McCain's televangelist ally believes God damns America
By Steve Benen Wednesday Apr 23, 2008 2:45pm
Since Democrats began complaining about (and the media kept ignoring) the controversial relationship between John McCain and radical televangelist John Hagee, the Texas megachurch pastor has kept a fairly low profile. It’s hardly surprising — McCain probably encouraged him to avoid major media attention, and Hagee, anxious to help his political ally, obliged.
In fact, a month ago today, the New York Times ran an edited interview with Hagee, in which the Times’ Deborah Solomon asked, “Let’s talk about your much-quoted comment that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for a gay rights parade in New Orleans.” Hagee responded, “We’re not going down there.” He called the subject “off-base.”
Now, however, Hagee is willing to go down there.
On September 18, 2006, Pastor John Hagee — whose endorsement Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said this past Sunday he was “glad to have” — told NPR’s Terry Gross that “Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.” “New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God,” Hagee said, because “there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came.”
On his radio show yesterday, right-wing talker Dennis Prager asked Hagee to respond to “the various charges made against him” in a fact sheet put out by the Democratic National Committee. Asked about his comments on Hurricane Katrina, Hagee said “the topic of that day was cursing and blessing.”
Hagee told Prager, “What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God, in time if New Orleans recovers and becomes the pristine city it can become it may in time be called a blessing. But at this time it’s called a curse.” When Prager sought to clarify if Hagee believes “God’s hand” was responsible for Katrina “because of a sinful city,” Hagee responded, “That it was a city that was planning a sinful conduct, yes.”
Obviously, Hagee is entitled to his religious beliefs, but I suspect the notion that a deadly, devastating hurricane was the result of divine intervention and God’s “judgment” is the kind of thing most Americans would find kind of nutty.
Atrios adds a great point: “God Damns America ... and it’s okay as long as conservatives think so.”
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Primoer! Maricons!
Wow...I need to take remedial spanish....tha'ts just terrible spellage.
Hagee is stupid.
If God wanted to punish NOLA for the gay pride parade God would have set Katrinia to strike during the parade.
So Falwell, Robertson, The Pope, Al Quaida, Rev. Wright, and Hagee all hate America!
CD @ 3:
He would have also taken out Key West, which is a mere hundred miles away.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 5:
You saying God has lousy aim???
If there was a god (or goddess), we would of had a category 58 hurricane heading up the Potomac about 8 years ago.
These men are not completely stupid. They are calculating. The mean and stupid vote is pretty big.
Well what the fu*k did we do to have god send two hurricanes to hit our house in one year, and another the next year? What's Hagee's phone number? I need to talk to him about this.
I have yet to see this on the evening news. Wright ran for like several days. The "leebrul" media at work!!
God has such terrible aim, the rich neighborhood was destroyed, the black neighborhood was destroyed, the white neighborhood was destroyed, the poor neighborhood was destroyed.
But the gay ghetto?
For reasons known only to hisself, the sky god on high, was largely spared!
Rainbow flags for everyone!
Did McCain attend Hagee's church almost every Sunday for 20 years, proclaim him his spiritual advisor, quote him in the title of his book, credit him with inspiring him to get into political life, expose his children to his and his congregation's unchallenged rants over and over, lie about being aware of the incendiary comments he's made about America and put him on his campaign staff in order to exploit his longterm relationship with him for political gain?
Just wondering.
Hagee is the next to be caught wide stancing.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 5:
+The smirking chimp who I think was in Texas at the time.
So many times religiion is used to spout hatred. I am not friends of any deeply religious person. Their so called morality scares the crap out of me. Why would any person want to worship a deity that is so damn hateful anyway? The God that many people around the world worship is a mass murderer many times over. The God of the old testament murdered UNBORN babies at least twice. The great flood that supposedly covered the Earth that only Moses and his family were moral enough to live through and when God decided to destroy the citiies of Sodom and Gamorra. If you think about it, both times there were obviously pregnant women. So, the God that many people worship not only condones baby killing, He did a little of it Himself. That's pretty darn immoral and hypocritiical if you ask me.
But but but.....the Hurricane missed New Orleans? The levies failed at category 1?
And...what the hell does this say about Indonesia? God must really hate them....and all those gay tourists and their kids.
.....and what PROOF do you wish to show us Rev?....oh John, the Devil is on the phone and wants to give you some money..."I'LL TAKE THAT CALL".....
Indeed, Obama's radical spiritual adviser was on Bill Moyers and admitted Obama was a lying politician.
Obama is going on Fox News with Chris Wallace to try explain Wright's comments among other things.
Guess what?
Clinton does not have a radical spiritual adviser like mcwar and Obama.
Just pointing out the obvious folks.
Should be interesting to see Obama not on his media and think we will see another melt down.
God just spoke to me and told me Hagee was going straight to hell for me a narrow minded homophobic bigot. God also told me to tell Hagee that Jerry Falwell said to bring iced tea and two glasses.
if according to hagee god was cursing new orleans for their sinful ways,
why then did he destroy so much more than new orleans? at least three other
states and wide portions of louisiana are NOT new orleans. so god is
a bastard and does not know how to control his own rage?
maybe he was looking for hagee and got confused with new orleans
and hagess's fat ass.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 5:
What? Key West is waaay farther than a hunnert miles from Nawleans...it's at least a hunnert'n twinny!
If God really hated gays and wanted to wipe them out then he would attack all gay pride parades in every city in the world during gay pride month.
getalife @ 18:
Blah Blah BLAAAAAAH!
Ruthless People @ 19:
better bring 8 glasses.....or more
So, who's for a gay pride parade down Pennsylvania Avenue?
Exactly why the Founding Fathers
established separation of Church and State.
And a Free Press .... who reports the truth....
Bill Moyers interview, scheduled for broadcast Friday night
devious' people are twisting sermons
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Rev_Wright_says_controversy_over_se...
devious Bush
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR200804...
Breaking the Silence - Israeli Soldiers Speak
http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/opedne_stephen__080424_breaking_the_s...
Fanon @ 25:
wouldn't it be much better to have a national gay pride parade in
washington d c ? that's where the political homophobes are.
“New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God,” Hagee said, because “there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came.”
How can a parade be homosexual? Do parades have sexual orientation? Or is it that this ignorant scumbag doesn't speak English properly?
It's Me @ 12:
Don't wonder too hard Repub whore(like Hillary), from 1996 to 2004, Obama also lived in Springfield, Ill. from 04 to now, Obama split time between D.C., his political travels and Chicago, so he wasn't there "almost every Sunday for 20 years". Stick to your fake shit stories loser, it's obvious you've got nothing else.
dadams @ 27:
?? That would be Pennsylvania Avenue....you know the street that the White House is on.....
In a debate i hope mcCain is asked why did he go to New Orleans? Was it because Bush left them devastated? Or, if not, why there more than anywhere else?
Of course it was the "gay" part of New Orleans that survived Katrina... But who's counting?
Hell of a god who would kill that many people and destroy that many lives just because he was pissed at some gay people who were going to have a parade. So someone ask Hagee to ask god why he made george bush the president eight years ago? We really must have fu*ked to deserve that sort of punishment.
dadams @ 27:
How 'bout a parade with gays, blacks, white, hispanics, asians, native americans...and every one in between...all armed to the teeth on independence day?
Sigh...why don't we just put an end to ALL organized religion and start fresh?
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 1:
TO quote Eric Cartmanez ... "How do I reach deeesss kieds..."
Fanon @ 25:
I suspect Jeff Gannon already had one in the White House.
This has been another episode of IOKIYAR
getalife @ 18:
Dude, you DON'T want to do comparison and contrast Obama v Hillary in the categories of LIES, gaffes and bad associations.
Fanon @ 30:
i understood, i was just expanding for the whole god damned district. but
thanks for pointing out the obvious.
Remember when New Orleans drowned and McSame had birthday cake with BFF Bush?
One thing that occurred to me the first time I heard this piece of stupidity...if Katrina was just God punishing the gays, that shows more clumsiness than power. I mean... if God wanted to be clear he was punishing the gays he could of just made them spontaneously combust or something. With Katrina for all we know he could have been testing good Christians and a couple of sinners got caught in the crossfire.
pete @ 41:
I remember the photo of Bush playing the guitar while New Orleans was drowning.
The one think I find ugly and disgraceful is CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and other media source have no problem about covering the Wright issue yet I don't see them covering Hagee issue.
Have to say that a God who'd use a Hurricane to target gays is being a little too indiscriminate for my taste and a mean spirited prick to boot. Seems a touch hypocritical to make people a certain way and then punish them and everyone around them for the way he made them. My FSM would never do that. Beer volcanoes for everyone is more FSM's style. Ramen.
Hagee says all sorts of crazy hateful crap about the Catholic church, Islam, armageddon and Iran, gays etc etc.
McCains spiritual adviser Rod Parsley says America was founded in part to destroy Islam, a false religion and that 9/11 was the call to arms. There are over 1 billion Muslims so I guess "the call to arms" implies genocide on a unprecedented scale.
Of course its OK because its self-defense. You see according to Hagee 200 million of these are radical Islamics ready to at any moment invade and destroy America and Israel..
And while these two McCain-supporting Christian extremists, calls for a new Christian crusade against Islam, the crazy pastor scandal is the one about Obamas pastor who said some "bad" things about America..
Breaking news!!! Big, fat, war loving, stupid, religious, old, white guys run America !!!
Bill @ 42:
That may be the most intelligent observation posted here.
These so called Christians that claim God would kill massive numbers of innocent people to punish a few tend to over look the fact that in the Jewish Bible God it's self kills less and less people over all the farther you read.
CD @ 3:
Two goddamn hurricanes people! For people who pride themselves on knowing more than the media, you seem to know very little....
Hagee certainly is well fed. Isn't gluttony one of the seven deadly sins?
One hopes for fewer fools in the world. Hagee proves their number increaseth; indeed, he works toward that. B/c the more who believe stupid ideas, the greater the likelihood of their being true. /snark/
People like Hagee give God a bad name. He's the middleman (between humans and God) who needs to be cut out. His kind is sick, sick, sick. And they think they're so holy and good.
Surely there were innocent babies and children killed in New Orleans. Shame on you, God!
BTW, I'm not lobbying for the existence of God here. I'm a Unitarian. The kind of Bible-Belt Christian "thought" Hagee demonstrates made me become a skeptic at an early age. I decided at age 10 or so that if I had to swallow crap like his, I'd just have to fry in hell instead.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 34:
vive la resistance...
General_Rennenkampf @ 49:
Rita made landfall on September 24 between Sabine Pass, Texas and Johnsons Bayou, Louisiana.
I doubt either of those communities were planning a gay pride parade.
Fanon @ 51:
Ron Paul lost
It's over.
How low can McLimbo go?
CD @ 53:
Not for me. And I say 'pass' to Ron Paul, thanks.
Stephanopolous asked McCain the wrong question about Hagee. He should have asked:
Do you agree with Pastor John Hagee that war with Iran is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy?
In February, you shared a stage with Pastor John Hagee and said you were "very proud" to have his endorsement. You also called the Reverend Rod Parsley, a man who said of Islam "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed", your "spiritual guide." Do you believe America's mission is to destroy Islam? Do you join Pastor Hagee in believing the United States must attack Iran to fulfill the biblical prophecy of Armageddon in Israel in which 144,000 Jews will be converted to Christianity and the rest killed? Is that why you joked about "bomb bomb Iran?" If not, why will you not renounce the support of Hagee and Parsley?
For this and others questions the media won't ask Mr. Straight Talk, see:
- "10 Debate Questions John McCain Will Never Be Asked."
- "10 More Questions John McCain Will Never Be Asked."
There will come a day in the very distant future when anyone espousing a belief in an invisible deity will be locked away. Until that happy time, we are quite doomed as a species.
CD @ 52:
Exactly! And Lake Charles is a good lil' Christian city. A conservative small town even by small town standards. And Rita still hit. Why does John Hagee hate Homo sapiens sapiens?
Pechorin @ 57:
What's your opinion of deism?
Makes sense to me. God is mad at gay people so he kills poor people. But here's the brilliant part. Some of the poor people were no doubt gay and therein lies God's divine wisdom.
Hagee's God: So much hate, so little time.
the nth @ 60:
What does god do when he is mad at straight people? Kill rich people? hmmmmm..........
If there is a God, and he is only conversing with idiots like Hagee, Wright, Parsley, the whole gang over there at Trinity Broadcasting, Warren Jeffs, Falwell, Robertson, the Islamic mullahs, the rabbis, the pope, and most notably, George W. Bush, then I will remain a non believer. It is when foolishness like this enters into the political arena that we should begin to question just what these candidates do stand for. Most of the evil in this world has sprung from adopting the insanity that these people spout. And they are given a forum to continue to espouse these incredible views. If everyone just lived by the motto "do unto others" we would all be better for it.
Left&Left @ 29:
Okay, maybe it was only 15 years. Fake shit? Facts are a bitch, aren't they.
Yeah, and Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell said that gays and the ACLU caused 9/11. Conservatives don't care. Because Robertson, Falwell, and Hagee are conservative and white. So they can say anything they want without repercussion.
abarts @ 64:
Who cares?!? Really? You're going to vote for someone because your god is better than their god? Because their spiritual advisor is better than yours?
AAAARRRRGHHGHGHGHGHF!
Left&Left @ 29:
You mean Obama didn't even SHOW UP all that often to the church and congregation he exploited for political advantage over 20 years?
So when Obama stayed in Springfield and sent his kids to the "God DAMN America!" church every Sunday to be exposed to the rants sitting next to Michelle, there DEFINITELY wasn't anyone there to challenge the message or put the communal America-hate into perspective for them. uh-huh.
Sorry I was so hard on him.
Glad I don't live in Vegas right now.
"most" americans would find it nutty is correct but the number of those "nuts" is possibly quite large. adding to atrios, i would also say that these are conservatives who believe the behavior of "others" is the sinful/offensive act. NEVER THEM.
Where the hell are the 527's with tape of Hagee saying his disgusting remarks. Get 'em out there. John McCains spiritual advisor, Give BETTER than we take!
General_Rennenkampf @ 59:
Like all good fascists he hates all who disagree with him.
Him and Hagee are pouring the same poison from two different cups.
Rusty Shackleford @ 65:
yeah but fallwells now in hell on his knees giveing the devil his due!!!!!!and a hum job!
abarts @ 64:
thanks stevep!
Frank Schaeffer who, according to his bio on HuffPo "...is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood..." says it well:
"McCain's Church Hates America, Clinton's Friends Do Too -- But Let's Get the Black Guy (Or Not?)"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/mccains-church-hates-ame_b...
"Obama's Minister Committed "Treason" But When My Father Said the Same Thing He Was a Republican Hero"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/obamas-minister-committe_b...
Unfortunately for the neocons and bible-humpers, the very nature of "God" is that it is entirely customizable to each and every individual and as such, more and more people are believing that their invisible sky genie is nothing like the ones the conservatives and the bible-humpers want it to be.
Both Hagge and Wright have damned America. What you want to bet the Hagee comments won't get close to the same amount of attention as those given Jeremiah Wright?
I wonder how Mr Hagee would view my theological theories about Bush, Hagee, & the state of Texas? My theory is that God maybe punishing America by inflicting people like Bush & Hagee from Texas on the rest of America. Why would God send this punishment upon us all? Because of stealing Texas from Mexico to which it rightfully belongs. So to avoid God's continued wrath, we need to give back Texas to Mexico. After God's anger has subsided, Bush & Hagee will be deported to the Mexican. :)
Ghostwolf @ 77:
Deported to Mexico I ment to say.
For many recent years I have been doing research in NYC on Taxi Drivers. I hail "good drivers" rather than taxis. When I discuss this with the driver - since MANY pass me by - and I always get a good driver, an interesting discourse always follows. I have found my Muslim drivers always connect Katrina with the reprehensible speech by Pat Robertson a few days before.
We discuss also that it was one year after John Kerry was "SwiftBoated."
I do not believe God/Allah punishes in advance. I do believe that many Muslims connect Katrina with Pat Robertson's diatribe.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 23:
Funny, I read the whole thing and I never got the impression you did. I never once saw what you claim.
cando @ 76:
They haven't so far.
Fuck! Don't you start in on it now too. When did liberals turn into such finger-pointing, self-righteous name-calling second graders? Watching Hillary turn into the arch-Republican is bad enough.
Rev. Wright and some of his ilk, have more patriotism -- statesmanship! -- in their little fingers than any fifty of the rest of us put together... and definitely more than any of the candidates.
Hagee is a sociopath. Why do we have to play this tit-for-tat when we could be explaining it clearly. Besides, I think it was Hillary that started the Wright smear, not McWarmonger, but even if it had been him, this is too stupid.
99 @ 82:
I don't see it as tit for tat.
It simply exposes the hypocrisy, and yes, the racism too, imo.
Repost from upthread:
"McCain's Church Hates America, Clinton's Friends Do Too -- But Let's Get the Black Guy (Or Not?)"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/mccains-church-hates-ame_b...
Crap. I've given myself a headache now. I'm so sick of being ashamed of my country.
I've been doing a lot of looking into Wright and Pfleger and Farrakhan and Peck over the last few days, and it makes me the more horrified about how they are maligned. If people would take the time to listen deeply to them, they'd treasure each and every one of them, but, no! Sound bites! Gotta have those fucking sound bites!
I'm a very serious atheist and Zen scholar, and I find I love these guys. They are so much closer to the real, the true, no matter what lexicon they preach from, than 99.9% of the population, and they are hated by so many BECAUSE THE POWER MOVERS ARE THREATENED BY THEM. Having suffered the loss of Jack and Martin and Bobby and John, this is hurting too badly right now. I'll go have some ibuprofen.
I just wish this guy would shut up. I also wish a good old F5 tornado would touch down smack on his 'church'. Thanks to his kind, most people think Christians are ALL narrow minded intolerant wackos. Some of us are not.
My Bible says that ALL sins are an offense against God. Which puts everyone on an equal footing; lying is as bad as adultery, homosexuality, stealing or greed. That means your average straight person no better or worse than their gay brother. There is no such thing as someone being a "bigger sinner" than someone else. So if Hagee thinks Katrina was a punishment for the sins of NO he's better be looking for higher ground. He looks like he hasn't missed a meal in a while and that suit seems pricey too - I bet that megachurch is a pretty good cash cow for him. Money is a false idol and I'm sure he has a few other sins going for him too. I think he is forgetting the whole "judge not lest ye be judged" thing.
Actually.. God was slated to perform during the festivities and he was kinda bummed that Katrina crashed the party!
Aren't these people a little old for imaginary friends?
No it is not ok what damn conservatives think, their opinion does not matter!!!
Vickif @ 22:
Probably send his 'republican minions' to do his biding for him. Like how he attacks them muslins.
.
Oh, but Hagee's god damns America more compassionately... YES?
.
Dave @ 15:
Lets agreed that some how we sin and deserve punishment.
You mention the killing of the inocents,how about the animals.
When I see how bugs torment all kind of creatures I wonder
how an ente supposed to be loving allow that stuff to happen.
am i the only one who thinks hagee's views on per-emptive strikes on iran to expedite the rapture trumps this a million fold.
Dave @ 15:
Well, the only explanation is that there is no god. It's the only thing that makes sense. So Hagee... and even Wright, are insane mythology worshipers. Let's call it even and move on. :)
Vickif @ 22:
If God hated Gays they simply wouldn't exist.
(But they do!)
If God can hate at all, he/she's no better than any human. I don't think God (if there is one) is capable of hating. I see "God" as the force that holds the universe together, which is unknowable and not understandable by the finite human mind.
It doesn't make me feel bad or insecure to say "I don't know." I don't have to come up w/off-the-wall explanations for stuff and say God said it, like Hagee and his ilk do.
Why is inciting fear and hatred such an all-powerful bludgeon for these televangelists? Answer: It pays well.
Just stumbled on your site - I'm a visitor from the UK. We have our own problems with chickenhawk warmongers, even so I've got to register my disgust at the religious BS these hateful morons spout. Its always Republicans that are the first to claim their deeply held beliefs, yet they support a party that relies on the greedy, selfish and mean-spirited for their votes. Personally I'm waiting for a Democrat that has the courage to call these bastards out and say what needs to be said... organised religion is bollocks, dating from a time when a total lack of understanding about the nature of the world led folks to worship the big yellow thing in the sky. Why people still look to some religious perspective to explain the world around them beats me. I don't know a single believer, but I do know caring and thoughtful people who have high moral values - not because of a fear of damnation, but because being "good" comes naturally to them. Republicans would rather walk over the dead and dying than pay a cent more tax - odd considering their faith supposedly encourages caring for your fellow man. And isn't there something about rich folks and the eye of a needle? These are the same kooks that demand Creationism be taught alongside evolution! Oh, and I'd pay good money for 10 minutes in a locked steel room with either that lying bastard O'Reilly or the idiot bully Hannity.
General_Rennenkampf @ 58:
Lack of a good male role model?
God Damn America - NOOO! God Dams America - yes?
Extremely sophisticated, why, almost French.
Let's be honest. New Orleans was a bit of a crap hole. Before Katrina, you couldn't walk around after dark alone. It was a very dangerous, tense city. Maybe, in some respects, Katrina will enable some improvement as the city is rebuilt. Or maybe it will be even more screwed up.
Angelina @ 100:
OH MY GOD
I've heard it all now. 'Nuff said.
BrockSamson @ 101:
same here. :eyesroll:
Pechorin @ 57:
You are a very closed minded individual. Whether you believe in invisible deities or not doesn't mean those who do should be sent away.
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