John McCain was recently endorsed by evangelical Pastor John Hagee and the Catholic League isn’t happy about it:
HOUSTON — The president of the Catholic League today blasted Sen. John McCain for accepting the endorsement of Texas evangelicalist John Hagee, calling the controversial pastor a bigot who has “waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church.”
Hagee, who is known for his crusading support of Israel, backed McCain’s presidential bid Wednesday, standing next to the senator at a hotel in San Antonio and calling McCain “a man of principle.”
But Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement today that Hagee has written extensively in negative ways about the Catholic Church, “calling it ‘The Great Whore,’ an ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ,’ and a ‘false cult system.’”
In a press release on his website, McCain says he’s “honored” by the endorsement:
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain won the endorsement of Texas evangelical leader John Hagee on Wednesday, which could boost his standing among religious conservatives who have been reluctant to embrace the likely nominee.
Hagee, who heads a 19,000-member church in San Antonio, is best known for his outspoken support of Israel and writings on the Middle East, where he envisions a blood-soaked clash between East and West leading to the return of Jesus Christ.
“I’m very honored by Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement today,” McCain said at a news conference. “He has been the staunchest leader of our Christian evangelical movement in many areas, but especially, most especially, his close ties and advocacy for the freedom and independence of the state of Israel.”
Among Hagee’s more bizarre views are the idea that Hurricane Katrina was caused by a gay pride parade and he’s even said that Europe’s Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves:
In “Jerusalem Countdown: A Prelude To war” Hagee has stated that Jews brought the Holocaust upon themselves by rebelling against God and that the Holocaust was God’s way of forcing Jews to move to Israel where, Hagee predicts according to his interpretation of Biblical scripture, they will be mostly killed in the apocalyptic Mideast conflict Hagee’s new lobbying group seems to be working to provoke and which John Hagee believes to be a necessary precondition for the “Rapture” that will lift Christians, but not Jews, bodily into Heaven to enjoy physical immortality amidst paradise.
And as for the anti-Catholic crap, listen to the man himself:
Like Ron Paul with Stormfront, and Barack Obama with Calypso Louis, John McCain clearly ought to repudiate this dumbass.
Update: The McCain campaign has released the following statement:
“Yesterday, Pastor John Hagee endorsed my candidacy for president in San Antonio, Texas. However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee’s views, which I obviously do not.
“I am hopeful that Catholics, Protestants and all people of faith who share my vision for the future of America will respond to our message of defending innocent life, traditional marriage, and compassion for the most vulnerable in our society.”
Sorry John, not good enough.
H/T: Alex Knapp and Ann Althouse
1. Ron Paul did not court Stormfront asking for an endorsement.
2. Ron Paul did not get up and say he was honored to be liked by the members of Stormfront.
Lets keep apples apples and oranges oranges…
[...] I’m not talking about the crazy preacher, just the unpopular President: WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush endorsed Sen. John McCain for [...]
I was deeply saddened to hear Chris Core had been fired by WMAL. He has been a voice for decency and fairness in Washington talk radio for years. I’ve sensed that he is one of the few remaining talk show hosts who still retains a genuine concern for the truth. He did tend to interrupt callers a bit too much. His show, like most talk shows, tended to be somewhat shallow, due to the sound bite culture we live in. I hope he is able to find a good radio timeslot in the D.C. area to carry on with his show. I will NOT be listening to his replacement, Chris Plant, who is nothing but an egocentric, mean-spirited loudmouth, like so many other talk show hosts these days. I wonder if WMAL didn’t bring in Plant to flack for John McCain, now that he is the apparent Repubican nominee for President. Plant even calls his show “straight talk,” echoing the line McCain popularized some years back. As far as I’m concerned, the two men deserve one another.
[...] I’ve already written about John Hagee, an anti-Catholic bigot evangelist preacher who has lined up behind John McCain. [...]