint is that Maddow, and others, mis-reported on his comments praising radical Muslims who want to execute gays and lesbians.
Here is the statement at issue:
[begin excerpt]
Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America. This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination…. If America won’t enforce the laws, God will raise up a foreign enemy to do just that. That’s what you are seeing today in America.
[end excerpt]
According to the complaint, these statements were taken out of context to further a liberal pro-homosexual agenda and maligning Dean and his ministry as advocating for the execution of gays and lesbians. Maddow and MSNBC dismissed the allegations as nonsense, as did the Minnesota Independent and reporter Andy Birkey [http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/07/minnesota_independent_msnbc_respond_bradlee_dean_lawsuit.php].
Dean is no stranger to publicity, but this latest stunt can’t be the kind that presidential contender Bachmann was hoping for. The longer Dean stays in the spotlight the more her ties to him get discussed and the greater the focus on their radical anti-human rights agenda. Which is good news for the rest of us looking to stem that tide of hate.