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What with all the time Michele Bachmann has spent spreading fear and loathing of Muslims in the past couple weeks, you wouldn’t think the ubiquitous congresswoman would’ve been able to cram anything else into her schedule.

Wrong! She totally had time to do other stuff! (Lesson: Never underestimate the multitasking ability of a woman who claims [dubiously] to have raised 23 foster children.)

In between accusing fellow Minnesota U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, ignoring condemnation from GOP bigwigs who finally acknowledged that their crazy-eyed superstar had gone way too far with her anti-Muslim fearmongering, and chitchatting with the ever-credulous Glenn Beck, Bachmann last week also served as keynote speaker at the annual summit of Christians United for Israel (CUFI).

Christians United for Israel is a Christian Zionist outfit run by John Hagee, an evangelical minister whose endorsement John McCain rejected in 2008 after Talk2Action’s Bruce Wilson made it public that in the mid-2000’s, Hagee had given a sermon claiming that Hitler was a “hunter of the Jews,” sent by God to shoo the Chosen People back to Israel where God said they’re supposed to live.

Speaking before a wildly excited crowd, Bachmann proclaimed that Jerusalem is “the eternal capital of Israel” and called on the U.S. to move its embassy there, then suggested (again) that the Obama administration is in cahoots with the Muslim Brotherhood and maybe even (gasp!) Iran.

Railing against Obama’s willingness, at the beginning of his presidency, to sit down for talks with Iran (and totally ignoring the sanctions the U.S. and other U.N. powers have imposed since then), Bachmann said, “If the president thinks Iran can be trusted, then we have to ask quite seriously, then who does he think is our enemy?”

She continued, “Let me tell you what this administration is doing. After a letter was sent to the White House and signed by 50 Muslims organizations, this administration embarked on a purge of our security agencies regarding the teaching of the ideology of radical Islam.”

The “purge” Bachmann is referring to here is the removal from FBI training material of various lessons alleging that mainstream Islam teaches violent jihad. The training materials were originally brought to light by Danger Room’s Spencer Ackerman, who obtained them from FBI whistleblowers who feared that lumping together all Muslims as potential terrorists would cause law enforcement to miss actual signs of danger. (Chip Berlet also blew the whistle on these training sessions.)

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Stephen Colbert is livid that the liberal media forced John McCain to reject the endorsement of mainstream pastors John Hagee and Rod Parsley.

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"McCain courted Hagee's endorsements not because he believed what Hagee believed, but because he believe something much more important: It would get him votes. It's called faith."

War and Piece: Interesting trail connecting McCain and his campaign manager Richard Davis to a Russian aluminum oligarch banned from the US for alleged organized crime ties and the pro-Kremlin side of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, through a Connecticut investment firm called Pegasus.

Connecting.the.Dots: A Starbucks/moonshine cocktail might be just the pickmeup Democrats need this year.

A Tiny Revolution: Sistani forbids long-term US basing agreement

Words of Power: The Crow Nation understands. So do some others. Get ready to strap it on people.

Happy Valley News Hour: Are John Hagee's statements really that offensive?

The Vanity Press: A takedown of the Tory rhetoric that's recently been imported into the American right.

C&Ler Bill G reminded me of this clip by Max. It's "Blumenthal's latest that takes us on a shocking and at times bizarre tour of right-wing Pastor John Hagee's annual Washington-Israel Summit". Hagee introduces Liebermann by saying that he supports Joe's vision of attacking Iran.

Hagee: Therefore it is time for America to embrace the words of Senator Joe Lieberman, and consider a military preemptive strike on Iran to prevent a nuclear holocaust of Israel.

Lieberman: I want to take the liberty of describing Pastor Hagee in the words that the Tirah uses to describe Moses....he is a man of God.

How long has Joe Lieberman known Pastor Hagee anyway? We do know as far back as July of 2007, that's almost a year ago---Lieberman was hanging with Hagee, comparing him to Moses and knew nothing of his extreme positions? Will the press finally ask Joe about his relationship with Hagee now?

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( John Amato: I want to welcome Jon Perr to the pages of C&L. He does excellent work and will add another fine voice to the site.)

Facing increasing scrutiny over his statements describing the Catholic Church as "the great whore" and a "false cult system," Texas pastor and John McCain endorser John Hagee today issued a letter of apology to his "Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ." But while Hagee's chosen candidate previously distanced himself from the minister's slurs towards Catholics and residents of New Orleans, on the topic that may matter most, Mr. Straight Talk has remained silent. Does John McCain agree with Pastor John Hagee that war with Iran is the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy of Armageddon?

Back on March 9th, McCain offered a conditional apology for Hagee's slanders "if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics." Today, Hagee himself tried to help dig McCain out of the hole he created among America's 80,000,000 Catholics. As the Wall Street Journal reported, Hagee sought to make amends:

"Out of a desire to advance greater unity among Catholics and Evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful," Hagee wrote, according to an advanced copy of the letter reviewed by Washington Wire. In the letter, addressed to Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League and one of Hagee's biggest critics, Hagee pledges "a greater level of compassion and respect for my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ."

But while McCain "categorically" repudiated Hagee's anti-Catholic bigotry and labeled as "nonsense" Hagee's assertions that Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans as divine retribution for the city's "painful sin" of a "homosexual rally," the Arizona Senator has yet to reject Hagee's End of Days vision for war with Iran.

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Jon Stewart proved again last night that he is one of the best, if not the best, interviewer on television. Although the first part of the interview (not included here) was very cordial and weak, the second part heated up quickly. Stewart quizzed McCain on the Hagee endorsement, his seemingly detrimental connection to George Bush, his campaign's disgusting implication that Hamas endorses Obama, and a few other things.

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Stewart: "Will you take the opportunity to repudiate and denounce President Bush?"

The media double-standard when it comes to McCain is sickening. Barack Obama had to jump through hoops in order to distance himself from Rev. Wright. Yet John McCain is allowed to stutter and stammer through his excuses for holding onto the endorsement. I'm sure this is just a taste of things to come.

Kissing Suzy Kolber: Say, isn't this election just like a football game?

National Priorities Project: Local costs updated on the President's war budget request

Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America: Congress has a historic choice to make today. Lawmakers will go on record regarding whether they support our nation's newest generation of veterans.

TPM Muckraker: Nobody does 'compromise' quite like the Bush administration

HOLY CRAP: An atheist goes undercover to join the flock of Mad Pastor John Hagee...What do you expect from a town named after butter?...Is it Hillary's turn to 'denounce and reject' a problematic pastor?...For some reason, Evangelicals are worried about their image...ex-prez Bush hosts a cult leader at Texas A&M...Cast-off Churches for sale...Republicans aren't the only ones who use faith-based initiatives to win votes...Religious liberty is, at its heart, about equality - and we're not there yet.

Talk To Action: McSame-backer John Hagee lies to Jewish bloggers on his motives for supporting Israel. Meanwhile, the wandering maverick discovered New Orleans!

David Sirota: Congressional Democrats are now saying they will effectively thwart any effort to create a national health care program.

Threat Level: A federal court in Illinois has ruled that citizens will be able to learn if they are on the government's sprawling and error-prone terrorist watch list.

The Pump Handle: The Union of Concerned Scientists surveyed 1,586 scientists at the EPA. Unsurprisingly--if you've been paying attention-- they found that 889 of those scientists (60%) personally experienced at least one incident of political interference during the past five years

Thought Theater: Yes to tax cuts and loopholes - No to Fair Pay legislation

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: RaceWire. happening-here?, Bad Attitudes, Senate Guru

The Chuck Todd post I did about the McCain treatment by the press on Sunday has resonated far and wide (I wasn't the only one who caught that) and explains so much of their behavior towards our Democratic candidates and John McCain.

Kevin Drum says it all:

Let's recap. Foreign policy cred lets him get away with wild howlers on foreign policy. Fiscal integrity cred lets him get away with outlandishly irresponsible economic plans. Anti-lobbyist cred lets him get away with pandering to lobbyists. Campaign finance reform cred lets him get away with gaming the campaign finance system. Straight talking cred lets him get away with brutally slandering Mitt Romney in the closing days of the Republican primary. Maverick uprightness cred allows him to get away with begging for endorsements from extremist religious leaders like John Hagee. "Man of conviction" cred allows him to get away with transparent flip-flopping so egregious it would make any other politician a laughingstock. Anti-torture cred allows him to get away with supporting torture as long as only the CIA does it.

Remind me again: where does all this cred come from? And what window do Democrats go to to get the same treatment the press gives McCain?

The press will never give McCain the same treatment to our candidates and that's why we must stay on top of it because who else is there?

I've been in communication with many other bloggers and progressive activists about various aspects of the primary race. It's always been helpful to me to bounce ideas off of others and just check my gut reactions before I start blogging about a subject. As you might imagine, the media storm over Barack Obama's relationship to Rev. Jeremiah Wright has resulted in a flurry of emails back and forth. One of the most thoughtful emails I got was from Jeff Sharlet, author of the upcoming book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, and I asked and received his permission to share it with you:

In contextualizing Jeremiah Wright's "God damn America," it might be worth remembering another Jeremiah who expressed similar sentiments: namely, Jeremiah. As in, the prophet of the Hebrew Bible, or the "Old Testament," if you prefer.

Why does that matter? Because it reminds us that a core function of one who attempts to speak in a prophetic voice is to remind us that we are in this together and that we'll both prosper and suffer together. Many evangelical Christians speak of a "gift of discernment," not unlike the "gift of tongues." Us democratically-minded folk might do well to remember that that core concept of a democracy is that we all have some gift of discernment. So let's use ours and consider the prophetic statements on offer:

1. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson said America is damned -- cursed by God, though not permanently -- because we tolerate feminists and queer people.

2. John Hagee says America is damned -- cursed by God, though not permanently -- because we tolerate Muslims.

3. Jeremiah Wright says America is damned -- cursed by God, though not permanently, suffering from hate and division, from bitterness and envy -- because we succumb to hating one another.

For my money, my Bible, and my democracy, that last sentiment has the ring of truth, and I'm not even a religious man.

That doesn't mean it's a sentiment for a campaign trail. But it does mean that in framing this, we might want to turn our anger toward Fox and the NY Post and all those denouncing Jeremiah Wright rather than the man who says we suffer because of racism. Here is a pastor trying, perhaps not successfully, to preach accountability for hate, not for tolerance. And here is a media that is demanding that we NOT be held accountable for hate.

That is, mainstream media is telling us we must tolerate hate -- Hagee -- but not those who don't believe we should tolerate hate -- Wright.

Jeremiah Wright's words were harsh, as were Jeremiah's. As were Martin Luther King's -- "I have a dream" wasn't his only speech, and he died holding America accountable for the war in Vietnam and the war against the poor at home. That's not left, that's not right, that's not "racial," that's not "post-racial." It's prophetic. The Right's screeching, meanwhile, is simply pathetic.

You can learn more about Jeff's book on his blog, The Revealer. Diana Butler Bass at BeliefNet also wrote a very compelling piece that I hope puts to rest the accusation of hate in Rev. Wright's sermons:

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