Checking in on Hagee

It's been a while since we heard from nutjob televangelist John Hagee. The controversial pastor was courted by McCain for months. When he finally got his endorsement, McStraighttalk stood by his man for months as controversial statements (praising Hurricane Katrina for wiping out New Orleans, for instance) from the ministry's history became publicized.

Eventually, McMaverick couldn't take the heat and decided to reject him, along with the man he called his "spiritual guide," televangelist and faith healer Rod Parsley.

Hagee has been quiet for a bit, but this week he's kicking off his long-promised gathering of followers at a D.C. conference (McSurrogate Joe Lieberman will be there).

Even though Hagee has hired a p.r. firm to try to put a pretty face on his conference, you don't have to dig too deep to see what kind of fanatical people McCain was seeking to win the approval of.

The American News Project has video and a report on this. Check it out here.

Now McSurrogate Lieberman courts Hagee

McCain may have finally cut ties to Rev.Hagee, but the Smithers to McMaverick's Monty Burns, Joe Lieberman, has decided to rush out and pander to the crazy televangelist.



AP:

WASHINGTON - Sen. Joe Lieberman said Wednesday he will address a conference hosted by the Rev. John Hagee, who was spurned by Republican John McCain for his claim that God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land.

Holy Joe can't use McCain's lame "Gee, I had no idea he was like that when I spent months courting him" excuse. It's all on record now.

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., wave before McCain spoke to members of the National Restaurant Association on Monday, May 19, 2008, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

aMcNother McFlip-flop!

Now McCain has, also months after the fact, decided to backtrack and reject another endorsement. This time it's one from Ohio televangelist and faith healer Rod Parsley.

Then in an interview with The Associated Press, McCain said he rejected Parsley's support, too.

"I believe there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America, and I believe that even though he endorsed me, and I didn't endorse him, the fact is that I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement," McCain told the AP.

McCain claims he didn't endorse Parsley, but he conveniently leaves out the part where he once called the pastor his "spiritual guide."

Sounds like a little more than an endorsement.

Parsley is the kind of guy who thinks it's the duty of the United States to use its foreign policy to wage holy war.

From his book:

I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is. In fact, I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam. I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I do not shrink from its implications. The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.

McCain and the Rev in happier times:

McFlip-flop!

Three months and a string of statements offensive to Catholics, gays and and Jews later, nutjob televangelist John Hagee is FINALLY too controversial for John McCain.

Hagee had tried to protect McCain by apologizing to some Catholics, but the finding of an audiotape of his late 90s sermon in which he said God sent Adolph Hitler to help the Jews get to Israel was the final straw.

HuffPo:

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well," the presidential candidate said in a statement issued Thursday.

And, as always, don't forget that McCain actively sought Hagee's endorsement for months and that many of his controversial views were well-documented at the time.

Josh Marshall gets the quote of the day on this one:

Given that McCain has now clearly rejected Hagee's endorsement, perhaps it's time that he, a la Obama, give a speech on the topic of Republican presidential candidates pandering to lunatic fringe right-wing preachers at election time. It could start a whole national conversation.

Photo of Hagee: AP

He's so sorry

John Hagee, the nutjob televangelist whose endorsement was aggressively sought out by McCain, has released an apology to Catholics for his past remarks.

These weren't some mere slip of the tongue by Hagee. His views on Catholicism were a major focus of his "ministry." Look him up on YouTube. There's plenty of footage from his bizarre lectures - the one calling the Catholic Church "the great whore" is a classic.

But he's sorry now.

Translation: McCain desperately needs Catholic voters.

Will there be an apology from Hagee to homosexuals or to the city of New Orleans for the numerous times he's claimed God sent Hurricane Katrina to punish the city for a planned gay pride event?

Don't hold your breath.

Tough question coming for McCain or another pass?

According to John McCain backer, nutty televangelist John Hagee, New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina because “there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came.”

That's one of the many bizarre and offensive statements by a man whose endorsement was vigorously sought and proudly accepted by Senator McCain.

McCain is scheduled to visit New Orleans on Thursday.

Think Progress asks:

Will reporters ask whether he agrees with Hagee belief that the devastated city was cursed because of a gay pride parade? We’ll be watching.

And in case you think this was a one-time, out-of-context statement by a key figure of the religious right, this is a repeat offense on this claim by Hagee.

He was asked in 2006 by NPR's Terry Gross:

"You said after Hurricane Katrina that it was an act of God, and you said 'when you violate God's will long enough, the judgment of God comes to you. Katrina is an act of God for a society that is becoming Sodom and Gomorrah reborn.' " She then asked, "Do you still think that Katrina is punishment from God for a society that's becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah?"

To which he replied:

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.

He was asked about it Tuesday on conservative radio's The Dennis Prager Show. Prager repeated the statement and Hagee replied:

HAGEE: Yes. The topic of that day was cursing and blessing. Moses taught in the book of Deuteronomy that everything in life is either a blessing or a curse. There are days that things happen that at the time look like a curse. In the passing of time, they may become what appears to be a blessing. An illustration is Joseph, when he was sold into slavery it looked like a curse, it looked like the worse day of his life. When his brothers came into Egypt looking for food, what looked like a bad day 13 years before turned out to be a blessed day. What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God, in time if New Orleans recovers and becomes the pristine city it can become it may in time be called a blessing. But at this time it's called a curse.

Now how is this guy any better than Rev. Wright and why does Saint McCain get a pass from the media for eagerly seeking him out for support?

Double-standards

Looks like John McCain aggressively sought that endorsement from nutjob televangelist John Hagee. At least that's how Hagee tells the story.

McCain has attempted to distance himself from some of Hagee's views, much as Barack Obama is doing in relation to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But unlike McCain, Obama has not stood on stage with Wright and accepted his accolades this year.

Interviewed by Deborah Solomon, Hagee refused to discuss his statement that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for a gay rights parade in New Orleans, calling it "so far off-base." He claims, "Our church is not hard against the gay people. Our church teaches what the bible teaches, that it is not a righteous lifestyle. But of course we must love even sinners."

Count on a majority of those in the media tokeep giving the ol' "maverick" a pass.

And the man McCain hails as his spiritual adviser, nutty televangelist and faith healer Rod Parsley, has some interesting views.

Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a press conference with Rev. John Hagee, a televangelist from Cornerstone Church, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

'No one could discriminate against anyone'

DailyKos and WVaBlue contributer Carnacki has a lengthy piece on Cabell County Delegate Kelli Sobonya's comments from last week.

There are four passages in the Bible regarding homosexual acts and more than 3,000 passages about caring for the poor. Do you think Kelli Sononya has ever stood and railed that the state is not doing enough to help poor people? Has she ever railed against the sins of greed? Of course not.

So when Sononya pleads for "tolerance for those with true, deep-seated convictions based on Bible teachings" she ignores the log in her own eye. I can quote passage after passage of Jesus condemning hypocrites, but none where Jesus condemned homosexuality.

Yes, she actually said that

On the bill that would have prohibited employers from firing people based on sexual orientation, Cabell County Representative Kelli Sobonya has some ... well ... interesting views.

From The Register Herald:

“Where’s the tolerance for those with true, deep-seated convictions based on Bible teachings relating to homosexuality?” Sobonya wondered after the meeting.

Conceivably, under the bill, she said, a cross dresser could demand to put on whatever he pleases while teaching in a public school to express “sexual orientation.”

“Homosexuality is an abomination to God based on the teaching of the Bible,” she said.

There's more, but the summary of her closing comments makes your jaw drop.

Eventually, she said, if the trend continues, no one could discriminate against anyone for any reason.

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C. Richard Cobb left the story, along with this description of the bill in the comments section of an earlier entry on this blog:

As the chairperson of the City of Huntington Human Relations Commission, I wanted to let everyone know that we have been working to have Senate Bill 600 approved by the House of Delegates and sent to the Governor for his signature. The bill will add "sexual orientation" and "age" as protected classes in the West Virginia Human Rights Act.

Every citizen must be treated fairly in the area of acquiring housing and in the area of employment. Being able to rent an apartment or home, or purchase a home should be based on a person's ability to pay the rent, or make a mortgage payment - and NOT on their sexual orientation, or perceived sexual orientation. Obtaining and retaining a job should based on the criteria of qualifications and performance - NOT sexual orientation, or perceived sexual orientation.

Equal rights should apply to all citizens of our state. However, some folks need to be protected by law in order to be able to share rights that many of us take for granted.

---

Sobonya's opposition to the bill should come as no surprise to anyone. As "MadAnne" at Wvablue points out, Sobonya's Web site proudly lists her work as a lobbyist for the WV Christian Coalition and the West Virginia Family Foundation (an affiliate of the controversial American Family Association) among her achievements.

The McCompany you keep

John McCain says he's standing by the endorsement of controversial televangelist John Hagee.
As usual, the "maverick" wants to have it both ways. He courts the pastor's supporters for votes, but doesn't want his alignment with such a fringe bigot to soil his appeal to moderate, reasonable people.

McCain's statement:

Well I think it's important to note that pastor John Hagee who has supported and endorsed my candidacy supports what I stand for and believe in. When he endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believes. 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."

And who is Hagee?

Here are some of his greatest hits:

Hagee on Hurricane Katrina

"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 were recipients of the judgment of God for that." From NPR's Fresh Air, Sept. 18, 2006

Conservatives Catholics have a problem with Hagee — From The Washington Post.

But Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement Thursday that Hagee has written extensively in negative ways about the Catholic Church, "calling it 'The Great Whore,' an 'apostate church,' the 'anti-Christ,' and a 'false cult system.' "

So do liberal Catholics:

On Wednesday, Senator John McCain was “honored” to receive the endorsement of the Evangelical pastor John Hagee. Pastor Hagee is well known for his anti-Catholic rhetoric such as past suggestions that the Catholic Church gave Adolf Hitler inspiration and support for the Holocaust. In a letter to John McCain’s campaign, Catholics United is asking the Senator to distance himself from Pastor Hagee’s anti-Catholic comments and reject the endorsement.

Hagee on the Holocaust:

In "Jerusalem Countdown: A Prelude To war" Hagee has stated that Jews brought the Holocaust upon themselves by rebelling against God and that the Holocaust was God's way of forcing Jews to move to Israel where, Hagee predicts according to his interpretation of Biblical scripture, they will be mostly killed in the apocalyptic Mideast conflict Hagee's new lobbying group seems to be working to provoke.

The media has covered Louis Farrakhan's support of Barrack Obama quite extensively. Unlike, McCain, Obama rejected the support outright.

McCain wants to accept Hagee's on the one hand and disagree a bit on the other (without mentioning any specifics as to where he disagrees - just a vague "some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said...")

Seeing as how McCain is the beltway media's golden boy and appears on Tim Russert's show practically every Sunday, it will be interesting to see if Russert will spend anywhere near the amount of time pressing McCain as he did with Obama in the Democratic debate.

Pander bears on the loose

One from the Journal that I overlooked last week — a legislator's plan to create an "aborted fetus registry:"

This year, 61 bills were introduced in the state Legislature attempting to change existing abortion laws. Delegates Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and John Overington, R-Berkeley; and Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, were among those to introduce the measures.

Legislators said they recognize that the initiatives are not likely to make much progress this year.

“That hasn’t been taken up, and the committee chairman isn’t going to have that on the agenda,” Overington said of House Bill 2149, for which he was the lead sponsor.

The measure, which was forwarded to the Committee on Health and Human Resources, aims to create an “aborted fetus registry.” The bill would require a “fetal death certificate,” and mandate that information about the fetus’ gestational age, the type of abortion performed and the age and county of residence of the woman receiving the abortion, be recorded. Any possible birth defects would also have to be noted, as would the “method of disposal of the remains,” the bill states.

Hot button tactics are nothing new for Overington. He's the same "pro-life" guy who want to bring executions back to W.Va., after all. And, along with pal Blair, felt the state was in some dire need of an amendment to the constitution to "protect" marriage from those scary gays.

Photo: AP