Right Wing

• Tim Murphy @ Mother Jones: Michele Bachmann's Auschwitz Warning.
• Alvin McEwen: Hate group leader doesn't want gays to serve on juries.
• Rachel Tabachnick @ Talk 2 Action: Why Have the Apostles Behind Rick Perry's Prayer Rally Been Invisible to Most Americans?
• Igor Volsky @ Think Progress LGBT: VA Attorney General Cuccinelli: States Should Have Right To Enact Marriage Equality.
• Greg Sargent @ The Plum Line: Mitt Romney: `Corporations are people.’

• PFAW: PFAW Celebrates Victory of Wisconsin Voters Over Corporate Special Interests.
• Good As You: Burt Prelutsky, I live for this kind of thing.
• Sofia Resnick @ Washington Independent: Anti-LGBT group launches campaign to keep gay people from donating blood.
• Warren Throckmorton: David Barton’s claims about gay indoctrination are false says American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Julie Ingersoll @ Religion Dispatches: Bachmann’s Law School Mentor Asserts Biblical Roots of American Political System.
• Andy Birkey @ Minnesota Independent: Minnesota Family Council launches efforts to pass marriage ban.
• Finally, Stephen Colbert's SuperPAC wants Iowa voters to support "Rick Parry":

• Miranda @ PFAW Blog: Did Whole Foods Cave to Anti-Muslim Extremists?
• Towleroad: Ann Coulter Joins Board of Gay Conservative Group GOProud.
• Dan @ TFN Insider: Saving America from Marxists and Progressives!
• Alvin McEwen: Sign the Petition and get Congress to call out false anti-gay testimony.
• Carlos Maza @ Equality Matters: State Sodomy Laws Continue To Target LGBT Americans.
• Travis Waldron @ Think Progress: Bachmann’s ‘Must-Read’ List Included A Book That Claims Blacks Were ‘Better Off In Nearly Every Way’ Under Slavery.
• Mark Potok @ Hatewatch: Court Dismisses Case Involving DHS Extremism Report.

• Sarah Posner @ Religion Dispatches: Rick Perry’s Jesus Imperative: A Report from Saturday's Mega-Rally.
• Michael Tracey @ Mother Jones: Rick Perry's Apolitical Spiritual Experience.
• Rachel Tabachnick @ Talk 2 Action: Five Points About Rick Perry's Prayer Rally Not Yet in Mainstream Press.
• Warren Throckmorton: Did the leading association of pediatricians say schools are forcing kids to be gay?
• Towleroad: Iowa Paper Cries Foul Over Pawlenty's 'Pantsing' Edit.
• Evan McMorris-Santoro @ TPM: Herman Cain Takes Weeklong Beating From Conservatives After Apologizing To Muslims.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews on Friday to discuss The Response. During the show, Matthews played a number of videos, first posted on Right Wing Watch, of Response organizers Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association, Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer, John Hagee of the Cornerstone Church, and John Benefiel of the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lynn said Perry’s links to such extreme figures don’t represent “guilt by association” but “guilt by construction.” Perkins, on the other hand, tried to distance the import of Bryan Fischer, saying, “Look, he has a talk show on the American Family Association.”

While Perkins may be trying to downplay Fischer’s role at the AFA, he knows full well that Fischer isn’t just some radio talk show host but is in fact the public face of the American Family Association. In fact, his official bio lists him as the “spokesman for AFA.” He represented the AFA at Perkins’ Values Voters Summit and had a prime speaking slot, although as Kyle notes Fischer is not a listed speaker this year. Fischer is the group’s Director of Issues Analysis for Government and Public Policy, hosts AFA’s flagship radio program Focal Point and is the go-to voice of the AFA for inquiring journalists. Perkins himself co-hosted Today’s Issues with Fischer on AFA radio.

Perkins acknowledged that he knew the background of Fischer and other organizers, commenting, “Look, I don’t, as I said before, not everybody that’s on that platform agrees with what others have said or what they hold to believe.”

But no one has suggested that Rick Perry agrees with Bryan Fischer’s argument that gays and lesbians should be banned from holding public office, Mike Bickle’s claim that Oprah is the harbinger of the Antichrist or John Benefiel’s belief that the Statue of Liberty is a demonic idol. The problem is that a sitting governor and likely presidential candidate is effectively endorsing and promoting individuals and organizations with such far-right and extreme views in an exclusively fundamentalist Christian prayer rally.

While Perkins attempted to give Perry cover about the extreme views of the prayer rally organizers, The Response represented the extent Republican leaders and Religious Right groups will go to jockey for the support of even the most fringe figures and elevate their voices.

• It looks like Tim Pawlenty will also sign the National Organization for Marriage's pledge.
• Speaking of NOM, they are unsurprisingly not impressed with the American Psychological Association's support for marriage equality.
• Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's hatred of Gov. Rick Perry continues, as she announces she won't endorse him for president.
• Apparently, praying at Gov. Perry's prayer rally is just like being Indiana Jones.
• Finally, is there any anti-gay activist more obsessed with gay sex than Peter LaBarbera?

• The New York Times profiles the American Family Association and the role they are playing in funding Rick Perry's prayer rally.
• On a related note, the Family Research Council will be streaming the event live on Saturday.
• Speaking of FRC, they have released their latest list of prayer targets: "May the Lord intervene to stop these efforts to homosexualize our nation – and to indoctrinate our children with evil!
• C. Boyden Gray has filed a complaint with the IRS seeking to revoke Media Matters' tax-exempt status.
• Gary Cass says the only hope for America is for Islam to be defeated. And he is just the man to do it!
• Pamela Geller is just like Gen. George Patton.
• Finally, quote of the day from Peter LaBarbera: "I think a lot of things are gay, such as the disproportionate STDs related to homosexual sex. But marriage isn't one of them. Marriage isn't homosexual; marriage is between a man and a woman."

• Joseph Farah celebrates CPAC's dumping of GOProud.
• Get your tickets for the forthcoming anti-Palin documentary "Sarah Palin — You Betcha."
• Rick Perry says he has "no idea what God's plans are for me, but I'm going to try to be as faithful to him as I can be" in deciding to run for president.
• On a related note, perhaps all the talk of Perry shaking-up the GOP race is just that.
• Finally, I can't wait to see the National Organization for Marriage maintain its anti-boycott stance and start going after the American Family Association.

• PFAW: Time to Stop GOP Obstruction of Judicial Nominees.
• Igor Volsky @ Think Progress LGBT: Sam Brownback Refuses To Confirm If He’s Attending Rick Perry’s Prayer Event.
• Mary Tuma @ Washington Independent: Will ‘The Response’ fill the seats on August 6?
• Towleroad: Tennessee Governor: 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Will 'Probably Never Pass.'
• Rob Boston @ Wall of Separation: Yielding To Censorship: Mo. School Board Bans Books That Are ‘Contrary To The Bible.’
• Scott Keyes @ Think Progress Security: Frank Gaffney’s Latest Conspiracy: Herman Cain Actually Met With A ‘Prominent Muslim Brotherhood’ Group.