Posted on 03/15/2008 4:47:13 PM PDT by indcons
When Sen. Barack Obama joined Trinity United Church of Christ 20 years ago, little did he know that the church’s charismatic pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., would become a flashpoint in a Democratic presidential primary.
Wright, an activist pastor who brought the South Side church from a 85-member congregation to an 8,000-member mega-church, has been under constant attack on Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” as a “cult” and “separatist” church.
In an interview, Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times that, despite the controversy swirling around Wright over racial comments he made from the pulpit about Sen. Hillary Clinton, he is not abandoning his church.
“We are still members of the church,” Obama said.
At the same time, Obama strongly condemned the racially explosive language attributed to Wright.
“The particular statements that have been pulled out of Rev. Wright’s sermons are ones that I profoundly disagree with,” Obama said, adding that he has never been at Trinity when Wright made similar remarks.
“If I had heard Rev. Wright making those statements while I was sitting in the pews, I would have talked to him afterwards and said I am troubled by these statements. They do not reflect . . . how I feel about this country, how I feel about race relations.”
Campaign has put burdens on church
Apparently, Wright’s offense — at least in the video clip that is getting hits on YouTube — was telling his congregation that “Hillary has never been called a n - - - - -.”
For the last week, both campaigns have had to put out racial brush fires, beginning with Geraldine Ferraro’s widely quoted comment that Obama “would not be in the place he is if he was a white man.”
Under pressure from pundits, Ferraro, a chief fund-raiser for Clinton, was forced to resign from the candidate’s finance committee, but she stood by her remarks.
Obama’s predicament is different. Wright is not involved in Obama’s campaign, nor is Wright a fund-raiser.
Moreover, Obama has already distanced himself from Wright. Last year, when Obama announced his intention to run in the Democratic primary, he rescinded his invitation for Wright to give the opening prayer.
Obama acknowledges that his campaign has put “burdens” on Trinity and its members. The church has been under scrutiny by conservative talk show hosts since Obama announced his candidacy.
The parent church, the United Church of Christ, is now being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service for a speech Obama gave at a church convention attended by 10,000 people.
“It is tougher now to go to church, period, because of the attention that I draw . . . and obviously the controversy surrounding Rev. Wright,” Obama said.
Wright retiring in June
“They are constantly getting inquiries and having press people to show up reporting sermons. I feel bad about the burdens that I have placed on the other members of the church.”
In June, Wright will retire as the senior pastor, and the Rev. Otis Moss III will ascend to church leadership.
In a statement released to the Huffington Post, Obama said that because of his “strong” links to the Trinity faith community, the church where he married his wife, Michelle, and where his daughters were baptized, he does not think it is appropriate to leave the church.
But it’s also clear to me that Obama is troubled by how Trinity, a pillar of social activism in the black community, is being portrayed.
Wright “has preached for 30 years,” Obama said. “I don’t think this is a well-rounded portrait of him.”
Obama, who has been campaigning across the country since last year, is no longer among the Sunday morning worshippers at Trinity.
Although still a member of the church, Obama acknowledges that these ongoing controversies have put “strains” on his relationship with his pastor.
“I have felt frustrated by how the church has been characterized and by the suggestion that this is somehow a separatist church and by other statements made on these talk shows,” he said.
“Anybody who has been to the church knows this is a terrific, welcoming church,” Obama noted. Trinity “is a wonderful faith community that has done very positive things in the community and also in my life.”
As the gospel teaches, Obama is looking for a way to condemn Wright’s actions but still love the man.
Hahahahahahahaha! What a pantload!
Attacks by Obama’s church on America trouble me.
Hopefully all of this troubles you equally as much!
Here’s all any Conservative needs to know about Barrack Hussein Obama:
Special Interest Group Ratings:
Planned Parenthood - 100% Support
National Right To Life - 0% Support
NARAL - 100% Support
Americans for Tax Reform - 0% Support
ACLU - 83% Support
NEA - 100% Support
NOW Hags - 100% Support
Citizens Against Government Waste - 13% Support
Gun Owners of America - 0% Support
NRA - “F” Rating
Federation for American Immigration Reform - 0% Support
US Border Patrol - 8% Support
Unions - 82% - 100% Support
Population Connection - 100% Support (These are the ‘Zero Growth’ freaks)
http://vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=BS030017
[Barrack Hussein Obama’s record in the Illinois senate:]
- Opposed the Defense of Marriage Act; would work to repeal it in the U.S. Senate; would not vote for any legislation that would restrict the ability of gays and lesbians to marry.
- Opposed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act four times in Illinois. A similar bill passed the U.S. Senate 98-0. The Born Alive bill would have prohibited a baby from being born alive but left to die according to the mother’s wishes. Obama inexplicably opposed this bill not once, twice, or three times, but four times.
- Obama took almost $90,000 in bundled contributions from the Council for a Livable World. The council is a well-known anti-defense organization.
- Obama puts rigid ideology before what’s best for the people of Illinois, and presumably he would do that as President as well. He has on several occasions made public his opposition to the NAFTA trade agreement and his belief that it must be negotiated. All the while thanks to NAFTA, Illinois exports $1.3 billion in agricultural goods to Canada.
- Obama refused to vote for a bill in the Illinois State Senate that would have increased penalties for drug traffickers.
- Obama voted against a bill that would have delivered the death penalty to gang members who murder first responders.
- Finally, just in case you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Obama was the only member of the Illinois State Senate to vote against a bill that prohibited early release for sexual predators.
Can’t kill the innocent fast enough, can’t free the guilty soon enough!
Obama must agree with the “church's” message and therefore he must be a racist.
Here it comes. The DBM blaming this examination on THE VAST RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY. Ring a bell FReepers?
B.S. He just got removed from the campaign yesterday. We must not bakc down from this fight because it is going to bring this bastard down. This man must NOT become President. He is a foul America hater.
Bump
I am no fan of Obama, or his church, or his hate-mongering preacher, but someone needs to yank the IRS leash HARD and do it NOW. They start going after churches and I start thinking "Gestapo"
This writer is spinning so fast I’m surprised her head doesn’t fall off.
“Attacks on his church trouble Obama”
But he isn’t troubled over the attacks the church has made on the country.
Sorry, but if you want the “tax free” status you agree to live by certain rules. If they violate them they should be investigated.
Won’t fly!! The pastor and his follower, Osama Hussein Obama, hate America and they got caught; case closed. Don’t leave out the others in the congregation who were yelling their approval at all the bile being spewed. Everyone in that church hates America, whites and Jews, equally.
Yes....he is a foul racist and a “Hate America First” cheerleader. This fraud must be defeated.
Charismatic? You've got to be kidding me, Charismatic?
Try radical_race-baiting_extremist_racist for starters.
Try getting the DBM propagandists to amplify your take on that.
Rock - "O" - hard place.
Gotta love it
You know, it occurs to me that these folk should never have invoked God's name or His Son's Name (they even claim Jesus is black! I haven't seen any one pick up "O" on that one yet. "Why does your Rev. say "Jesus was a black man!"?
Anyway, it occurs to me that just maybe God is pis*sed, like the rev said - but not for the reasons the rev said.
He does not take lightly people using His name or the name of His Son, for nefarious purposes - and He is maybe orchestrating this.
Obama = Fraud
Wright = Typical America hating Liberal
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