On Friday's edition of Countdown (now on Current TV) host Keith Olbermann called presidential hopeful and Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann's husband, Marcus, “Dr. Ignorance” for his anti-gay views.

The segment is the latest in a string discussing Marcus Bachmann's 2010 remarks on a Christian radio call-in show.

“We have to understand: barbarians [gay people] need to be educated,” he said during an appearance on the Point of View radio talk show. “They need to be disciplined. Just because someone feels it or thinks it doesn’t mean that we are supposed to go down that road. That’s what is called the sinful nature. We have a responsibility as parents and as authority figures not to encourage such thoughts and feelings from moving into the action steps.”

“And let's face it: what is our culture, what is our public education system doing today? They are giving full, wide-open doors to children, not only giving encouragement to think it but to encourage action steps. That's why when we understand what truly is the percentage of homosexuals in this country, it is small. But by these open doors, I can see and we are experiencing, that it is starting to increase.”

As Olbermann and guest Ken Vogel, chief investigative reporter for POLITICO.com, discussed the subject, Countdown displayed a “Dr. Ignorance” graphic of Marcus Bachmann, who runs a government-subsidized Christian counseling clinic that, among other things, attempts to turn gay people straight.

When asked how Christian conservatives like Michele Bachmann and Texas Governor Rick Perry hope to win the GOP nomination by courting the religious right, Vogel said both appear focused on winning early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, which tend to favor social conservatives.

“They both are kind of walking this tricky path right now, where Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have positioned themselves as sort of Tea Party champions, but they also have very strong roots in the social religious conservative movement. And Tea Partiers, if you talk to them, they're not so keen on these social issues and these religious issues playing a big part in their movement. In fact, some of them really are averse to it and some of this more overt religious identification – like what you're seeing from Perry at this prayer event in Texas next month – that's stuff that Tea Partiers are a little bit uncomfortable with, because it does come close to that line between church and state.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)

Earlier, Marcus Bachmann's comments prompted singer Cher to suggest he's gay.