Posted on 03/01/2008 8:13:23 AM PST by jdm
John McCain is in a minor dust-up at the moment over the endorsement of notorious anti-Catholic, anti-Muslim, anti-gay bigot John Hagee. Not only did McCain appear onstage with the clownish hater, but he actually had this to say about his endorsement:
And I am very proud of the Pastor John Hagee’s spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel. That does not mean that I support or endorse or agree with some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said or positions that he may have taken on other issues. I don’t have to agree with everyone who endorses my candidacy. They are supporting my candidacy. I am not endorsing some of their positions.
This is the kind of “spiritual leadership” offered by Hagee:
Towelheads are coming! “Islam in general—those who live by the Koran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews.”
New Orleans is Sodom! “I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that.”
I’ll get you, Potter! “As millions of people anticipate the release of the latest Harry Potter book and film, we’re reminded once again of Satan’s ongoing attempt to deceive and destroy. The whole purpose of the Potter books is to desensitize readers and introduce them to the occult.”
And the above does not include some of the most nauseating, bigoted, anti-Catholic statements ever uttered in modern America:
“Anti-Semitism in Christianity began with the statements of the early church fathers, including Eusebius, Cyril, Chrysostom, Augustine, Origen, Justin, and Jerome …. This poisonous stream of venom came from the mouths of spiritual leaders to virtually illiterate congregants, sitting benignly in their pews, listening to their pastors. They labeled the Jews as ‘the Christ killers, plague carriers, demons, children of the devil, bloodthirsty pagans who look for an innocent child during the Easter week to drink his blood, money hungry Shylocks, who are deceitful as Judas was relentless.’”
· “The Roman Catholic Church, which was supposed to carry the light of the gospel, plunged the world into the Dark Ages…. The Crusaders were a motley mob of thieves, rapists, robbers, and murderers whose sins had been forgiven by the pope in advance of the Crusade ….The brutal truth is that the Crusades were military campaigns of the Roman Catholic Church to gain control of Jerusalem from the Muslims and to punish the Jews as the alleged Christ killers on the road to and from Jerusalem.”
· “The Spanish Inquisition was perhaps the most cynical plot in the black history of Catholicism, aimed at expropriating the property of wealthy Jews and converts in Spain for the benefit of the royal court and the Roman Catholic Church.”
· “Adolf Hitler attended a Catholic school as a child and heard all the fiery anti-Semitic rantings from Chrysostom to Martin Luther. When Hitler became a global demonic monster, the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII never, ever slightly criticized him. Pope Pius XII, called by historians ‘Hitler’s Pope,’ joined Hitler in the infamous Concordat of Collaboration, which turned the youth of Germany over to Nazism, and the churches became the stage background for the bloodthirsty cry, ‘Pereat Judea’.... In all of his [Hitler’s] years of absolute brutality, he was never denounced or even scolded by Pope Pius XII or any Catholic leader in the world. To those Christians who believe that Jewish hearts will be warmed by the sight of the cross, please be informed—to them it’s an electric chair.”
How this man has amassed the influence and power he has is frankly beyond my comprehension. To realize that still, in this day and age, there is the kind of virulent anti-Catholic bigotry that animated so much of American history by coloring our attitudes toward newcomers from Ireland, Italy, and Slavic countries is depressing in the extreme. To the ignorant followers and believers in this man and what he teaches, I have nothing but contempt.
The question is, why doesn’t John McCain share that feeling of disgust? He has issued a milquetoast disclaimer that he doesn’t hold with all of Hagee’s beliefs. In fact, since his warm acceptance of Hagee’s endorsement, McCain has done nothing but try and backtrack, tripping over himself as he does:
McCain was pressed on the issue Friday morning in Round Rock, Texas. Hagee “supports what I stand for and believe in,” McCain said.
“When he endorses me, that does not mean that I endorse everything that he stands for and believes in,” McCain said. “I don’t have to agree with everyone who endorses my campaign.”
He added that he was “proud” of Hagee’s spiritual leadership of his congregation at the 17,000-member Cornerstone Church.
Doesn’t McCain realize that Hagee’s “spiritual leadership” includes filling the heads of the faithful with hate filled rants against Muslims, gays, Catholics, and others? How can a presidential candidate who says he wants to change the quality of dialogue in this country accept the endorsement of this bigot?
McCain is no stranger to controversies like this. In the 2000 campaign, he spoke at the notorious Bob Jones University where interracial dating was against school policy.
(As an aside, why aren’t these people read out of the conservative movement the same way the Birchers and other extremists were kicked out by Buckley and others in the 1950’s?)
Simply saying you don’t agree with everything Hagee says isn’t good enough. There are some endorsements that should be rejected out of hand. Saying “I reject John Hagee’s endorsement and all the bigoted statements he has made…” would be political suicide with a segment of evangelicals but might be the start of sweeping these extremists out of the party.
Obama’s endorsement by the notorious racist Louis Farrakhan (whose entire religion – the Nation of “Islam” – is geared toward spreading hate of the white man) should have been similarly rejected by the candidate. Instead, he merely “denounced” the racist, saying that it was the same as rejecting Farrakhan:
I obviously can’t censor him, but it is not support that I sought,” Obama said. “And we’re not doing anything, I assure you, formally or informally with Minister Farrakhan.”
Pressed if he specifically rejected the endorsement, Obama said, “I can’t say to somebody that he can’t say that he thinks I’m a good guy” and that he didn’t “see a difference between ‘denouncing’ and ‘rejecting.’”
Pure political sophistry. Of course there’s a difference between “renouncing” and “rejecting.” But Obama dare not do the latter for the same basic reason McCain won’t “reject” Hagee’s endorsement: fear of offending millions of African Americans who see Farrakhan as an important spiritual leader.
There are differences, however, between Obama and McCain’s attitudes toward these problematic endorsements. Obama has spoken out against Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic, anti-white statements even before the Nation of “Islam” minister endorsed him. Also, he didn’t appear on stage with him nor has he ever praised him for his “spiritual leadership.”
The extremists in both parties should be marginalized by denouncing them and rejecting any association – however tangential – between the haters and the candidates. The fact that the candidate might lose their votes (or the votes of the ignorant masses who are either unaware or oblivious to the hatred spewed by the haters they follow) should not be a calculation in the campaign. They should all be consigned to the outer darkness of American politics so that even their endorsement will draw little notice. Perhaps then, at least some of the people that follow these haters will wake up and realize who they have placed their faith in and reassess their own support.
But in order to have that happy event occur, both candidates need to go all the way and not use weasel words in denouncing what the haters believe and rejecting out of hand any hint of support they might bring to the campaign. Anything less will perpetrate the illusion that the Hagees and Farrakhans of the world matter in American politics and that people actually care who they endorse for president.
I refuse to accept the argument “I can’t control who supports me.” This is stating the obvious and is therefore irrelevant. The candidate might not be able to control who comes out in favor of his candidacy. But he can damn sure tell the haters to take a hike and peddle their endorsement somewhere else. That would take true political courage – something both men brag that they have to no end.
Not wanting to offend the ignorant crowds that lap up the hatred spewed by Hagee and Farrakhan by rejecting their endorsement just doesn’t cut it as an explanation. For McCain especially, it becomes paramount for him to make a definitive, declarative, clear statement on Hagee where the candidate leaves no doubt that not only does he find the statements of Hagee troublesome but the man himself as well. No weasel words about Hagee’s “spiritual leadership.” Obama should do the same with Farrakhan.
Until our national leaders actually start leading the fight against bigotry and hate, both will continue to fester just below the surface of our politics. But for two men who claim to be “uniters” and possessed with uncommon political courage, their statements regarding the most problematic of their supporters leave much to be desired.
There is no difference between Farrakahn’s “Judaism is a gutter religion” and Hagee calling the Catholic Church the “Great Whore.” ..
For the GOP to condemn the former and not the later is outright anti-Catholicism.
This, and other similar political crap, shows how desperate this country is for serious, qualified, Presidential and Congressional candidates. Where are the issues? Where is the debate of what is really important to the preservation of America? Well, maybe that says it all — are any of the candidates really interested in preserving our Constitutional Republic?? I don’t think so — otherwise that would be the agenda and the issues.
America is in grave danger.
Heck, Obama has even had dealings with a real, live terrorist!
Let’s be fair here. While Hagee obviously has problems, the Catholic church is not a sacred cow (no pun intended); the intent of some of his crticisms has merit, and are worthy of historical and theological debate.
If McCain take Hagee’s (the bible’s) position on Israel, I may vote for him afterall...
Most people don’t have a clue who this jerk is.
If McCain keeps apologizing for the sins, real and imagined, of his supporters, when is he going to have the time to talk about politics?
Hagee....one of the few clear thinkers in America.
You may not like what he says....but you’ll never catch him in a lie...
We are plagiarizers. We're copying the rhetoric that the Left uses 24/7 against the hated "religious right."
Beyond partisan politics, BTW, what if John F. Kennedy had been named John Pious Kennedy? Would the general public voters have been so accepting? Would he had gotten enough votes to enable voter fraud in Illinois and Texas to steal the election? I was there and I certainly think "Pious" would have been a bit much.
So, I read down the first six or seven paragraphs and did not find one thing there that was untrue. This writer is full of crap. (to put it lightly)
The idea of a religious whore is a common charge even in Scripture. The Lord accused Israel of playing the whore (see Ezek.16:28 for example). Acting like it is equal to making some sort of outrageous threat is ignoring context and common usage. I'm not saying the application is common, but the term and concept has been around for thousands of years. I don't listen to Hagee, but I believe his point is a reference to the great whore in Revelation. So be very offended by his interpretation if you want. Refute it freely and widely. But don't ask a politician of repudiate it unless you want politicians to reign over everyone's theology. It's not their job.
What I cant understand is why Hagee supported McCain....Mccain’s conservative Christian record is minimal at best...and vastly over-exaggerated by his neo-liberal supporters
The attacks on Hagee are unfounded....and his comments tend to be quite accurate (yes, Catholics in Germany did collaborate w the Nazis....they sure did in my mother’s village).
The only real criticism should be why Hagee will support someone who is questionable, at best, his Christian background
It was this author who used the term "towelheads" not Haggee. This author has revealed both his racism and his own bigotry.
Is it my imagination or is there a lot more pride and shame in campaigns than there used to be? Seems like McCain in particular is proud of everything he can think of and rattle off. Clinton is both proud and honored to share the stage with Obama, the day before she hollers “shame!” on him. Mrs. Obama is finally proud of her country. And so on. It’s getting a bit stale.
Hagee should do God a favor and tell people he's an athiest.
Well, little Juan also said he was going to “git tuff” of the illegal aliens in his CPAC speech but hey, you didn’t really believe that was true either, did you?
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