Rev.Hagee vs Rev.Wright
Since it’s Sunday and sort of a slow news day. I thought I would take the opportunity to touch on the subject of Rev. Hagee and Rev. Wright and their effect on the general election. Rev. Wright has gotten a lot more coverage as Barack Obamas family pastor for 20 years. So lets touch on John McCains pastor John Hagee first. Rev. Hagee is under fire for some comments such as…
Mr. Hagee quoted from the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah, Mr. Hagee said in his sermon, according to the Huffington Post, “And they the hunters should hunt them,†arguing this referred to “the Jews.â€
He went on to read from the same passage, “From every mountain and from every hill and from out of the holes of the rocks.â€
“If that doesn’t describe what Hitler did in the Holocaust, you can’t see that,†Mr. Hagee said. (Story Here)
That was the last straw for the McCain Campaign and very soon after that they told Rev. Hagee that they didn’t want his endorsement after seeking it for so long. So they could strengthen the ties with the Christian conservatives that the John McCain has issues with and could be a huge stumbling block to him winning the general election. He truly needs them on board if he’s got a chance and I think this was a huge blow to him and could be some of the reason for him lagging behind in the polls at this point.
Now on to Rev. Jeremiah Wright and some of the reasons why he has hurt the chances of Barack Obama.
“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people,” he said in a 2003 sermon. “God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.”(Story Here)
There are a lot more remarks from both men that are extreme but those seem to be the ones that are at the forefront of the controversy. I personally am not a fan of either of the reverends as I believe that they use the bible as a front to push their own goals and to profit instead of teach. But that’s a whole other issue right there. The main question is who do you think hurts the campaigns of the presidential candidates. Rev. Hagee or Rev. Wright. I think the republicans are going to use Wrights faults against Obama more than the obama campaign are going to use the Hagee comments against McCain. To be fair I still don’t believe Barack Obama when he says he had no idea about the comments of Rev. Wright considering he went to his church for 20 years. I also think McCain knew about Rev. Hagee and his ways but was willing to bite the bullet and try and get his endorsement in hopes that his scandalous ways wouldn’t come out. It’s amazing what a politician will do for some votes.
Tags: Barack Obama, John McCain, Rev. Hagee, Rev. Wright
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! It is unfair to refer to Rev. Hagee as “John McCain’s pastor.” Senator McCain did NOT sit in Hagee’s Cornerstone Church in Texas for 20 years listening to weekly hate-filled sermons. McCain was NOT married by Hagee. Nor were his children baptized by Hagee. Additionally, I do not recall McCain ever calling Hagee his “spiritual mentor” or naming his autobiography after a hagee catch-phrase. This comparison is apples to oranges and blatantly unfair.
a televangelist and the pastor of Cornerstone Church,
Sorry. The last line of the previous post should have been deleted. Mea culpa.
How many of Rev Wright’s weekly sermons were actually “hate filled” over those 20 years? I have gone to the same chuch since 1978 and have heard a few sermons which I don’t agree with, but that was not enough to keep me from going back to the church - mainly because of the Christian fellowship with other parishoners.
So when you say Wright gave “20 years of hate-filled sermons” you are either baring false witness or speaking out of ignorance.
How many of Rev Wright’s weekly sermons were actually “hate filled†over those 20 years? I have gone to the same chuch since 1978 and have heard a few sermons which I don’t agree with, but that was not enough to keep me from going back to the church - mainly because of the Christian fellowship with other parishoners.
So when you say Wright gave “20 years of hate-filled sermons†you are either baring false witness or speaking out of ignorance
Rich, if you are asking if I have “personal, first-hand knowledge” of Trinity Church, the answer is “no.” I wouldn’t step foot in that sorry excuse for a house of worship. You may well be correct that the hatemongering did not occur on a weekly basis, however, I have seen enough and read enough to know that hate speech/inflammatory rhetoric were not an aberration–i.e. Father Pfleger, the Wright press conference, etc. An argument over how often this garbage was spewed is merely splitting hairs: once is too often. The larger question that needs to be asked is what would the reaction be had the tables been turned and Senator McCain been a faithful member of Rev. Hagee’s congregation? Racial sensitivities can, and should, cut both ways.
I don’t think it’s splitting hairs to point out that the right-wing talking point “…20 years of weekly hate-filled sermons” is a complete lie. The fact that some hate-mongering GOP political hacks had to go through 20 years of footage to find a couple of minutes something that sounds inflammatory and play those few clips over and over is just another indication that they can’t win on actual issues that affect our daily lives. McCain called his wife the “C-Word” in front of witnesses. Should Obama supporters say that his marriage was a barrage of constant misogynistic verbal abuse, and that she should have divorced him on the spot? The Rev Wright has been a very positive force in his community for many years and served his country in the Korean war saving lives as a combat medic. In spite of a few outbursts I may or may not agree with, I’d be honored to attend that church.
Which is exactly my point. I have lived in Chicago for the first 21 years of my life and have seen the hate-mongering from the white culture there. Chicago has been one of the worst racist cities in nation.
So I can excuse a bit of sermonizing by black churchmen. The tempest in a teapot actually gave Wright the opportunity for his 15 minutes of fame and for Pfleger to act out his own SNL-style skit in bad taste.
You and I will never agree, but these issue don’t resonate with the general population, even though they may be “apples and oranges”. I suspect the Obama campaign just loves the fact that anti-Obama forces bring these trivialities and things like his middle name and his birth certificate as major talking points. The majority really doesn’t care about them… and will elect Obama if these are the only issues.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/08/05/why-is-maya-soetoros-name-on-baracks-phony-certificate-of-live-birth/