If WorldNetDaily’s June 11 article portraying the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church in a favorable light was a trial balloon for future coverage of Fred Phelps and his brood; it was shot down pretty quickly by WND readers, who think that the WBC’s protests of the funerals of dead soldiers overshadows its Kupelian-esque anti-gay views.
In a June 12 WND opt-in poll seeking views on the on-air altercation between Fox News host Julie Banderas and the WBC’s Shirley Phelps-Roper that prompted the article, nearly 32 percent said that “Julie’s comments were over the top, but the protests at funerals of dead U.S soldiers are even more disturbing,” and 16 percent each responded, “Julie’s right! Shirley Phelps-Roper is the devil and belongs in hell” and “While I do think God is punishing America for its sins, Julie is correct to condemn the protests at U.S. soldiers’ funerals.” Only 2.90 percent said, “Julie is completely in the wrong, and the Westboro Baptist Church is correct that God is punishing America for its sins.”
Additionally, the three letters WND ran (which disappear after a week) about the story on June 12 were all critical of Phelps-Roper, calling her “a disgrace and a psychopath,” a “cult leader” and a “self-righteous, hateful, name-calling woman.”
We suspect (and hope) that WND won’t be running to the WBC’s defense anymore.