PARSLEY ESCALATES HIS WAR WITH McCAIN... BUT HASN'T EXACTLY ISSUED A FATWA AGAINST HIM YET

This was a very bad week for McCain; everything went wrong, especially all that lobbyist stuff that finally broke into the mainstream media. And between that and the scary cocktail of mind-altering drugs he takes daily, he flipped out when the majority of Republican senators abandoned him and voted for the GI Bill, helping Obama and Hillary pass it with a veto-proof majority. He struck out blindly, first at Senator Obama and then at the Christian conservatives who he had wooed so assiduously for the last year. He threw first John Hagee and then Rod Parsley under the bus... and rather unceremoniously. He rejected both of their endorsements and made some pretty rude comments about them and their (admittedly loopy) beliefs.

Hagee, who he called "crazy," withdrew his endorsement but on Friday Parsley said he would let his endorsement of McCain stand. He changed his mind today

The pastor of World Harvest Church, in the Canal Winchester area, issued a statement almost identical to one he had sent late Friday night, but with one key change: the addition of the sentence “Therefore I withdraw my endorsement.”

Spokesman Gene Pierce wouldn’t shed light on Parsley’s decision, saying only “this statement is a clarification on (Friday’s) statement.”

McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, rejected the Columbus pastor’s endorsement after holding on to it for nearly three months. Parsley has criticized Islam, calling it inherently violent and saying it is “the anti-Christ religion.”

McCAIN CAN'T WASH OFF THE TAINT OF HIS LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE SNAKEHANDLERS AS EASILY AS HE HOPED

This morning's NY Times applauds McCain for belatedly severing ties with two of the crazed bigots whose endorsements he had so assiduously pursed for so long in the battle for the Republican nomination. Of course, now that he has the nomination, he needs to persuade normal Americans that he's one of them and not a follower and devotee of fanatics, extremists and snakehandlers.

It took a long time for him to do it, but Senator John McCain has finally rejected the endorsements of two evangelical ministers-- one whose bizarre and hate-filled sermons deeply offended both Catholics and Jews and the other who has used his pulpit to attack Muslims.

Mr. McCain had it right in his unsuccessful primary campaign eight years ago when he denounced the Christian right’s Pat Robertson and the Rev. Jerry Falwell as “agents of intolerance” who exercised an “evil influence” over the Republican Party. It was particularly disturbing to see him cynically pander this year for the support of that same Christian right.

His belated decision to distance himself from two of the most extreme ministers was long overdue-- and we suspect driven more by political ambition than by the principles he espoused in the past.

Mr. McCain had sought the endorsement of the Rev. John Hagee, a televangelist, for more than a year and finally won it in February, only to have the Catholic League denounce Mr. Hagee for waging “an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church.” Mr. Hagee called it “the Great Whore,” an “apostate church,” and a “false cult system.” The pastor apologized and said his remarks had been misconstrued, a truce was declared and Mr. McCain still welcomed the endorsement.

Then a recorded sermon emerged in which Mr. Hagee suggested that Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God’s plan to drive the Jews from Europe into Palestine-- a final straw that led Mr. McCain to reject the Hagee endorsement. He also rejected the backing of the Rev. Rod Parsley whose anti-Muslim sermons have argued that America was founded, in part, to see “this false religion destroyed.”

But not everyone agrees with the Times' assessment. Earlier today we talked with Georgia state Senator Regina Thomas, who is running for the Georgia congressional seat currently held by craven Blue Dog John Barrow. One of the unspoken problems Regina has in winning-- even though her mainstream values perfectly mirror those of the district while Barrow represents no one but his corporate contributors-- is that his huge warchest is allowing him to pay off cash-hungry ministers in the district to buy their support. Hagee's psychotic ministry of Armageddon has been extremely generous to Jews-- and whereas 99.9% of Jews are smart enough to see through his crazy apocalyptic game-- there are always a few kooks-- either too thick to understand or too greedy to care.

Hagee left it to Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg of Congregation Rodfei Shalom, a modern Orthodox synagogue in San Antonio, to provide an explanation of his offending comments.

Standing with Hagee at the news conference, Scheinberg called it "ironic and absurd" that Hagee's words were twisted and labeled anti-Semitic when Hagee was lecturing on one Jewish perspective of the Holocaust.

"Pastor interpreted a Biblical verse in a way not very different from several legitimate Jewish authorities," Scheinberg said. "Viewing Hitler as acting completely outside of God's plan is to suggest that God was powerless to stop the Holocaust, a position quite unacceptable to any religious Jew or Christian."

Scheinberg called Hagee a courageous Christian and a man guided by "an unparalleled moral compass."

And how many pieces of silver has Hagee given Rabbi Scheinberg precisely?

Most mainstream Americans of all faiths reject the divisive, hate-mongering rhetoric from Parsley and Hagee, no matter if they're targets are Catholics, Jews or Muslims. Most people realize that these outbursts are motivated primarily by hucksterism and a drive for donations from the crazed faithful. But the real problem is for the Republican Party and John McCain. According to Kathryn Kolbert, president of People For the American Way, an organization originally founded by mainstream Jews, Protestants and Catholics to battle the excesses of the religionist right, McCain's pastor problem hasn't gone away; it's gotten worse.

“For years, the Republican Party has relied on right-wing king-makers like Hagee and Parsley to bring their troops to the polls and win elections. But now, the American public is starting to understand just how far out of the mainstream these preachers and their political agendas are.

“McCain himself once called the leaders of the radical religious right ‘agents of intolerance,’ but changed his tune when he decided to run for president and knew he’d need their support. Now he’s got a hard sell: convince the public he’s a moderate, despite his conservative views, and try to win over the so-called ‘patriot pastors’ without acknowledging them publicly. Going in through the front door with endorsements backfired. Now, he’ll try the back door. After all, radical right leaders may well swallow their pride and back McCain based on his promise to give them the Supreme Court of their dreams.

“The American public has a good nose for sniffing out hypocrisy, and People For the American Way will help. For months, we’ve been pointing out McCain’s flip-flopping on Religious Right leaders, and posting the outlandish statements and over-the-top videos of Parsley and Hagee ranting away. Now the truth has reached a wider audience. We’re going to keep it up, watching for the next chapter.”

UPDATE: HAGEE AND THE JEWS

Rabbi David Saperstein is one of the wisest men of faith I have ever met. He wrote about the conundrum Jews face when thinking about allying themselves with a chacater as demented and twisted as John Hagee.

Jews can empathize with Sen. McCain because we have faced the same dilemma with Rev. Hagee. No fundamentalist Christian is more overtly supportive of Israel, raised more money for Israel, nor used his religious and political clout to more energetically mobilize support in America for Israel. Further, he was an evangelical who made clear that his relations with Jews over Israel would not be used to try to convert us. Yet, his fundamentalist views had led to reprehensible statements about gays, Catholics, and even the victims of Hurricane Katrina.



And his particular understanding of the Bible led him to use his political clout in efforts to undermine support for the Israel- Palestinian peace process and a two-state solution. Nonetheless, it had become common to find Jewish leaders joining in Pastor Hagee’s “Salute to Israel” events around the country and paying public tribute and homage to the pastor for his efforts. Two months ago, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, challenged Reform Jewish rabbis with the contradictions of participating in such events with someone who held views that were anathema to our commitment to tolerance, pluralism and intergroup respect. While I hope that Rev. Hagee continues his support for Israel, which I assume he gives for its own sake, we should refrain from allying with him in any manner that gives our stamp of approval to him generally or to the deeply troubling views he has expressed.

McCAIN AND HAGEE REJECT EACH OTHER. WHAT ABOUT PARSLEY?

Not sure about America... but McCain's campaign is sure under a curse

I don't know many religionist fanatics. But I do know one-- although I often wonder if when he spouts his nonsense it's because he's on drugs or because he thinks the Holy Spirit has taken hold of him. In any case he's a Jewish Christian Zionist and a big defender of the Rev. John Hagee. (He's also a defender of his mother's canasta circle switching their allegiance from Hillary to McCain, but that's a whole different story.) Anyway, yesterday he sent me a long and bizarre message about what John Hagee really meant to say when he said that Hitler was fulfilling God's will when he had that unpleasantness with the Chosen People a few years back.

The only reason this came up is because his mother's new favorite candidate chased Hagee around the country for two years asking for his endorsement. Nor, of course, is Hagee the only demented carnival act masquerading as a religion who McCain has pursued. He's tried to line up every snakehandler and fire-eater from one end of the Old Confederacy to the other. And some not from the Confederacy at all, like lunatic fringe anti-Christ Rod Parsley from Ohio, another blood-thirsty raving maniac who McCain publicly acknowledges as his spiritual guide.

Anyway, although my crazy friend thinks Hagee is just dandy and continues to defend him, McCain has finally decided he can't be associated with him any longer. According to CNN, McCain has officially rejected Hagee's endorsement. Funny, when Louis Farrakhan endorsed-- unbidden-- Barack Obama, it took Obama 30 seconds to publicly reject the endorsement. McCain pursued Hagee like a horny dog and then took months and months of pressure to finally admit it was a mistake.

In the face of mounting controversy over headline-grabbing statements from Pastor John Hagee, CNN has learned presumptive Republican nominee John McCain has decided to reject his endorsement.

The Huffington Post had published a recording of Hagee saying that Adolf Hitler had been fulfilling God’s will by hastening the desire of Jews to return to Israel in accordance with biblical prophecy.

“Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well,” McCain said in a statement to CNN Thursday.

He didn't know? Doesn't he have a research department? Or are they all spending all their time digging around in the dirt looking for gotcha moments to through at African-American ministers. A simple Google search for the single word "Hagee" brings up over 700,000 entries and the wikipedia one is right on top, which explains everything McCain needs to know about the deranged "minister" he begged for an endorsement.

Not to be outdone, the enraged Hagee says McCain can't reject the endorsement because he withdraws it! Which of these loons did it first? We'll never know-- or will we?. John Amato sums this whole mess up nicely at Crooks and Liars and also wonders if Holy Joe Lieberman will end his love affair with Hagee as well.

In any case, it should be interesting to see what the religionist nuts have to say about McCain rejecting their boy Hagee-- and it will be interesting to see what McCain does about his Parsley problem:




UPDATE: McCAIN FLIPS OUT AND SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANY OF THESE CRAZY PASTORS

McCain wishes he never met Hagee or Parsley. He called Hagee "crazy and unacceptable" and then later repudiated Parsley's endorsement too. He told the A.P., "I believe there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America, and I believe that even though he endorsed me, and I didn't endorse him, the fact is that I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement," regarding Parsley's ministry of hatred and war against Islam.

WHAT'S WITH McCAIN AND THE RELIGIOUS FANATICS ALL OF A SUDDEN? MEET ROD PARSLEY

McCain's campaign is more than just lobbyists

If you think McCain is nuts for cavorting around with high profile bigot John Hagee (future head of McCain's National Weather Service... well, you're correct. And wait 'til you get a load of his other spiritual advisor, televangelist huckster Rod Parsley. Parsley-- when he isn't bilking his Ohio flock for everything they're worth-- is a Republican warrior, urging Christians to go to war against Islam to "destroy" it. He not only endorsed McCain, McCain endorsed him.

A few years ago my friend Tim was working for Sherrod Brown in Ohio and he became very aware of the Parsley phenomenon there. He looked into it closely and found a pretty ugly picture:

He has preached this prosperity gospel while accumulating vast personal wealth, including a $1 million, five-bedroom, 5 1/2-bath house with a swimming pool; a $63,000 Cadillac ESV and a $68,000 Lexus LX470 for himself and his wife, Joni; and a $5,000 Polaris all-terrain vehicle. Parsley shares a gated 21-acre compound in Fairfield County with his mother and father-- church officials Ellen and James Parsley-- who live in a $940,000 home. The senior Parsleys also own a $450,000 vacation home on Lake San Marcos near San Diego.

Parsley's megachurch and related industries raking in millions of dollars and pays no taxes, yet he is one of the most blatantly political preachers in America, his so-called churches an offshoot of the Ohio Republican Party. He endorses candidates left right and further right, a clear violation of his tax-exempt status. "On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a 'strong, true, consistent conservative.' The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a 'spiritual guide.'"

Senator Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran (R-AZ) has bonded with Parsley as though he were Rosemary or Sage. Like McCain, Parsley is a war-monger, pushing America into a posture of aggression towards other countries civilizations.

I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is. In fact, I will tell you this: 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, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.

...We find now we have no choice. The time has come. We may already be losing the battle. As I scan the world, I find that Islam is responsible for more pain, more bloodshed, and more devastation than nearly any other force on earth at this moment.

Just a few years ago McCain was telling Americans Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson were "agents of inolerance." Now he's ready to start drafting young Americans to send them off on a misguided Christian crusade to slay Moslems.