McCain Courted Hagee for at Least a Year

[RedEarth]

McCain Courted Hagee for at Least a Year
By Frederick Clarkson Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 11:51:18 AM EST print story


Media Matters for America wonders whether MSNBC will cover controversial televangelist John Hagee's endorsement of John McCain as much as it did Louis Farrakhan's endorsement of Barack Obama? That's a good question. If they do, they might want to look into a number of things: Such as how McCain didn't just get the Hagee endorsement out of the blue. Unlike Farrakhan's unsought endorsement of Obama, McCain courted Hagee for more than a year. And though Hagee's anti-Catholicism is in the news today, his anti-Semitism has been an issue as well.

Max Blumenthal writes by way of introduction to his video about Hagee's Christians United for Israel conference in Washington, DC last summer:

I have covered the Christian right intensely for over four years. During this time, I attended dozens of Christian right conferences, regularly monitored movement publications and radio shows, and interviewed scores of its key leaders. I have never witnessed any spectacle as politically extreme, outrageous, or bizarre as the one Christians United for Israel produced last week in Washington.
Bartholomew reports that none other than John McCain was also at the CUFI conference, courting Hagee's support -- and telling him what he wanted to hear.

Bruce Wilson reported that McCain quietly met with Hagee in early 2007.

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/2/29/112513/406

........looks like the Huck was after his vote too.....

"Huckabee, himself a Baptist minister, courted Hagee last year by delivering a sermon at his church"

....

So far, McCain has enjoyed strong support from Catholics, who make up about a quarter of the electorate.

He won far more of the Catholic vote, 47 percent, than any of his Republican rivals thus far, according to exit polling. Mitt Romney won 30 percent and Mike Huckabee won 9 percent, doing well among Catholics in states where they did well overall, according to exit surveys in 21 presidential primary states.

McCain has been less popular among evangelical or born-again Christians, which is where Hagee comes in. Huckabee, himself a Baptist minister, courted Hagee last year by delivering a sermon at his church.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDibKu9cwCdKWIQ4MXDoy3Ab37-gD8V643380

[gratuitous]

1. Oh, but, see . . .

Straight-Talkin' Johnny Maverick says that he doesn't subscribe to every last one of Hagee's loony utterances, so it's all okay. STJM doesn't have to reject or denounce or explain his endorsement by Hagee, and surely it would be in very bad taste for any reporter to ask STJM about his courting Hagee's endorsement.

So please move along, there's nothing to see here. And besides, there's no guarantee at all at this time that STJM will be the Republican nominee. We should take this up after he's been formally nominated by the Republican party. At that time, the Hagee endorsement will safely be considered "old news" and STJM won't have to talk about it then, either.

Isn't it great to be a Republican in today's America?

[rateyes]

2. McCain? A hypocrite?

Whodathunkit? :shrug: