03/06/2008
John McCain Embraces, Rather than Denounces, Wingnut John Hagee
"All I can tell you is I'm very proud to have pastor Hagee's support," said John McCain, about his recent endorsement by Pastor John Hagee, whose statements about Catholics and the U.S. support of a two-state Israeli/Palestinian solution, not to mention gays, have been widely condemned. I mentioned this briefly last week, but Hagee's statements are now detailed in a video clip put together by the folks at Talking Points Memo.
Here's what Hagee said about Hurricane Katrina in an appearance in 2006 on NPR's Fresh Air: "All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are -- were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades. So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know that there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the day of judgment. And I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans."
See the clip AFTER THE JUMP...
(via slog)
It's time for John McCain to denounce this man rather than embrace him.
Previously
McCain Gay-Baiting in new Romney-bashing robo-call [tr]
John McCain: Never Heard the Acronym 'LGBT' Before [tr]
High School Student Slams McCain After Gay Rights Question [tr]
Report: McCain Feels "Gay Sweaters" Helped Undo Campaign [tr]
McCain Restates Support of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" [tr]
John McCain Not Sure if Condoms Stop Spread of HIV [tr]
John McCain: Gays are Welcome to Marry, Just Not Legally [tr]
Posted 10:12 AM EST by Andy Towle in John Hagee, John McCain, News, Republican Party | Permalink
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Unless I'm mistaken, the "homosexual parade" that Hagee says was scheduled for the Monday Katrina hit was Southern Decadence, which was scheduled for the following weekend, Labor Day weekend, not the day of the Hurricane. If God was trying to punish the city for the sin of homosexuality, he was off by a week. The homos weren't even in town yet.
Hagee is just another slick preacher who's discovered that the big money is in religion and the really big money comes from exploiting fear and ignorance. But, because he's white and "Christian" he gets a pass.
Posted by: sam | Mar 6, 2008 10:19:22 AM
Carl Rove appeared on Fox News Channel on Tuesday defending McCain for not denouncing Hagee. He said that what Hagee does on his own time is his business, just as long as he doesn't say these things while he is at McCain events.
Then Rove, without being called out by the Fox anchors, criticized Obama and said that he was linked up with Farrakhan, and that he has not done enough to distance himself from the minister.
Rebpublicans really don't have a clue about the things that they say.
Posted by: Cadence | Mar 6, 2008 10:19:33 AM
I wonder what Hagee would say about the deadly, devastating tornadoes that ripped through the exact Southern states that Huckabee had carried the previous day, Super Tuesday. Anything? Hm? No? Oh...okay.
Posted by: LD | Mar 6, 2008 10:25:03 AM
Yikes, I agree with Bill Donohue about something--that's scary!
Interesting how Wolf (at least in the clip) delves into the Catholics are whores stuff instead of the gays caused Katrina. I wonder if the controversy will be similar to when the media focused on Phelps picketing soldiers' funerals instead of his homo-hatred? (The message being that someone's not really crazy and offensive till he goes after the straight people.) We'll see where Hagee's crazy homophobia ranks in the list of craziness the media covers.
As for McCain, I think the word "whore" may apply to him as well.
Posted by: Ernie | Mar 6, 2008 10:30:29 AM
These are the kind of decisions a man with Senator McCain's "experience" leads him to make, Mrs Clinton?
These lunatic Nazis masquerading as Christians make Miss McClurkin look like Shirley Temple--in black face. But these are the kinds of men "experienced" Senator McCain will look to for spiritual guidance (and right-wing, fundamentalist facists VOTES), Mrs Clinton.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Mar 6, 2008 10:42:47 AM
Hagee doesn't seem to notice the irony that God chose to punish the city that has for over one hundred years hosted the most debauched parade in the nation; a parade of debauchery I might add that commemorates a day on the CHRISTIAN calender leading into the most Holy period in Christianity, Lent! Don't ya think if God was gonna get pissed at New Orleans He would have taken action before then?
Hagee also fails to mention that Katrina ACTUALLY had a direct hit on MISSISSIPPI (arguably THE most homophobic state in the union and a state that passed a gay marriage amendment by 85%+ BEFORE Katrina) NOT New Orleans.
Even in his silly hocus pocus world or "sinners in the hands of an angry God" Hagee's story just doesn't add up.
Now, I wonder when McCain will be grilled by the media on this endorsement the way Obama was in the debate about his edorsement by the equally (but NO more so) hateful and offensive Farrakan.
Posted by: Zeke | Mar 6, 2008 10:58:41 AM
The evangelicals and neo-cons don't trust McCain any farther than they can throw him. Remember when Ann Coulter said she'd vote for Hillary before she'd vote for McCain?
He'll have to link himself publically with many wingnuts like this guy in an effort to bolster his support among these groups.
Expect to see much more of this - but it's good news for Clinton and/or Obama. Makes it easier to paint him as an extremist.
Posted by: Chris | Mar 6, 2008 11:02:33 AM
Chris I agree
Expect even more of this to shore up McCains wingnut brigade.
This will only help OBAMA/ Clinton 08 :-) together with Obama as president and Hillary as VP.
A large swath of indies are catholic. Socialy conservative but economicaly liberal. They might no go to mass every day, but they won't like their church being called the "whore of babylon"
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Mar 6, 2008 11:09:41 AM
Didn’t the Catholic Church condemned the Democrats and promoted the Republicans during the 2004 election. I’m waiting to see if they’ll do it again this election.
Posted by: 1♥ | Mar 6, 2008 11:16:23 AM
So how long before we discover a 12 yr old boy in Hagee's bed? Both high on Oxycontin? Two weeks, maybe three?
Posted by: secretagentman | Mar 6, 2008 11:38:29 AM
More of the same really. Religion has always been used by those in power to gain more power. Its certainly happened over the past 8 years and with Christianity it's been happening since the time of Constantine in the Roman Empire. McCain needs the evangelical vote and since Fox News' campaign to get Huckabee the nomination didn't work out, ("McCain is a liberal," etc.), the focus has to shift toward getting the right wing nut jobs on board with McCain. Unfortunately there are too many people out there who don't realize that it's all a ploy for power and money.
Posted by: CLEMSONAJ | Mar 6, 2008 11:51:25 AM
Hey porky, or fat Elvis preacher, why hasn't God struck you down for worshiping your belly??!! Fundamentalist nut.
Posted by: Nikko | Mar 6, 2008 12:04:18 PM
Yes, and the rash of unseasonable tornadic activity and terrible storms hitting the southern states this winter is God's way of punishing those biggots and homophobes for their hateful rhetoric. Guess he is sick of all the hate they spew forth in the name of the Lord.
Go, God, Go! Wipe out another trailer park in AK!
Posted by: Craig | Mar 6, 2008 12:25:50 PM
While I am so mad at the Democrats for all their screw-ups (FL, MI, superdelegates, caucuses), this is exactly why I'd never vote McCain. The Republican party is the party of hypocrisy and religious nut jobs.
Posted by: TroyTooner | Mar 6, 2008 12:40:44 PM
LOL. This will hopefully move Republican GLBT voters to the Libertarian party as a protest vote.
Posted by: Matt from California | Mar 6, 2008 2:24:13 PM
As I'm unaware of Shirley Temple ever having said that gays are "trying to kill our children" it will take a hell of a lot more than black face and contrast with the equally homohating Hagees of the world to equate Donnie McClurkin with her.
And, mon frere Zeke, as repulsive as Hagee is; as much as he exploits homophobia to enrich himself [he makes at least a million dollars a year]; as much as I would personal like to nail his dick to a wooden chair one can hardly equate him with Farrakhan.
Farrakhan hates gays AND Jews [Hagee's anti-Catholicism pales in comparison as when was the last time you heard of 6 million Catholics being murdered?] and has called whites "the skunk of the earth." He has far more followers than Hagee and is better known by far for it. If one polled Towleroadies before all of this I bet you that at least five times as many would recognize Farrakhan's name than Hagee's.
But thanks for the opportunity to remind LGBTs that Obama has repeatedly denounced Farrakhan, rejected his endorsement, while only "agreeing to disagree" with McClurkin whose homohatred is much better known among blacks than Farrakhan whose main act is anti-Semitism.
And that Obama cancelled the invitation of his personal pastor and friend of many years, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who gave him the idea for his second book title, to give a prayer at the rally announcing his candidacy when fear that his minister's controversial opinions on race and Jews [and his having praised Farrakhan "as one of the 20th & 21st century giants of the African American religious experience" and his "integrity and honesty"] might scare voters off while Obama's response to being BEGGED by gays of all colors to similarly disinvite McClurkin, someone he'd never known before Oprah introduced them a few months before, from starring in his South Carolina rally was, "NO!"
Can you imagine what the public's response would have been if Wright had appeared at the Obama rally and declared, as he did the Sunday after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, that they were a consequence of violent American policies? Of course, he wasn't given the chance. Yet Obama paid for a stage and microphone from which Donnie McClurkin screeched "God delivered me from homosexuality!" and has YET to denounce McClurkin as he has Farrakhan.
Why is hating Jews something to be denounced for in Obama's mind and NOT denoucing gays, saying we're trying to kill children, that being gay is a choice, ad infinitum as McClurkin has done?
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Mar 6, 2008 2:51:32 PM
So, Michael, are you defending future President McCain's acceptance of this Nazi preacher's endorsement?
And Shirley did do black face, a couple of times(as a child movie star, of course--not as an ambassador). She was adorable.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Mar 6, 2008 2:59:59 PM
D, you know better than that. McCain isn't the worst Repug but he's bad enough and this just punches more holes in the bald tires on his "Straight Talk Express."
There's never been a Republican candidate for Prez that I would vote for and I don't expect one in my lifetime or yours. I DO expect the Logheads to turn their other ass check about this as they SOOOO luv getting dry fucked by the Repugs.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Mar 6, 2008 3:28:10 PM
There's been a lot of talk in this campaign about "grassroots." There's more and more talk of the benefits of a combined H&O ticket. Some have said one or the other of them would never agree, but I've not seen anyone say it is a bad idea.
This morning's bombing in NYC, no matter how unrelated it will probably turn out to be to "organized terrorists," reminds us of the kinds of things that could happen between now and November to convert a doddering old warmonger like McCain into someone the majority of voters, regardless of any present support for a Democrat, think is the best person to "protect us."
I respectfully urge each of you to start e-mailing both the Clinton and Obama camps, as well as the DNC, and demanding a joint ticket. You can state your preference for which would be better "on top," but the important thing is the two together—combining their unique strengths and huge groups of supporters to defeat anything that Fate and the Rovians might throw at us.
Here are some e-mail/contact addresses:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/help/contact/
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2
http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contact
You have nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time—and a new world to gain.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Mar 6, 2008 5:48:39 PM
Chris I agree
Expect even more of this to shore up McCains wingnut brigade.
This will only help OBAMA/ Clinton 08 :-) together with Obama as president and Hillary as VP.
A large swath of indies are catholic. Socialy conservative but economicaly liberal. They might no go to mass every day, but they won't like their church being called the "whore of babylon"
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Mar 6, 2008 11:09:41 AM
---------------------
Even more important Jimmyboy is my family of NY Irish Catholic GOP Conservatives, who hate McCain as it is. I just sent them the clip by the way. lol.
This is going to be the pulse of the election this fall, as Bette said, fasten your seat belts.
As for a Hillary Obama ticket, I'm glad to see you are on board JB, but anyone who follows politics knows Hillary is a top. ;)
Posted by: patrick nyc | Mar 6, 2008 7:22:39 PM
JimmyBoyo,
Weren't you ranting on here not that long ago about Wesley Clark being the best candidate for prez?
Isn't he supporting Hillary?
How about that!
Posted by: jmg | Mar 6, 2008 8:14:26 PM
McCain also called Jerry Falwell a "great man."
Posted by: lou | Mar 6, 2008 8:57:50 PM
Porky Pig Hagee has clearly disavowed the seven deadly sins. McCodger's embracing of this sow and the "shrub" will make slicker his road to perdition.
PATRICK NYC,
lol @ your comment about Hill being a top. good one.
Posted by: nic | Mar 7, 2008 5:47:07 AM
We as ministers need to teach love and consentrate more on the souls. God hates sin, but He loves the sinner. We tend to crush the gays, but God word speak against people that shack and adulters. Hellllooo!!!
What happen to just teaching the Word of God in love and stop all of this Hating because that's what it is. If we look into our own lives, we will find something that God is not please with. ...and I know God is not pleased with the ministers HATING
Posted by: Crickett | May 22, 2008 11:21:11 AM