McCain Faces Fire Over Minister's Views
Presumptive GOP Nominee Faces Questions Over Rev. John Hagee's Provocative Preachings
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McCain's Divisive Supporter
John McCain faces controversy over an endorsement he received from Rev. John Hagee, a San Antonio pastor who has made disparaging comments about the Catholic Church. Jeff Greenfield reports.
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John McCain
Some call him a hero, some a maverick. Will Americans call him Mr. President?
Hagee has offered some highly provocative views on a variety of subjects.
For instance, he linked Hurricane Katrina to the gay rights movement: " … All of the city was punished because of the sin that happened there in that city."
He has also denounced the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore of Babylon" and "a cult." He blames it for the Holocaust and predicts its imminent demise.
"This is the apostate church," Hagee said. " … this false religious system is going to be totally devoured by the anti-Christ."
In a statement, Catholics United said: "We hope Senator McCain will take the principled position of publicly and unequivocally distancing himself from Pastor Hagee's anti-Catholic comments."
And Bill Donahue of the Catholic League offered a tougher view: "I do want a clear-cut statement from McCain saying that he knows Catholics have been offended, when this man hagee calls my religon the great whore and a false cult system."
Today, Sen. McCain offered carefully measured words: "I don't have to agree with everyone who endorses my candidacy," he said. "They are supporting my candidacy. I am not endorsing some of their positions."
The question is whether Pastor Hagee's view on the Catholic Church constitutes "a position" or a view that the presumptive Republican nominee has to address head on.
This dust-up may also make it a lot tougher for Republicans to criticize Barack Obama for some of his more controversial supporters.
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Posted by paris1969 at 07:32 PM : Feb 29, 2008
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I agree. It is a free country and people can support who they want. I do hope this slime-ball pastor endorses him formally from the pulpit though, so maybe he can lose his tax exempt status. Now that would be a good thing.
You do it once, people will forgive; you do it twice, people will not forget . . .
"This is the apostate church," Hagee said. " %u2026 this false religious system is going to be totally devoured by the anti-Christ."
""all I can tell you is that I am very proud to have Pastor John Hagee''s support."
John McCain
McCain''s answer to all this is the typical neocon Fascist Nazi GOP answer: I''ll take what they give me, but I don''t have to give anything back! Trouble is, that is not the way politics works. Everyone knows that if you give a politician something, you would expect them to return the favor, which is what I am sure McCain will do if he makes it to the throne in the Oval Office.
After all, we wouldn''t want the "kooks" and "crazys" on the religious right mad at the neocon Fascist Nazis now, would we!
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!
sig heil, McCain???
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Posted by MacStyler at 09:14 PM : Feb 29, 2008
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Yes, with the LIES told about the Neo Nazi the other night in Ohio, you do begin to wonder about the man that''s for sure. It seems like he wants the support and work of these Radical people in the Klan and the Neo Nazi''s but wants people to just look the other way while they spread their vile hate and division. We already have that and frankly that''s the last thing we need more of. Sieg Heil and Amen
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Posted by SgtRDS at 10:07 PM : Feb 29, 2008
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No chance I take that bet! LOL
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Posted by SgtRDS at 10:04 PM : Feb 29, 2008
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I do agree though. It does seem that McCain is gathering up all these very sick and hate filled people. I think he believes that''s the only way he can win and I think it''s something the Average American is not going to go along with.
Posted by MCVet at 10:09 PM : Feb 29, 2008
The hate level is about the same and so is the insanity level. If he''s not singinrick then they''re soul brothers for sure.
;-)
Posted by MCVet at 10:11 PM : Feb 29, 2008
I agree. The independents and moderate republicans are leaving the GOP in droves because of more of the same right wing/religious extremists views and people we''ve suffered with the past 7 years.
People are calling him "fanatic" "loony" "crazy" but these sobriquets won''t work either. However, if we called Hagee a moralizing moron, some of his "flock" might not like being identified as "idiots". BTW: Benny XVI is do to arrive in the States soon. Hagee should meet him at the airport - along with McCain.
Someone should tell Hagee that "McCain was involved in an extra-marital affair when he filed to divorce his first wife, Carol, in January 1980." He then married into money to finance his political career.
Now, that''s what we like to call "GOP morality"!
Pandering again?
"In no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee''s views, which I obviously do not," McCain said in a statement. Hagee wrote a book that claimed Adolph Hitler and the Catholic Church joined in a conspiracy to destroy Jews.
This man is a hateful fanatical extremist.
John McCain needs to put some distance from him, or face losses simply for his associations.
How can any Commander in Chief have a healthy diplomatic relationship with any country with Hagee only a few feet away speaking for him?
Republicans have crossed over to the Obama camp because McCain can''t divest himself away from fanatical extremist associations.
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Posted by dfv21102 at 10:45 PM : Feb 29, 2008
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LOL, now THAT I would pay to see!
Obama has Louis Farakkan
I pray someday that God devalues the place of religion in American public life, to where mere preachers don''t inspire such attention from politicians. Humility is the first principle of religion, and the first discarded by a Hagee or a Farakkan.
"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.
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OK, above is how McCain is handling this piece of human filth. He is "proud of his leadership." Any respect I EVER had for John McCain is kaput. This is the same bunch of slime-balls that crucified (forgive the pun) him in 2000. I think John wants to win so bad that he would kiss Satan himself to do it. This pastor is no Christian, only a seller of hate. Unfortunately there seem to be a lot of buyers.
Republicans can''t stand a taste of their own medicine.
Obama has Louis Farakkan"
Except Obama never ACTIVELY SOUGHT OUT nor WELCOMED the endorsement of Farrakhan, unlike McCain who has appeared repeatedly ON STAGE with Bigot Hagee. Which is a huge difference.
Yet except for CBS News - you''ve gotta give them props for covering this story - the rest of the press are giving their BFF McCain a pass.
So, why the double standard? Either:
1) the mainstream press finds nothing wrong with anti-Catholic bigotry.
2) black public officials are held to a higher standard than white public officials in these matters.
3) the press is allowing it''s love affair with John McCain to get in the way of actually doing their jobs.
Whatever answer you pick, the difference in how these two similar stories are being covered reveals something fundamentally wrong and corrupted with our political press corps.
Posted by libra127 at 12:15 AM
Hard as it may be to believe, 30-40% of the population actually think this way. They''re called right wing fundamentalist Christians. That''s who McCain needs to appeal to.
BTW the earth is only 6000 years old. Look it up on conservapedia and learn the facts.
I wonder whether this pastor maybe decided to endorse McCain to see whether he''d denouce and reject the platform and McCain after having sought out the endorsement then got put on the spot. I don''t think that shows good foresight either if that is also the case . . .
Had Mr. Obama "offered carefully measured words" about Minister Farrakhan, the neocons would go ballistic.
Point by point, the masks of the racists are being removed, and their true motivation is becoming more obvious.
-from a Sarah Posner article on Hagee in the American Prospect
The Republicans at one time courted the Hispanic vote, seeking to play on the frictions between the Hispanic and "Black" communities, but since the majority of Hispanics are also Catholic, they just blew their chances away, and will now suffer a landslide loss to the Demopcrats.
We can only hope that the mandate will help the Democrats recover their spirit to advocate for the common man.
I love the wishful thinking at the end of the article: "This dust-up may also make it a lot tougher for Republicans to criticize Barack Obama for some of his more controversial supporters."
Does the liberal news media even try to hide their bias anymore? Sorry losers - there''s nothing here.
Listen to this medicated babbling ***, if you believe in the Christian Protestant religion, and somehow can twist your brain to accept this idiot''s views, then the question that defies logic is why would the "Anti Christ" destroy a "false church", as it would seem to serve the "Anti Christ''s" purpose so well?
-Posted by brianbwb at 12:28 AM : Mar 01, 2008
You''re right. Bill Clinton really opened our eyes a few weeks ago, didn''t he!
Well he might have opened yours, but I had him pegged from the start. The only reason he ran as a Democrat was that at the time, Republicans were not going to win. Bush Sr. had basically made that impossible.
Last I checked McCain''s mealy mouthed "carefully measured words" are not quite in the same league as Obama being asked to "reject and denounce" Farrakhan again and again. Particularly since Obama never asked for Farrakhan''s support in the first place. Unlike McCain and the clown pastor Hagee.
And you think the media are biased against McCain.
Two stories with uncanny similarities - yet the Obama one gets major press, while the McCain one minimal press. Come on, McCain''s been getting a free ride. As Chris Matthews said, "The press loves McCain. We''re his base."
Why can''t he answer a simple question: Does he or does he not agree with the statements made by Rev. John Hagee?
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