JESUS CAMP (EXTREME EDITION)

[defrog]

I was saving this in case Obama started getting crap the next time Rev Wright said something wacky, but now that John McCain has officially renounced the support of his own wacky extremist spiritual advisor guy, I guess there’s no point.

Basically, it’s an excerpt from The Great Derangement by Matt Taibbi, in which he joins an “Encounter Weekend” for new recruits at John Hagee’s Cornerstone Megachurch to see what Christian Zionists really get up to when the TV cameras are switched off.

I have no words. Suffice to say – provided Taibbi isn’t making it all up – that they make Rev Wright look like Father Mulcahy. Seriously. These people vomit up demons responsible for everything from lust and astrology to handwriting analysis and anal fissures. I’m not kidding.

As to the Hagee/McCain thing ...

I’m not very big on the whole “You know someone who has views I find offensive, therefore if you don’t renounce them utterly, you must therefore agree with them” party line. Put another way, I never seriously thought that Obama = Wright any more than I thought McCain = Hagee.

But I have been wondering: why has Obama been under so much pressure to denounce Wright for being batshit extreme, yet hardly anyone has been bagging on McCain to denounce Hagee or being batshit extreme? And now that he has, why isn’t anyone asking him why it took him so long when info about Hagee’s batshitness has been publicly available for at least as long as Wright’s?

I’m guessing the answer is reasonably simple: it’s okay to be a batshit Christian extremist, so long as yr using Jews to get to Heaven faster and not criticizing America.

Jesus doesn’t want me for a sunbeam,

This is dF

Comments

[lorilori.livejournal.com]

I have been wondering: why has Obama been under so much pressure to denounce Wright for being batshit extreme, yet hardly anyone has been bagging on McCain to denounce Hagee or being batshit extreme?

Because Christian extremist aren't as welcome on the democractic side of the fence? Republicans have been cozy with exremists for years.

[thelastaerie.livejournal.com]

BBC's take on this was that Wright was challenging American policies and the way the government is treating its certain citizens, while Hagee... well, it seems like it's OK if you think people in New Orleans were punished by god for their sins and that Hitler was god's trooper to kill Jews... because, you know, you are not criticising US government.

[dinopollard.livejournal.com]

Both the other comments to this provided the answer. A Republican having a right-wing Christian psychotic on his side is pretty much standard these days. I think there's also an element of racism at play in here as well. And also, the so-called "liberal" media is nowhere near as liberal as they'd like the public to believe. If they really were, McCain would be scrutinized a lot more and there's no way he'd have gotten a reputation for being a maverick when he's anything but.