Some hateful, radical ministers -- white evangelicals -- are acceptable

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Glenn Greenwald

One of this week's hysterical press scandals was that Minister Louis Farrakhan praised Barack Obama's candidacy even though Obama had previously denounced numerous Farrakhan remarks and the Obama campaign did nothing to seek out the Farrakhan praise. Nonetheless, Tim Russert demanded that Obama jump through multiple hoops to prove that he has no connection to -- and, in fact, "rejects" -- the ideas espoused by Farrakhan deemed to be radical and hateful.

Yesterday, though, the equally fringe, radical and hateful (at least) Rev. John Hagee -- a white evangelical who is the pastor of a sprawling "mega-church" in Texas -- enthusiastically endorsed John McCain. Did McCain have to jump through the same hoops which Russert and others set up for Obama and "denounce" Hagee's extremism and "reject" his support? No; quite the opposite. McCain said he was "very honored" to receive this endorsement and, when asked about some of Hagee's more twisted views, responded: "all I can tell you is that I am very proud to have Pastor John Hagee's support."

McCain's sainted supporter, Joe Lieberman, last year spoke to Hagee's group and lavished him with such obsequious praise that Lieberman actually compared Hagee, favorably, to Moses. Why is Louis Farrakhan deemed by our political establishment to be so radioactive as to not be fit for good company -- black candidates are required to repudiate his support even when they haven't sought it and denounce his views even when they've never advocated anything close to those views -- but John Hagee is a perfectly acceptable figure whom mainstream GOP politicians are free to court without any consequences or media objections?

Here is just a small sampling of the belief system of this welcomed McCain supporter:

* All Muslims are programmed to kill and we can thus never negotiate with any of them. From an NPR interview Hagee gave to Terry Gross in 2006:

TG: If you use the Bible as the basis for policy, is there any room for compromise? And if you use the bible as the basis for policy, should Muslims use the Koran as the basis for their policy, and then again, what possible basis is there for compromise at that point? JH: There is really no room for compromise between radical Islam --

TG: I'm not talking about radical Islam.

I'm just talking about Islam in general.

JH: Well Islam in general

-- those who live by the Koran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews.

* God caused Hurricane Katrina to wipe out New Orleans because it had a gay pride parade the week before and was filled with sexual sin. From the same interview:

JH: 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

. 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 would 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 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

.

* The End Times -- Rapture -- is imminent and the U.S. Government must do what it can to hasten it, which at minimum requires: (1) a war with Iran and (2) undying, absolute support for a unified Israel, including all Occupied Territories (hence, Joe Lieberman's love affair with them). From Christian Palestinian Daoud Kuttab in The New York Times (h/t PZ Meyers):

A small minority of evangelical Christians have entered the Middle East political arena with some of the most un-Christian statements I have ever heard. . . . [Rev.] Hagee, a popular televangelist who leads the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, ratcheted up his rhetoric this year with the publication of his book, "Jerusalem Countdown," in which he argues that

a confrontation with Iran is a necessary precondition for Armageddon (which will mean the death of most Jews, in his eyes)

and the Second Coming of Christ. In the best-selling book, Hagee insists that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West.

Hagee believes that "the president's support for Israel fulfills a biblical injunction to protect the Jewish state," which "will play a pivotal role in the second coming." These views are not unrelated to Hagee's support for McCain. Quite the contrary; Hagee cited McCain's so-called "pro-Israel views," his belligerence towards Iran, and his social conservatism as reasons for the endorsement. And in critical contrast to Obama and Farrakhan, McCain actually seems to share some of Hagee's more twisted views, as evidenced by

about dropping bombs on Iran. The GOP has long been given a pass on courting the most warped and twisted religious figures around. George Bush spoke regularly with Pat Robertson -- never once forced to "denounce" or "reject" him. In 2006, Rev. Hagee had a private meeting with uber-White House neocon (and convicted criminal) Elliot Abrams, who just happens to run Middle East policy in the Bush administration, and afterwards, Hagee gushed that he and Abrams (like he and Lieberman) shared similar views towards the Middle East: "we felt we were on the right track."

Watching the media's treatment of Farrakhan and Hagee, is it possible to imagine a more transparent, and grotesque, double standard? In the framework of the Russert-led establishment press, white evangelical Christians are, by definition, entitled to great respect no matter how radical, extreme and hateful their professed views are. These are, after all, religious Christians -- People of Faith -- and, as such, it is wrong, even bigoted, to suggest that they should be repudiated. There is nothing ever radical, hateful or dangerous about the views of white evangelical Christians like Hagee.

Thus, white evangelical Ministers are free to advocate American wars based on Biblical mandates, rant hatefully against Islam, and argue that natural disasters occur because God hates gay people. They are still fit for good company, an important and cherished part of our mainstream American political system. The entire GOP establishment is permitted actively to lavish them with praise and court their support without the slightest backlash or controversy. Both George Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent formal greetings to the 2006 gathering of Hagee's group.

By contrast, black Muslim ministers like Farrakhan, or even black Christian ministers like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, are held with deep suspicion, even contempt. McCain is free to hug and praise the Rev. Hagees of the world, but Obama is required to prove over and over and over and over that he does not share the more extreme views of black Ministers.

How come Tim Russert -- in all the times he sits and chats with Lieberman, McCain and various high Bush officials -- never reads all of the inflammatory, disgusting, crazed "Rapture-is-Coming/ All-Jews-will-Burn/ Kill-All-Muslims/ Hurricanes-are-Punishment-against-Gays" pronouncements from John Hagee and James Dobson and Pat Robertson and demand that John McCain and George Bush and Joe Lieberman "denounce" those views and "reject" their support? What's the difference, exactly?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/200...inion/greenwald

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Steve, is salon.com your moral compass? What about Imams,calypso Louie? Not mentioned here.

Edited February 28, 2008 by CarolsMarc

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Because being a racist, ignorant, white christian is perfectly acceptable behavior in America.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Steve, is salon.com your moral compass? What about Imams,calypso Louie? Not mentioned here.

Why?

Perhaps because McCain is accepting this endorsement, while Obama has publicly rejected Louis Farrakhan's?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The problem with Farrakhan isn't that he's hateful, it's that he's hateful against Israel.

The issue is Israel. Always has been.

[Sister Fracas 5]

* The End Times -- Rapture -- is imminent and the U.S. Government must do what it can to hasten it, which at minimum requires: (1) a war with Iran and (2) undying, absolute support for a unified Israel, including all Occupied Territories

As IF God would hasten the rapture JUST because the US helped bring it about. CRIPES! Talk about some egocentricism there.

Edited February 28, 2008 by Sister Fracas

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[/indent]* The End Times -- Rapture -- is imminent and the U.S. Government must do what it can to hasten it, which at minimum requires: (1) a war with Iran and (2) undying, absolute support for a unified Israel, including all Occupied Territories

As IF God would hasten the rapture JUST because the US helped bring it about. CRIPES! Talk about some egocentricism there.

Radical Fundamentalism stinks in every direction.

[tom&tata 2]

[/indent]* The End Times -- Rapture -- is imminent and the U.S. Government must do what it can to hasten it, which at minimum requires: (1) a war with Iran and (2) undying, absolute support for a unified Israel, including all Occupied Territories

As IF God would hasten the rapture JUST because the US helped bring it about. CRIPES! Talk about some egocentricism there.

Radical Fundamentalism stinks in every direction.

It's true. I have seen radical fundamentalism. Stupid in Indonesia, stupid also in US. It does not matter what colour/flag it comes with

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Barak Obama's minister called Louis Farakhan a great man. Funny no mention of it here. Just a good ole bashing of Russert.

One of this week's hysterical press scandals was that Minister Louis Farrakhan praised Barack Obama's candidacy even though Obama had previously denounced numerous Farrakhan remarks and the Obama campaign did nothing to seek out the Farrakhan praise. Nonetheless, Tim Russert demanded that Obama jump through multiple hoops to prove that he has no connection to -- and, in fact, "rejects" -- the ideas espoused by Farrakhan deemed to be radical and hateful.

Fact: Is this Radical enough?

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and his Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, honored Farrakhan at a gala, bestowing on him its Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Lifetime Achievement Trumpeteer award.

Obama says he found religion and Jesus Christ through Wright, whom he met in the mid-1980s. Obama has been attending Wright’s church regularly since 1988. Wright warned Obama that getting involved with Trinity, with its radical reputation, might turn off other black clergy. But in 1991, Obama joined the church and walked down the aisle in a formal commitment of faith. Wright later married Obama and Michelle Robinson and baptized their two daughters.

The title of Obama’s bestseller “The Audacity of Hope” comes from one of Wright’s sermons. Wright is one of the first people Obama thanked after his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

Farrakhan has repeatedly made hate-filled statements targeting Jews, whites, America, and homosexuals. He has called whites “blue-eyed devils” and the “anti-Christ.” He has described Jews as “bloodsuckers” who control the government, the media, and some black organizations.

“Do you know some of these satanic Jews have taken over BET [the Black Entertainment Network]?” Farrakhan said in a speech on Nov. 11, 2007. “Everything that we built, they have. The mind of Satan now is running the record industry, movie industry, and television. And they make us look like we’re the murderers; we look like we’re the gangsters, but we’re punk stuff.” A video quoting some of Wright’s opprobriums ran at the gala at the Hyatt Regency Chicago and appears on YouTube. However, while the mainstream media have hammered Mitt Romney over his religion, they have ignored or else downplayed Obama’s ties to Wright. No stories have appeared on Wright’s award to Farrakhan in December.

Edited February 28, 2008 by CarolsMarc

[almaty 19]

[/indent]* The End Times -- Rapture -- is imminent and the U.S. Government must do what it can to hasten it, which at minimum requires: (1) a war with Iran and (2) undying, absolute support for a unified Israel, including all Occupied Territories

As IF God would hasten the rapture JUST because the US helped bring it about. CRIPES! Talk about some egocentricism there.

Radical Fundamentalism stinks in every direction.

It's true. I have seen radical fundamentalism. Stupid in Indonesia, stupid also in US. It does not matter what colour/flag it comes with

amen to that

[Chica Yeyé 41]

[/indent]* The End Times -- Rapture -- is imminent and the U.S. Government must do what it can to hasten it, which at minimum requires: (1) a war with Iran and (2) undying, absolute support for a unified Israel, including all Occupied Territories

As IF God would hasten the rapture JUST because the US helped bring it about. CRIPES! Talk about some egocentricism there.

Radical Fundamentalism stinks in every direction.

It's true. I have seen radical fundamentalism. Stupid in Indonesia, stupid also in US. It does not matter what colour/flag it comes with

amen to that

I'll double your amen and raise three more.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There does seem to be a double-standard in the treatment McCain is getting for accepting this endorsement, and that which Obama is receiving for rejecting his.

[Dan J 277]

Accepting endorsement from a radical Christian leader = Another reason not to vote for McCain.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Accepting endorsement from a radical Christian leader = Another reason not to vote for McCain.

Its certainly not good for his image.

[Peikko 1,575]

Within the Republican party it probably is...I am not sure if he can win the election on purely centerist support.