McCain Stays Silent On Hagee’s Homophobic Slurs
McCain Stays Silent On Hagee’s Homophobic Slurs
Earlier this week, right wing pastor John Hagee, a supporter of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), re-embraced his oft-repeated belief that Hurricane Katrina represented “the curse of God” for the sins of New Orleans. Though the media have put McCain on the spot over Hagee’s characterization of the Catholic Church as “the Great Whore,” they have been reticent to press McCain on Hagee’s homophobic comments.
To his credit, Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly asked McCain last night about the “bad things” Hagee has said “about Catholics and gays and other things like that.” McCain only repudiated the statements about the Catholic church, however, tacitly refusing to denounce Hagee’s despicable homophobic slurs:
O’REILLY: OK. John Hagee is a guy…
MCCAIN: Yes.
O’REILLY: …that you sought his endorsement in San Antonio, Texas. He said bad things about Catholics and gays and other things like that. And your opponents are saying, hey, you know, McCain hangs around with Hagee. Obama hangs around Wright. No difference.
MCCAIN: I do not embrace a view that he stated about the Catholic church. I steadfastly reject it and repudiate it. I’ve never been in Pastor Hagee’s church. I know him, but the fact is that I accept his endorsement.
Watch it:
Throughout the controversy, right wingers have completely ignored Hagee’s anti-gay comments. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said McCain “should make clear that he disagrees with statements of anti-Catholicism.” He was silent, however, about Hagee’s homophobia. In the past, McCain has repeatedly rejected Hagee’s Catholic comments, but has refused to distance himself from Hagee’s anti-gay comments (even rejecting a question from a reporter on the subject as “nonsense.”)
O’Reilly suggested that McCain had little interaction with Hagee other than “having breakfast” with him once. In fact, as Newsweek pointed out, “McCain personally wooed Hagee for more than a year.” Indeed, Hagee’s endorsement was an integral part of McCain’s attempts to woo religious conservatives.
Zirkle rails against the ‘great porn dragon’ and its influence over Jews.
Zirkle rails against the ‘great porn dragon’ and its influence over Jews.
Tony Zirkle, a GOP congressional candidate in Indiana, recently came under heavy criticism for speaking to the American National Socialist Workers Party (ANSWP) on the 119th anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birth. At the event, Zirkle “stood in front of a painting of Hitler, next to people wearing swastika armbands and with a swastika flag in the background.” On his website, Zirkle has responded to the criticisms by railing against Jews and prostitution:
I’ve been getting a flood of e-mails and phone calls, some of which include death threats, about my attempt to raise awareness of how the great porn dragon inspires Jews into pornography and prostitution and then, like the snake he is, turns the public against the Jews. Some have questioned whether there is any link to Jews and porn-prostitution. […]
Unfortunately, those Web sites are just a small fraction of evidence you can find on a Google search of combinations of “Jews” “pornography” “sex slavery” “Israel” and “prostitution.” Let’s save our Jewish brothers and sisters from this tyrant king porn dragon before we get to another world-wide pogrom.
According to the Michigan City, Indiana News-Dispatch, the “effect of pornography and prostitution on young, white women and girls” was also the subject of Zirkle’s speech at the ANSWP event. (HT: Wonkette)
Muslim Organizations Call On McCain To Drop ‘Islamic’ Terrorist Label
Muslim Organizations Call On McCain To Drop ‘Islamic’ Terrorist Label
One of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) favorite talking points is railing against “Islamic” extremists and terrorists. A few examples:
– “[M]y Democrat opponents who want to pull out of Iraq refuse to understand what’s being said and what’s happening, and that is, the central battleground is Iraq in this struggle against radical Islamic extremism.” [3/24/08]
– McCain underscored “that his focus as president would be waging war against ‘radical Islamic extremism.’ Speaking to about 500 party faithful…McCain said the war in Iraq was part of the fight against Islamic extremism, ‘the greatest evil, probably, that this nation has ever faced.’” [2/18/08]
– “‘The transcendent issue of this campaign will be this conflict we are in between good and evil, between the forces of radical Islamic extremism that are trying to destroy America and everything we believe in,’ McCain told reporters.” [3/16/07]
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) — the nation’s largest association of Muslim organizations — has now started a campaign to persuade McCain to drop the adjective “Islamic” when describing terrorists and extremists. ISNA head Muneer Fareed told the Washington Times:
We’ve tried to contact his office, contact his spokesperson to have them rethink word usage that is more acceptable to the Muslim community. If it’s not our intent to paint everyone with the same brush, then certainly we should think seriously about just characterizing them as criminals, because that is what they are.
McCain’s campaign, however, refuses to budge. Senior adviser Steve Schmidt said that the senator will continue to use the term: “But the reality is, the hateful ideology which underpins bin Ladenism is properly described as radical Islamic extremism. Senator McCain refers to it that way because that is what it is.”
As The New York Times noted this weekend, McCain frequently oversimplifies the threats abroad, incorrectly using the “shorthand ‘Al Qaeda’ to describe the enemy in Iraq.” The term “Islamic extremism” is similarly sloppy, denigrating Islam as a violent religion while conflating the diverse, multifaceted threats coming from abroad. Former CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid has also said that “even adding the word Islamic” is counterproductive to keeping extremism “from becoming mainstream.”
McCain Flip-Flops In 30 Seconds: Hagee Endorsement A ‘Mistake,’ But ‘I’m Glad To Have’ It
McCain Flip-Flops In 30 Seconds: Hagee Endorsement A ‘Mistake,’ But ‘I’m Glad To Have’ It
Last February, hard-line conservative evangelical Pastor John Hagee endorsed Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) candidacy for president. Despite Hagee’s history of controversial and bigoted comments –- such as calling Catholicism “The Great Whore” and blaming Hurricane Katrina on gays –- McCain said he was “very honored” to receive the endorsement, one which he also reportedly sought.
McCain has since both “repudiate[d]” and defended Hagee’s intolerant remarks. But McCain’s double-talk on Hagee went a step further yesterday on ABC’s This Week when he seemed a bit confused as to whether or not he still accepts Hagee’s endorsement –- first agreeing that it was a “mistake” to accept it, but less than 30 seconds later saying he is “glad” to have it:
STEPHANOPOULOS: So was it a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement?
MCCAIN: Oh, probably, sure. […]
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you no longer want his endorsement?
MCCAIN: I’m glad to have his endorsement. I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything. And thanks for asking.
Watch it:
Indeed, McCain has been confused quite a bit lately on a wide range of issues:
– McCain has said waterboarding “should never be condoned in the U.S.” but voted against a bill banning the CIA from using torture, specifically including waterboarding.
– McCain says he is “a consistent supporter of educational benefits” for the military but has indicated he will not support the bipartisan 21st Century GI Bill.
– On at least three occasions, McCain baselessly claimed Iran is training Al Qaeda in Iraq but argued the error was an isolated slip of the tongue.
– McCain falsely suggested that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a “sect of Shi’ites.”
– McCain falsely claimed Moktada al-Sadr “declared the cease-fire” after recent fighting in Basra and has said he is both a “major player” in Iraq and that his influence “has been on the wane for a long time.”
– Economists and nonpartisan analysts have said recently that the numbers in McCain’s economic plan simply “don’t add up.”
– McCain has made the elimination of earmarks a cornerstone of his presidential campaign but he can’t name any he would eliminate.
– In a matter of one day, McCain said Americans are both “better off” and “not better off” than they were before President Bush took office.
McCain’s latest 30-second flip-flop represents the political dance he must engage in to try to appeal to both the conservative evangelical wing of the Republican Party and independent-minded Americans. But despite all his back and forth, the media still seem happy to promote McCain’s self-proclaimed persona as a “straight-talking maverick.”
Tancredo blasts the pope on immigration.
Earlier this week, Pope Benedict XVI called on the United States to do “everything possible to fight…all forms of violence so that immigrants may lead dignified lives.” Today, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) blasted the pope’s pro-immigrant position:
I would like to know what part of our lax immigration policy is considered violent. I fail to see how accepting more refugees than any other nation — and providing free health care, education, housing and social service benefits to millions of illegal aliens is in any way “violent” or “degrading.”
Tancredo “was raised Catholic but left the church.” Yesterday, as the pope arrived in the United States to meet with President Bush, the Bush administration carried out massive immigration raids in five states.
As Pope Calls For Treating Immigrants With ‘Dignity,’ Bush Administration Carries Out Raids In Five States
As Pope Calls For Treating Immigrants With ‘Dignity,’ Bush Administration Carries Out Raids In Five States
Pope Benedict XVI has been a vocal supporter of U.S. immigrants, regardless of their legal status. On his flight between Rome and Washington yesterday, the pope made clear that discussing the treatment of Latino immigrants would be a priority during his meeting with President Bush. AFP reports:
The United States must do “everything possible to fight…all forms of violence so that immigrants may lead dignified lives,” the pope said when asked if he would address the issue of Latin American immigrants with the US leader.
The White House viewed the pope’s visit as very important. In a rare gesture, the President and his family even traveled to Andrews Air Force Base to greet the pope as his plane arrived.
Unfortunately, the Bush administration also chose today to carry out immigration raids, arresting more than 280 undocumented workers employed at Pilgrim’s Pride plants in five states. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), several — but not all — of the immigrants were suspected of identity theft or document fraud. According to a Justice Department press release:
For those arrested solely on immigration violations, that information will assist ICE in making decisions about whether to detain the individual or permit a conditional humanitarian release. Similarly, the information will be provided to the relevant U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and state social services agencies so they are fully informed about humanitarian-related issues that may arise in the individual cases being handled through the criminal justice system. Those being prosecuted on criminal charges will be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and housed at various facilities near the arrest sites.
It’s no wonder that the pope is concerned about the treatment of immigrants. At a recent House hearing, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) noted that children at immigrant detention facilities have reportedly been “put in cells alone for hours, awakened in the middle of the night with flashlights in their faces and threatened with being permanently separated from their parents.”
Under the Bush administration, deportations have increased sharply. In the last fiscal year ending Sept. 30, ICE deported 280,000 people, a 44 percent jump from the previous year. The Bush administration has also come under intense fire from lawmakers and immigration activists for carrying out politically motivated raids against immigrants who criticize the White House’s policies.
There is a fundamental disconnect between our nation's moral belief that all human beings should be treated with dignity and the implementation of our nation's broken immigration system. For the President to put at risk the sanctity and safety of immigrant families by conducting yet another round of harsh immigration raids flies in the face of the Pope's call for humane treatment of all people.
Perino: Bush Plans To Brush Aside Iraq Disagreements During Meeting With The Pope
Perino: Bush Plans To Brush Aside Iraq Disagreements During Meeting With The Pope
Today, Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Washington, DC. He will become the second pontiff ever to visit the White House, where he will meet privately with President Bush in the Oval Office. The event is just the 25th meeting between a pope and a sitting president.
Pope Benedict has severely criticized the Bush administration’s war in Iraq. “Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees,” he said in his 2007 Easter message.
During today’s White House press briefing, spokeswoman Dana Perino brushed aside the two men’s disagreements over the Iraq war, saying that they don’t have “prolonged conversations about it.” She also attempted to claim that the Pope has accepted Bush’s so-called “surge” strategy. She added, not surprisingly, that Bush doesn’t want to spend a lot of time talking about the war:
PERINO: Obviously, there was a difference of opinion, back in 2003 and beyond, in subsequent years. But now I think that there is an understanding that, with the strategy that’s working in Iraq right now, that the most important thing we can do is help to solidify the situation, root it into freedom and democracy, so that people of religious minorities who — I’m sorry, people of religious faith who are minorities in their countries can practice freely and be free from persecution. […]
I really don’t think that the president is planning to spend a lot of time talking about the issues of Iraq with the pope.
Watch it:
Pope Benedict’s predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, was also a fierce critic of the U.S. invasion. In January 2003, he called war “a defeat for humanity” and said it should not be pursued “except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations.”
Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »
McCain Advised On Catholic Issues By Former Bush Adviser Accused Of Sexual Misconduct
McCain Advised On Catholic Issues By Former Bush Adviser Accused Of Sexual Misconduct
As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) courts the Catholic vote, “part of a larger effort to build bridges with religious voters,” The New York Times reports today that his “informal adviser” on Catholic outreach is Deal W. Hudson. In 2004, Hudson advised Bush-Cheney ‘04, serving as “the architect of a Republican effort to court Catholic voters.”
But Hudson was forced to resign after “accusations of sexual misconduct,” as the Times reported on August 19, 2004:
”No one regrets my past mistakes more than I do,” Mr. Hudson wrote in a column posted yesterday on the online edition of National Review announcing his resignation.
”At the time, I dealt with this in an upright manner, and the matter was satisfactorily resolved long ago,” he wrote, without specifying the accusations. Mr. Hudson, 54, said he had been happily married to his current wife for 17 years. Called for comment, he declined. […]
A person involved with the university’s investigation said that a freshman in one of Mr. Hudson’s classes reported to the university that, after she had become drunk at a bar, Mr. Hudson made sexual advances toward her. After a period of weeks, she charged him with sexual harassment. The accusations were made near the end of a school year, and Mr. Hudson left academia.
Hudson’s ties to the Bush administration are extensive. He reportedly said of Karl Rove after the 2000 election, ”I have to be careful what I say because I might make him sound like he is God or something.”
McCain has come under fire from Catholics for seeking out and accepting the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee, who had previously referred to the Catholic Church as “the Great Whore” and “anti-Christ.” A search of McCain’s campaign website returns one result for Hudson.
