What if Jeremiah Wright Were Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson?
On September 16, 2001, Barack Obama’s pastor, the man who inspired his 2004 ketnote speech at the Democratic Convention and the title of his book and the man whose church Obama has faithfully attended and supported, said this:
The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people…God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.”
“We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye…We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost…”
Obama is catching heat for this, as he should, but not nearly enough. Quite a few folks on the left are equivocating, saying that Obama can’t be responsible for what Wright says. They’re right. He certainly can’t. What he can do is explain why, even after that sermon, Obama remained a member of the church, continued to seek out Wright’s counsel, and invited him to be a consultant on his campaign. All he has given us has been a weak-tea denouncement, with little explanation of his own behavior and no acknowledgment that what Wright said was so wrong as to require Obama to actually cut off his association with the man.
So let me throw a question or two out there. What if Jeremiah Wright’s name was Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson? What if Obama invited either of them to be his personal spiritual adviser? On September 1, 2001, Falwell and Robertson said that America bore some blame for 9/11 because of our moral turpitude. They said that we got “what we deserve” and for that they were rightly condemned and made nearly anathema. Only a round of public apologies allowed them to re-enter polite public society again, but those statements hung like a millstone ’round their necks and the right took a serious beating, despite the unequivocal denouncements.
What’s the difference between them and Wright? Why have his comments been largely ignored by the major networks?You’d have to work very hard to convince me that there’s any other reason than a distinct bias toward the left that’s willing to cover up racist and despicable statements from Wright in order to prevent them from damaging their pet candidate.
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Category: Oh, THAT liberal media., The 2008 Horse Race
It would still help Hillary Clinton.
"What’s the difference between them and Wright?"
Wright is black and a "victim". Falwell & Robertson are white and they are the "perpetrators". (And that is etched in stone now regardless of actual behaviors of any real persons.) It is as simple as that to the left…at least on the surface.
The unfortunate and destructive aspect of victim-hood is that the victims are not held to the same standards as the rest of us. It is what makes the victim mantle so attractive to some people. Why take responsibility or credit for your own failures when you can blame someone else?
"What if Jeremiah Wright’s name was Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson?"
Then we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? Every Republican candidate for president gets endorsed by those two and it hasn't really been an issue yet. The reason is that, as despicable as their views are, they are mainstream Christian views. And that's why I don't really have a problem with republicans being endorsed by them. And when Pat Robertson endorses McCain, I still won't have a problem with it. Hell, I don't really have a problem with McCain's spiritual adviser, Rev Rod Parsley. And this is despite the fact that Rev Parsley's views about Islam are about as evil and misguided as it gets.
For me to have a problem with a religious leader's endorsement of a candidate, the religious leader must actively endorse violence (admittedly, Rod Parsley comes dangerously close). And that's why I have a big problem with McCain's acceptance of endorsements from the likes of John Hagee and Tim LaHaye. Those people advocate the slaughter of non-Christians like me and actively lobby our government to bring about such violence.
But I'd even be willing to overlook look those people if McCain were willing to publicly state they he rejects those views. To this date, he has not. Obama has clearly and publicly rejected the extremist views of Jeremiah Wright. Why can't McCain do the same for Tim LaHaye and John Hagee? Probably because he doesn't really have a problem with those views. And that's what concerns me. There may very well be a time when non-Christians like me are led to the slaughter. But I won't vote for the guy who leads me there.
For what it's worth, here's Obama's response:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/on-my-…
Money quote:
"Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue."
If McCain could give half the rejection of Hagee's views that Obama has given here, I would be satisfied. But he won't, will he?
"If McCain could give half the rejection of Hagee’s views that Obama has given here, I would be satisfied. But he won’t, will he?"
It is not really about which religious leader endorses which candidate….but that is a neat trick anyway how the left is playing like Pastor Wright merely endorsed Obama and that there is nothing more to it than that.
McCain doesn't have to reject Hagee's or anyone else's endorsement because McCain never misses an opportunity to back-hand the Christian right as it is. McCain is no friend to Christians like me as far as I can tell, and no one would have to wonder very much as to whether he agrees with Hagee or not.
I would not be alarmed if some kooky pastor endorsed Obama, but in this instance, it is the other way around. Obama endorsed Pastor Wright by attending his church for 20 or so years. He has admitted to having a relationship with this man – more than just going to his church. This pastor married him, baptized his children & worked on Obama's campaigne up until 5 minutes ago. This is not just a dotted line association.
Remember, McCain sought out Hagee's endorsement. Yes, it's not the same as a long term relationship, but Hagee's desire for worldwide genocide is a lot more serious than Wright's Black Power/ Black Victim rhetoric. Wright doesn't want me dead, Hagee does (along with 4 Billion other people).
While it's true that McCain has dissed the lunatic wing of the Christians in the past, he's not doing it anymore. A few years ago, when McCain switched denominations and joined the Baptists, I thought it was just a cynical ploy to help him run for president. Now, I'm not so sure. And the fact that he won't denounce global genocide as a foreign policy goal leads me to believe that he really has gone through some kind of religious transformation. And not for the better. If he really wants to be given the control over a nuclear arsenal capable of achieving the goals laid out in the Book of Revelations, he needs to demonstrate that he doesn't support those goals. This isn't hard, he can make a simple one-sentence denunciation, but he won't do it. And the fact that McCain had a two-hour meeting (very long for a Senator) with Hagee to talk about foreign policy is very disturbing. And the fact that Hagee endorsed McCain after that meeting is even more disturbing. Hagee obviously believes that McCain is on board with the Armageddon plan or he wouldn't have endorsed him. McCain needs to show otherwise. You say I shouldn't worry about this, but do you really have any evidence to prove that McCain hasn't gone through a radical religious transformation in the past few years? Everything I see says that he either has gone through such a transformation or is just faking it to get votes. I'd like to know which it is.
Shorter version: All I'm asking for is McCain to denounce the advocation of genocide. That's it. I'll admit that genocide has been widely popular throughout history and celebrated in even the holiest of texts, but we've moved beyond that now. It really shouldn't be hard to condemn genocide in these modern times. Admittedly, it's unlikely that McCain would ever condemn genocide against Asians (or "gooks" as he calls them), but he should at least condemn genocide against Americans who aren't Christian.
Tom, you've mentioned genocide a couple times with respect to Hagee. I honestly don't know to what you're referring. Could you give me the brief rundown, or point me someplace where I can take a look?
That goes for me also….no idea what you are talking about. The book of Revelation does not call for the US to bomb Iran or anyone else. The book of Revelation does talk about end times but in no way describes believers taking any action to bring that about. It is really just a "revelation" of the things to come.
You seem to be stretching things to match up the Christians' beliefs with that of Amadinajad (sp?) who actually DOES believe; has said so repeatedly, that Iran will bring about the end times by destroying (i.e. nuking) Israel.
As far as Hagee calling for genocide against non-believers in the US or elsewhere…I simply don't believe it. I don't follow Hagee much. He does say a few things that I don't agree with. Actually, it is usually how he said it rather than what he says that does it for me.
I'm sorry I even posted what I did above…what I really should have said is it doesn't make a bit of difference what on earth is going on with Hagee & McCain. We are talking about Barrack & Wright right now. Can we just discuss that without throwing a distraction in there?
What is going on in Barrack's chosen church is wrong. It doesn't matter if tomorrow, Satan himself endorses McCain….what is going on in Barrack's church is still wrong.
"I honestly don’t know to what you’re referring."
I assume you own a Bible. I own three and I'm not even a Christian. Open it up to the Book of Revelations and read it as if it were intended to be taken literally (it wasn't, but humor me). You'll note that everyone who isn't a Christian ends up dead by the end. That is genocide. And if it were to occur today, more than four billion people would end up dead, including myself. Now, as Lori has correctly noted, Christians don't actually bring this genocide about. But John Hagee has a different take on it. He believes that it is the responsibility of Christians to ensure the the Book of Revelations is literally fulfilled. And he actively lobbies the government to achieve that goal. And let's be clear about that goal: it is a far more evil plan than Stalin or Pol Pot could ever have dreamed of. They only killed millions, Hagee plans on killing billions. And I have no doubt that if God doesn't do His part (which He obviously won't), Hagee will encourage McCain to take on God's role, using the awesome power of our weaponry. The question I have is will McCain do it? I have never seen McCain shy away from any war, so it seems likely that he would. If not, he should say so, and maybe I'll vote for him.
I'm sorry, man, but that's not what the Bible says. There is no genocide of the unbelievers. It's simply not there.
Muslims Against Sharia call on Senators McCain and Obama to cut all ties with their racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Semitic supporters.
McCain: http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2008/03/…
Obama: http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2008/03/…
Oh wow everyone has a comment. See thats the problem. Speak out on every "racist" act. Racism is to the ideology that one group is superior to the other. An example of that would be slavery, Jim Crow, The prison population. It is amazing that such intelligent people do not recognize that 400 years of oppression would not affect those who were oppressed. They are lazy, they are failures. How dare you? The way Mr. Wrights message came across was not sugar coated I admit but it is partly true. Is America not controlled by rich white people? Do we really think that we can go over to another country based on lies from those in power, bomb the people and not suffer from this unrighteousness. Wake Up. Some things do not have to be said. Actions speak even louder than words. Do you really believe that the Judicial system is Just? Ha! Do you really believe that only one group of people are capable of leadership? Ha! ZWake Up Anyone who thinks this way is insane. Look at the Congress> That is not a representation of the United States. Nothing is wrong with that though. Why does Wright think that the U/S injected HIV into Africans. Maybe because they injected syphillis into African American Men. Now that is evil. No man is superior to another. But we can't tell it when we look at this society.
What nonsense. Did you ask the same when Falwell and Robertson said that America "deserved" to be bombed on 9/11 or that hurricanes were God's revenge? Where have you been on the Hagee hate?
Right wingers are such opportunistic hypocrites.
Andy, as regards Falwell and Robertson, you should probably search my website before you shoot off at the mouth.