On MSNBC this morning, McCain campaign spokesperson Tucker Bounds touted the fact that Todd Palin is a “stay-at-home-dad.” Interestingly, radical cleric and erstwhile McCain endorser Rev. John Hagee insists that, in the Lord’s eyes, a stay-at-home-dad is “a bum” who is “worse than an infidel.” “Hell is your future home,” Hagee says. Watch it:

Earlier today, ThinkProgress contacted John Hagee Ministries to see if erstwhile John McCain endorser Rev. Hagee saw the Lord’s hand in reports that President Bush might not speak at the Republican National Convention on Monday because of Tropical Storm Gustav.

Back in 2006, Hagee declared that “Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.” Hagee said that “New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God,” because “there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came.”

ThinkProgress asked Rev. Hagee’s spokesperson, Kara Silverman, whether Gustav’s possible impact on the Republican National Convention might be seen as punishment against Republicans for their not having done enough to combat the “homosexual agenda,” or whether this storm could be attributed to some other target of divine wrath.

Ms. Silverman said Hagee had “no comment.”

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody today, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) defended radical pastor John Hagee‘s late 90s comment that “Hitler was a hunter” sent by God in order to get “the Jewish people” to “come back to the land of Israel.” “A comment Pastor Hagee made about the Holocaust was taken way out of context,” Lieberman told Brody. Lieberman, who compared Hagee to Moses at the Christians United For Israel conference last week, added that Hagee’s “a dear friend” for whom he has “the greatest admiration.”

Yesterday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) spoke at the controversial pastor John Hagee’s Christians United For Israel Washington-Israel Summit. Lieberman’s close political ally, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), finally rejected Hagee’s endorsement in May. Lieberman, however, says he still has the utmost respect for the pastor, who once said that Hurricane Katrina was punishment to New Orleans for hosting a gay pride parade.

In his address last night, Lieberman used the “tone” of a biblical sermon. He blasted bloggers, reaffirmed his bond with Hagee, and compared the pastor to biblical figures. The Hartford Courant reports:

In response to what he termed the “pretty aggressive campaign,” Lieberman said in his speech, “The bond I feel with Pastor John Hagee and each and every one of you is much stronger than that and so I am proud to stand with you here tonight.”

Lieberman again drew a parallel between Hagee and biblical figures, this time saying biblical heroes, unlike the demigods of Greek mythology, “are humans — great humans, but with human failings.” Lieberman said that Moses had his shortcomings, too.

“Dear friends, I can only imagine what the bloggers of today would have had to say about Moses and Miriam.”

In justifying his decision to speak to Christians United, Lieberman claimed that Hagee has “expressed his regrets about each of the most controversial statements he has made.” In fact, though Hagee pledged “a greater level of compassion and respect for my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ,” and apologized to Jews, he has never expressed regret over his comments about Katrina.

So according to Lieberman, endorsing John McCain and making offensive comments = parting the Red Sea.

Digg It!

Huffington Post reports that more than 120 videos of controversial pastor John Hagee have been removed from YouTube at the request of his lawyers. The move comes just a week before Hagee’s Christians United for Israel conference meets in Washington — where Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is scheduled to speak. Hagee’s lawyers gave no explanation for why so many were removed, or why others were permitted to remain on YouTube.

In an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air on Monday, host Terri Gross asked former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan if controversial pastor John Hagee had “much sway within the Bush administration.” In response, McClellan said Hagee was just “one of a number of evangelical pastors, social conservative” that “had a heavy influence on some of the White House policies.”

Pressed by Gross about Hagee’s specific influence, McClellan acknowledged that “yes,” he “certainly had some influence“:

GROSS: So Pastor Hagee was influential within the Bush administration?

Mr. McCLELLAN: I’d say he was one of a number that certainly had some influence and was able to quickly get someone on the phone at the White House. So yes.

Listen here:

Hagee, whose endorsement Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was forced to reject after audio surfaced of him saying that Hitler was fulfilling God’s will, has a long history with President Bush. As Sarah Posner has reported, when he was first running for president, Bush “enlisted Hagee to recruit other pastors to sign on to the Bush campaign effort.”

In fact, Hagee became such an enthusiastic Bush booster that he endorsed him in 2000 by writing a book titled God’s Candidate for America. According to Posner, Hagee was “unequivocal” in the book “that Jesus would vote for Bush“:

Despite accusing Bush Sr. of collaboration with the Antichrist, Hagee delivered for George W. Bush in his 2000 book, God’s Candidate for America. In that book, Hagee was unequivocal that Jesus would vote for Bush. “If you are concerned about the sort of America your children and grandchildren will grow up within,” Hagee wrote, “then you need to cast your vote for George W. Bush and the Republican Party.”

It appears that, according to McClellan, Hagee’s efforts paid off and Bush rewarded him by giving him “sway” in the White House.

Digg It!

Yesterday, Max Blumenthal reported that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is scheduled to be a headlining speaker at controversial pastor John Hagee’s upcoming Christians United For Israel Washington-Israel Summit on July 22. Though Lieberman’s close political ally, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), finally rejected Hagee’s endorsement last week, Lieberman confirmed to the AP today that he will still appear at the Hagee event this summer:

Sen. Joe Lieberman says he’ll speak at a July conference hosted by Rev. John Hagee, whose endorsement was recently rejected by Republican John McCain because of Hagee’s controversial remarks about religion.

Lieberman, one of presumed GOP presidential nominee McCain’s strongest supporters, said Wednesday while Hagee’s comments were unacceptable and hurtful, he will judge him on his life work fighting anti-Semitism and building bridges between Christians and Jews.

Our guest blogger is Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United and co-author of A Nation for All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division.

After learning of Rev. John Hagee’s sermon proposing that the Holocaust was the fault of Jews themselves, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) finally rejected the Texas megachurch preacher’s endorsement last week.

For once in this sordid affair, McCain has done the right thing. But his move comes only after nearly three months of failed attempts to explain his decision to seek the ill-advised endorsement in the first place. The senator should have bailed out in February, after Hagee’s anti-Catholic views first drew national attention. Instead, he stubbornly refused to reject the pastor’s support, saying only: “In no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee’s views.”

John McCain earned the country’s respect in his 2000 “Straight-talk” presidential campaign. Offering a new brand of politics, he memorably denounced “agents of intolerance” and said that the politics of division and slander were not his values. But eight years later, things have changed. McCain seems to have decided that in order to win the Republican nomination, he has to embrace what he once denounced.

Hagee’s comments linking Hitler and the Catholic Church are patently offensive. His support for a war with Iran and his comparison of those who support a two-state solution in Israel to Nazis make a mockery of Christian calls for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. And then there’s the mind-boggling suggestion that God sent Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its residents’ supposed moral indiscretions.

Why did it take all this plus anti-Semitism to force McCain to renounce the endorsement? Hagee’s outrageous views about the Catholic Church alone should have been enough. Read more