Brace Yourself for More Homophobic Attacks on Anderson Cooper

So much of what is said during a presidential debate is merely implied -- even in a debate as ugly as the one we witnessed on Sunday.

There was Donald Trump saying, for example, that "I am looking to appoint judges very much in the mold of Justice [Antonin] Scalia." Every LGBT person knew what Trump was really saying, that he wants to overturn marriage equality. More importantly to Trump, every social conservative knew that's what he'd said.

But you might've also needed to be LGBT or evangelical to truly hear what Trump said about Anderson Cooper. The CNN anchor's objectivity was repeatedly questioned based on nothing, except maybe the fact that he's gay. And the attacks are only going to worsen over the next few days because Cooper actually delivered a fair and tough performance.

"I'd like to know, Anderson, why aren't you bringing up the emails?" Trump demanded, almost immediately after a question about Hillary Clinton's emails.

"We brought up the emails," said Cooper, correct as usual.

"It's nice. One on three," whined Trump, among the first of his remarks moaning about the moderators.

I'll bet social conservatives watching from home knew why Cooper didn't ask repeatedly about the emails. He's gay, so naturally he's in Hillary Clinton's pocket, their thinking goes.

The Republican playbook calls for attacking the media when you're down. Every Trump rally foreshadowed his attack on the debate moderators as the face of the larger media, which he claims treats him unfairly as a way of distracting from his follies.

But there were two moderators on Sunday, and Trump felt he'd found his best target in Cooper, who he set about discrediting even before the debate began, complaining to The Washington Post about how Cooper "behaves."

"I don't think Anderson Cooper should be a moderator," he said, unprompted by the reporter, "because Anderson Cooper works for CNN and over the last couple of days, I've seen how Anderson Cooper behaves."

And how does Anderson Cooper behave?

The country knows two things for sure about this journalist: First, he's passionate about being down the middle on objectivity. Second, he's gay.

In fact, Cooper is the first out gay man ever to moderate a presidential debate in the general election. These are big American moments, in which the country handpicks the journalists it's most proud of, the ones it trusts most, and they serve the American public by asking questions on our behalf.

Society has transformed to such a degree that it would select a gay person for this job, to literally represent the entirety of the American public. And while it hardly rates as a significant milestone with most Americans, you can bet having a gay moderator annoys the right wing.

These are people who organized a petition against JCPenney when it made Ellen DeGeneres its spokeswoman. They look at Anderson Cooper moderating a debate as evidence we're insidiously taking over.

Cooper really seemed to bother former congresswoman Michele Bachmann, one of the most notorious anti-LGBT crusaders. A Trump supporter, she went on MSNBC after the candidate's filthy video tape surfaced and accused the Clinton campaign of colluding with Cooper, who she predicted would ask a question about the scandal.

What a doozy of a question it turned out to be.

"You called what you said 'locker-room' banter. You described kissing women without consent, grabbing their genitals," Cooper began. "That is sexual assault. You bragged that you have sexually assaulted women. Do you understand that?"

When the right wing reviews tape of that question played over and over on cable news, it will see a gay man. It won't matter that Anderson Cooper literally doesn't vote because he's worried about the conflict of interest it creates. Social conservatives will see a likely shill for Democrats.

It's really their insecurity showing. The Republican Party, better than anyone, is aware of who it's keeping down.

Over the next few days, if you're listening, you'll hear the same kind of thing Trump did to Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Trump had argued that anyone with Mexican heritage couldn't be impartial to him because "He's a Mexican. We're building a wall between here and Mexico." Trump knows his supporters will see Cooper and dismiss him in much the same way. He's gay, and Trump wants to overturn marriage equality. It's that simple to them, because bigotry is of simple minds.

LUCAS GRINDLEY is editorial director for Here Media. Contact him @lucasgrindley.