Curious about rumors that MSNBC's Chris Matthews will soon run for Senate, Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal asked the MSNBC news man where he stands on gay marriage.

Matthews sort of skirted the issue. First he declared, "I always start with freedom. That’s where I start on every issue," because that's where the constitution begins. Then Matthews said he has an "open heart" about this "evolving issue" and "will have to live with it." Again, that's confusing.

Hoping to get something relatively coherent, Segal continued pressing for a more robust response, to which Matthews replied, "I can answer it the way I have, which is any fucking way I want. I can answer in my way even if it isn’t your way."

Well, we've heard the just released audio, which we've included below, given it a thorough listen and, well, the Queerty team's torn on what to make of this all!

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Haven't people learned anything from Jesse Jackson?

If you're wearing a microphone, don't say anything you don't want the world to hear! MSNBC's Chuck Todd, political consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan all put their foots in their mouths today when, after thinking they had gone to commercial, the trio ripped on McCain's "cynical" Sarah Palin veep pick.

The conversation gets really good when Todd wonders, "Do you think the Palin pick is insulting to Democrats? Is the really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?"

Everyone agrees that, no, Palin is not the best choice. Says the pessimistic journalist, "I think they went for the - excuse me - political bullshit about narratives… Every time Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and that's not what they're good at, and they blow it." Todd agrees the party went for the narrative.

Murphy, an informal McCain adviser and personal friend, then says the worst thing is the cynicism of McCain's decision, while Todd describes it as "gimmicky." Earlier in the tape, Noonan describes the race as "over." This morning she wrote this about Palin:

This is a woman who's tough enough to work her way up and through, and to say yes to a historic opportunity, but she will know little of, or rather have little experience in, the mischief inherent in national Republican politics. She will be mobbed up in the McCain campaign by people who care first about McCain and second about themselves.
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They'll run right over her, not because they're strong but because they're stupid.

Oh, the irony!

Liberal lesbian Rachel Maddow just went and scored herself her own MSNBC show, which was some time in the making. Officially, NBC says Rachel's debut on Sept. 8, or 09/08/08, is the "final leg of the political race this year."

Unofficially, though? On 09/08/08, a one Keith Olbermann will mark his nearly complete takeover of the network. Yes, Olbermann might as well hold Phil Griffin's title as MSNBC chief, since, according to knowledgeable sources and all outside appearances, he's making the calls.
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Keith Olbermann's among the many millions who are thrilled about sappho-journo Rachel Maddow's primetime MSNBC show. Watch as the news man welcomes his new colleague - after the jump…

It's precious.

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Hooray for MSNBC's Rachel Maddow!

The rock star lesbian journalist, whom we interviewed earlier this year, will soon be slipping into Dan Abrams' primetime:

The moves, which were confirmed by MSNBC executives Tuesday, are expected to be finalized by Wednesday, with Mr. Abrams’s last program on Thursday. After MSNBC’s extensive coverage of the two political conventions during the next two weeks, Ms. Maddow will begin her program on Sept. 8.
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MSNBC has been known to be seeking a way to capitalize to a greater degree on Mr. Olbermann’s popularity. A program hosted by Ms. Maddow will almost certainly be a closer ideological fit with Mr. Olbermann’s.
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[MSNBC president Phil] Griffin said of the selection of Ms. Maddow, “This just completes our prime-time lineup. Our lineup makes sense now.”

And it pleases us to no end! Maddow's our number one televised lesbian crush.

As for Abrams, don't worry about him - he's going back to his general manager gig.

And we thought MSNBC's Morning Joe team were offensive! Fox News' Red Eye anchors had plenty of bile to spread about pregnant trans man Thomas Beatie, like referring to him as a "transgender sideshow" and hoping the delivery is "the worst experience in his life." Nice…

We would call GLAAD, but, you know…

If you're anything like us, you're wondering why GLAAD's remained silent on Joe Scarborough's trans trashing last week.

For those of you who missed it, Scarborough and his cohorts on MSNBC's Morning Joe took multiple shots at pregnant trans man Thomas Beatie, whom they referred to as disgusting and the such. Obviously we all knew Beatie's Oprah appearance would cause a controversy, but had hoped that mainstream news agencies would have a little more class. Not Scarborough, though.

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Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama braved Chris Matthews' "Hardball College Tour" last night. During the electoral special, one of the West Chester University students asked Obama about his gay marriage stance. Obama reiterated that he supports "strong" civil unions, leading Matthews to wonder whether that counts as discrimination. Obama went on to iron out the details:

…It is very important that the state makes sure that they are not denying the same kind of rights that have historically been denied, because when I think about a same sex couple not being able to visit each other in the hospital, when I think about them not being able to transfer property, or to pass on benefits, I think that’s contrary to what most Americans believe, and that’s why I’m going to change it when I’m president of the United States.

Of course, we all know that civil unions have a long way to go before they're actually equal, a hard fact that didn't get played.