Let's Talk About John McCain's Pandering to the Religious Right
One thing that drives me crazy is watching politicians pander to religous groups and leaders. Back in 2000, McCain swore he would "never ever" pander to the religous extremists by giving speeches at Bob Jones University (because of their attitudes toward the Catholic Church) or seeking endorsements from the likes of Jerry Falwell .
Fast forward to now and watch him seek the endorsements of such agenst of intolerance as John Hagee and his "spiritual guide" Rod Parsley.
John McCain Chooses The 16th Century
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EdvKRJAspI
No surprise. No Republican has a shot at being elected without pandering to the religious right. I'm actually astonished that Huckabee didn't get the nomination.
Perhaps Huckabee lost the nomination when he said he wanted to have a constitutional amendement that would put the constituion in god's standards instead of the people putting down laws that are secular in nature. I imagine even some fundamentalits were wondering who's god Huckabeezlebub was referring to.
I'm a little relieved that Huckabee was considered too extremist for the Republican nomination. Nonetheless, he's going to swing a heavy bat at the convention. The fact that he did so well shows that the fundies are a substantial power block. McCain is going to have to pander to them at least a little.
Huck lost because he was not part of the establishment club, not for all the reasons he should have lost. McCain's buddy Fred Thompson split the conservative vote in South Carolina, allowing Johnny to win and then promptly dropped out of the race.
Both major parties are effectively the same and only provide the illusion of choice. I am libertarian because i don't want to be hit over the head with the government club no matter which branch of the war party weilds it. Obama was never supposed to get this far, but I hope he wins. BHO is the best hope for peace we have. That is not much.
Ron Paul famously suggested Huck was a fascist for his "floating cross" Christmas message. He also spent millions on a negative campaign against Huck in New Hampshire. It worked. McCain won and Mikey lost his Iowa momentum. So if you wonder why the GOP isn't going to nominate a squirell-eating preacher, thank the Good Doctor from Lake Jackson, Texas.
obama sitting still for 20 years while his lunatic bigot preacher spewed bullshit worries me more than any snake handleing right wing creationist nutball . i cant imagine any other US pol, past or present that would sit and listen to rev wright for 5 minutes ...republicans are not insane , they wouldnt elect huckabee in a million years . mccain wooing the cristian right ? of course he is , he is trying to win the election and after 8 years of GWB its gonna be a bitch ...
Here's the catch 22 Obama was and still is in: He couldn't get his start in politics without some affiliation to some sort of local church. From my understanding, Wright's inflamatory sermons are not out of the ordinary. Had Obama left that church, he might not have been able to build his political career and we wouldn't even know about him today.
However, now that he's gotten as far as he has, he can't just walk away from Wright or the church. It'll be seen as the most cynical of political manuvering.
So here he is, trying to make the best of this bad situation. It's another example of how religion poisons everything.
Btw, Obama isn't alone. Check out McCain's loony religious affiliations.
Here's an example of a sermon by Hagee, curtosy of Right Wing Watch. Hagee talks about how the country would be different if there were 160 million Christians in it. No more gay boy scout leaders, no gay marriage, no abortion, federal judges who rule against "under god," Harry Potter, Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, and welfare. "It's wrong to give a man money who will not work."
Something I didn't really notice before---see the backdrop behind Hagee? Now that's what I call a subliminal message!
McCain finally denounced Hagee. It finally came to his attention what Hagee said in a sermon where Hagee said that god sent Hitler to force the Jews to move to thier promised land.