MSNBC Host Comes Out With Comments on David Barton's Possible Senate Run -- but They're Not Quite What You Might Expect

There has been talk in Texas of drafting another conservative like Senator Ted Cruz to challenge incumbent Texas Senator John Cornyn in the upcoming 2014 election. Glenn Beck has been pushing Congressman Louie Gohmert to try and jump from the House to the Senate, but he's also shown support for another candidate that some Tea Party members and conservatives are floating: David Barton. There is even a "Draft David Barton" Facebook page established to test the waters for a Barton candidacy.

(Photo: TheBlaze TV)

And in a surprising segment on MSNBC Monday morning, Barton received a tempered endorsement of sorts from "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough.

That segment featured Politico's Mike Allen talking about the Tea Party's efforts to draft a candidate to take on Cornyn. Allen mentioned David Barton and Scarborough immediately jumped in.

"A little background: David Barton goes back and shows all the quotes of the Founding Fathers. Very explicitly makes the point that this country was founded by men of great faith. So David Barton, a lot of evangelicals know who this guy is. He probably has a national following."

When the panel pressed Scarborough on Barton's qualifications, asking if he is worthy of being elected to the U.S. Senate, Scarborough added, "I have not interviewed him for the United States Senate. I just say, I know David Barton, I like him. On my book shelf for 20 years has been his books."

Still, Allen expressed doubt that Barton could be a strong contender. The Politico pundit cited a few reasons, including Cornyn's huge campaign war chest (rumored to be more than $5 million), the fact that Barton would be getting into the race just a year out, and then he mentioned something attributed to the Wallbuilders founder: "David Barton will have a lot of trouble attracting support from people who otherwise might step out for him, some of the things he said, including comparing homosexuality to a health disorder, saying it's like too much trans fats."

A surprised Scarborough asked Allen, "Who said that?" Allen quickly fired back, "David Barton, one of those books on your shelf."

"I don't read that in any of my books," Scarborough responded.

The statement Allen made is not likely to be found in any of the David Barton books on Joe Scarborough's shelves. He appears to be referencing a 2010 segment on David Barton's Wallbuilders radio show. During that segment, Barton was quoting CDC statistics that showed serious disparities in the numbers of sexually transmitted diseases and health risks in the homosexual community when compared to the statistics on straight people. Barton closed the segment, "And now here the CDC is saying 'here’s a really unhealthy lifestyle' and we’re saying 'great, let’s promote it in schools and lets protect it in law.'”

Watch the segment here.

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