Sarah Palin: Doubtful A&E Would Tolerate Linus Reading Scripture in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she doubts that A&E, the network that suspended Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson for supposedly “anti-gay” comments, would tolerate Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas for reading Scripture from the book of Luke. 

Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters mentioned in an interview that the producer and lead animator for A Charlie Brown Christmas “were very concerned about mixing religion into the program” and even “met with Peanuts creator Charles Schulz to try to talk him into deleting that scene.” When the lead animator told Schulz, “It’s very dangerous for us to start talking about religion now,” Schulz replied by saying, “Bill, if we don’t, who will?” 

Palin said she was “thankful for people who stick to their guns.” 

“We’ve seen just recently that traditional Biblical values are being forced out of the mainstream,” she said. “Would A&E, which tried to silence Phil Robertson’s Biblical beliefs, tolerate a cartoon character reading the Bible? I doubt it.”

In her blockbuster best-selling book, Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas, Palin discusses the angry atheists who are waging war against Christmas, which she says is the tip of a spear in a broader battle against American exceptionalism. 

To prove her point, atheists in Arkansas last November were upset that an elementary school planned to send second graders to see a stage production of A Charlie Brown Christmas at a church. The atheists filed a formal complaint with the school district. 

“I love when Linus recites the Scripture from the book of Luke, explaining to Charlie ‘what Christmas is all about,'” Palin said “It packs a punch. When he gets to the words ‘Fear not,’ I love how he drops his blanket. It’s almost like he realized where his true security rests.” Sheppard mentioned that even though he has watched the film about a 100 times, he had not realized Linus dropped his blanket in the scene until he read Palin’s book.  

After Robertson’s suspension was announced, Palin was the first major political figure out of the box to say that “those ‘intolerants’ hatin’ and taking on the Duck Dynasty patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us” because “free speech is an endangered species.” Palin has also called A&E “absolute quacks” for suspending Robertson.