Sunday, March 23, 2008
Introducing: John McCain’s Pastors
By David Samuels is a regular contributor and writer for Black Into The Future. David asks a few central questions about theology and racism.
For the past week, Barack Obama has been at the center of a media firestorm over his association with Pastor Jeremiah Wright. He has been interrogated by Anderson Cooper,
chastised by Lou Dobbs, and roasted by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly.
Everyday they ask, “Why won’t Obama walk away from Wright? How could he stay in Wright’s church for all of these years?” I am currently waiting for these champions of racial justice to focus their fury on two pastors who have endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
John Hagee, senior pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio Texas, is a millionaire televangelist, who McCain has said “ …represents the things that I believe in.” Hagee has referred to the Catholic Church as “The Great Whore” and “ …a cult”. He has issued this summation of Catholicism: “A Godless theology of hate that no one dared try to stop for a thousand years has produced a harvest of hate”. Hagee described Hurricane Katrina as punishment for homosexual New Orleans residents. According to Pastor Hagee, their lifestyle amounted to “ …a level of sin that was offensive to God”. He cited the fact that Katrina struck on the same date that a gay parade was held in New Orleans as proof. The problem with his theory is that the French Quarter and Marigny, New Orleans’ recognized gay neighborhoods, were spared the brunt of Katrina’s wrath.
Finally, Hagee has claimed that the Qur’an mandates that Muslims kill Jews and Christians. Televangelist Rick Parsley, who McCain describes as his “spiritual advisor”, had this to say about Islam: “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…”
Is it just me, or does it seem somewhat odd that McCain’s association with these individuals has received zero coverage by the corporate media? Why isn’t Fox News devoting some of its “Fair and Balanced” coverage to this unholy alliance? Could it be…racism?
Barack Obama has been made to bend over backward to make white people comfortable.
Yet, there has been no mention during “Jeremiah Wright Week” of America’s history with blacks, which consists of slavery, rape, Jim Crow, lynching, firebombing and shootings (oops, I almost forgot about the fire hoses and police dogs). I could be grasping at straws here, but perhaps this history has something to do with Wright’s anger, which former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee recently pointed out. Is America in a moral position to pass racial judgment on Obama or Wright? Why aren’t McCain , Hagee and Parsley being subjected to the same scrutiny?
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6 comments:
The media is so racist that it can't help but promote Obama's "negatives" while still being in awe of his ability and oratory. It's systemic.
It's lie when they show wanted suspects on television. They never have a picture of the white person they are looking for but they always seem to have a picture of the Black person.
There is no footage of Hagee or Parsley sermons talking shit but they loop the Wright tapes hourly.
Such hypocrites!!
Why is that?
David, thanks for writing this article. There are two reasons why I believe McCain is not going to be attacked like Obama. 1 The root of the criticism aimed at Obama is less so about his link to Wright and more about White America creating an excuse as to why they can't vote for a Black man for President. Barack's speech put the pressure back on White America so lets see how things unfold. Brilliant move by Barack. 2. We will never see the same criticism about Hegee and Parsley because their rhetoric is about maintaining white power and many white people connect with those messages in their sermons. The funny thing is that America's initial reaction to Wright proved his sermons to be true.
Right on point yogi. That's maing it plain.
David you are on point with this one. i find it very interesting that no one's religious leader or connection is being put through so much scrutiny besides Obama. Yeah, there was the whole deal about being a Mormon, but that only lasted a day or two. This has gone on far to long. One day Obama is a muslim the next he is the anti-christ now he should stop being a Christain. What balls the media has. why are they trying to confuse America? one thing is for sure, you can't defeat the truth no matter how hard you try.
The posts are all on point. We are seeing just how "enlightened" America is about having a black president. What is really telling is how the so called "liberal" media outlets have piled on Obama, in addition to right wing mouthpieces like Fox News.
Contrast the coverage of the Obama / Wright story with the amount of play that Clinton lying about her experience in Bosnia is receiving.If Obama told a whopper about being shot at by snipers, we would be hearing about how this was yet another example of his being "unqualified" for the presidency.If he secures the Democratic presidential nomination,the spam will really hit the fan.
Mccain has been a pillar and hero in the community that does not need an evangelist to aid him. When he becuase President you will see his way to the top. Whites do not need and excuse not to vote for anyone we just will vote for who we want.
The media may be a friend to Mccain but his is friendly to us. I cannot say that about the Democrats. If we have another bush terms so much the better. Maybe it will give folks another 4 years to see that this current leadership has done much for the community of USA at large. Our current president may have made some mistakes but who does not.
The media is only keeping the Democrats honest. Mccain already is an honest USA Hero. Unlike the democrats running for office today.
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