"He was a little surprised... [but] Elton said, 'Life is about building bridges, not walls.'” –David Furnish, speaking about Rush Limbaugh reportedly paying $1 million to his partner Elton John to sing at his 4^th wedding.

The problem with being a comedy writer in this century is, there is no joke anyone can write that’s as funny as what actually goes on in society right now. I mean, I’ve had the good fortune to write for some amazing talents, but deep in my heart I know that anything I’ve ever written for Steve Martin or Sharon Stone or Liza will never be as funny as the Ben & Jerry’s carton that tells you a pint of ice cream contains four servings. I mean THAT’S comedy writing at its best!

Or Tony Hayward – the current head of British Petroleum, the man who did to Corporate Responsibility what John Phillips did to “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” – spending the day after testifying on the Gulf Disaster his company caused by enjoying yacht races. I mean, COME ON!

YACHT RACES?!?!?!!??

Marie Antoinette heard that one and said, “Tony, what the hell are you thinking, you elitist, heartless, money-grubbing bastard?”

So, when asked what I thought about Elton John’s decision to perform at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding to Kathryn Rogers, I did what any normal person would do: watched my brain explode like that of a cartoon coyote and spent the rest of the day collecting and gluing back together the bits of my cerebral cortex as they merrily ricocheted off my walls.

Before I go any further, let me get one thing clear and on the record.

I have absolute and utter respect for Reginald Kenneth Dwight, a.k.a. Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE. As a composer, artist, humanitarian, and style icon, he is tops in every category. Hell, I’d adore him just for the Donald Duck costume he wore in his 1980 Central Park concert.

His grace, his dedication, his chutzpah have made the last 40 years much happier for the world-at-large. He excels as both diva and mensch, and if you think that’s easy, try it on the world stage and see well how you do.

I’ve never met him (I’m proud to say that I got a lovely e-mail from the head of his Elton John AIDS Foundation, who loved my gay marriage music video STUPID CALLOUS HOMOPHOBIC HATEFUL LEGISLATION), but everything I’ve heard or read about Elton convinces me that he is a true friend. Yoko Ono once told me that after her husband’s assassination, she was unable to eat for many days. The first thing she managed was a slice of chocolate fudge cake Elton sent her, knowing it was one of her favorite foods. “Everyone else sent me flowers,” Yoko told me. “Elton’s gift touched me so.” (Elton is also Sean Lennon’s godfather.)

Also, it is said Sir Elton donates all monies received for private concerts to his ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION, so there’s a delicious bit of karmic justice knowing that a cool million is being paid to help AIDS patients, coming from the deep pockets of the man who famously said in 2004 that AIDS activists were fear-mongering propagandists, trying to scare “normal” (i.e. straight) America; the man who assured his millions of self-proclaimed “dittohead” listeners that AIDS “hasn’t made that jump to the heterosexual community…Other than in Africa where it’s promiscuity that spreads this.”

Sadly, his fact-checking on this was as correct as his insistence that President Obama isn’t an American citizen. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention of HIV/AIDS estimated that, as of December 2002, 135,628 Americans had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS as a result of heterosexual contact. Furthermore, heterosexual contact was responsible for 15 percent of male and 75 percent of female infection of HIV/AIDS.

Nice try, Dim-baugh.

So, yeah, how great that Rush’s blood money could go to the victims of a plague he refuses to acknowledge.

But we all know that wasn’t the only or even the biggest pink elephant in the Ponce de Leon Ballroom that night – and by “elephant” I’m not referring to the symbol of the 400 GOP luminaries including Sean Hannity, Rudy Giuliani, and Karl Rove, who undoubtedly Crocodile Rocked the night away.

So, what was the unspoken topic lingering in the room like the aroma of the countless illegally-imported Cohebas often found wafting through the hallways of conservative men? Let’s say it together, everyone: GAY MARRIAGE.

I’m talking about the highest-profile gay union in the world (on December 21, 2005, Elton and David Furnish were the first couple legally bound by UK Civil Partnership Law) coming face-to-face (there’s an image that’ll keep me up nights for weeks) with the Hercules of the Haters, the Torquemada of the Tea Partiers, Rush Limbaugh as he married Ms. Rogers, his fourth nuptial. (Login to access our Gallery photos including the 2005 wedding of from Sir Elton and David.)

Rush is, of course, legally free to keep marrying younger and more nubile brides – Ms. Rogers seems an intelligent and capable woman – for as long as he chooses. Meanwhile, a same-sex partnership that has lasted decades is denied similar legal protection of assets, hospital visitation, parenthood rights, and so on.

Now, some might wonder why Rush sullied his sacred day by inviting a known Sodomite to perform. This, after all, is the man who said: "When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it's an invitation.”

Worry not. The Limbaughs 4.0 covered that base by having the Rev. Ken Hutcherson of the Antioch Bible Church of Kirkland, Wash., preside. This is the same Rev. Hutcherson, former linebacker of the Dallas Cowboys, who was one of the leading faces in the campaign to reject R-71, a ballot measure that gave domestic partners the same legal status as married couples, declaring on election night: “[In] every state, every country, every nation that has passed these laws, marriage has suffered, families have suffered."

He has also organized “Mayday for Marriage” Rallies to “protect” conventional marriage.

On April 25, 2008, Rev. Hutcherson protested at a school hosting the National Day of Silence. He planned on organizing, and took an ad out in a local paper calling for, 1,000 people to protest the high school his daughter attended. (The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling and harassment in schools.)

In 2005, he temporarily got Microsoft to withdraw support for a Washington state anti-discrimination bill that made it illegal to fire an employee due to their sexual orientation.

On June 18, 2007, Hutcherson and 29 other African-American pastors in the High Impact Leadership Coalition publicly opposed the Senate hate crimes bill, renamed The Matthew Shepard Act, on First Amendment grounds.

I could go on but at this point my search engine is weeping.

Look: Rush Limbaugh is entitled to any wedding he chooses.

Perhaps at some point in the ceremony Elton was able to make a point that was able to, well, if not REVERSE the guests’ thoughts on gay marriage, then perhaps help them begin to see the issue in a more open, dimensional way. It is often said prejudice begins to break down as soon as a bigot actually meets and interacts with a member of the group he irrationally despises.

Perhaps foolishly, I believe that those who disagree can celebrate respect, tolerance, and diversity.

Admittedly, with this logic I feel a little bit like Charlie Brown facing Lucy’s football. (Why not? The good Reverend was a pro linebacker, after all.)

Let’s look at another strategic point. By taking the gig, Elton earned more than a cool million. He got several millions of dollars’ worth of press, each story (like this one) opening the debate on gay marriage to a bigger circle of people. Well-played, Sir.

Bottom line here: Whereas I personally still have some difficulty with his decision, Elton John is to be admired for looking to build ideological bridges at a time when most people in the public eye happily blow them up.

By Shelly Goldstein

Shelly Goldstein is a writer-producer-performer who has written for every genre of television, film and stage -- and who has performed her one-woman shows to sold-out audiences throughout the US and UK. She has written special material for such performers as Steve Martin, Sharon Stone, Yoko Ono and Liza Minnelli. She has written song lyrics for G-rated children's shows and R-Rated comedy specials such as LOGO's ONE NIGHT STAND-UP. Her YouTube videos are known throughout the world.

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