WashingtonPost.com reported yesterday that the uberconservative Catholic League is up in arms over John McCain's newest, bestest buddy -- televangelist John "The Pope is the anti-Christ" Hagee. McCain accepted Hagee's endorsement at a McCain rally in Houston where they appeared on stage together. Catholic League President Bill Donohue issued a statement noting 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.'" Donohue went on to note, "Senator Obama has repudiated the endorsement of Louis Farrakhan, another bigot. McCain should follow suit and retract his embrace of Hagee."
If you've ever listened to Bill Donohue during one of his Fox News appearances, then you know there is usually no more of a reliable Republican shill than Bill Donohue. But Donohue hit the nail on the head with this one.
At the Democratic debate earlier this week, Tim Russert went after Barack Obama like a rabid dog because Louis Farrakhan gave an unsolicited endorsement of Obama’s candidacy. Obama responded by unequivocally rejecting and denouncing Farrakhan’s support. Yet John McCain not only accepts John Hagee’s support, he appears onstage with this virulently anti-Catholic bigot who has called the Catholic Church "The Great Whore" and has referred to the Pope as the anti-Christ.
It looks like McCain is going to ride his "Bush 2.0" strategy to the bitter end. Lest we forget, it was Bush who, in the 2000 election, made his pilgrimage to Bob Jones University and gave a big warm bear hug to Bob Jones, himself. As you probably know, Bob Jones, the "university," is a university that does not admit Catholics as students. Bob Jones, the "person," is someone who, among other things, called the Catholic Church "the whore of Babylon" and who – like John Hagee – also said the Pope was the anti-Christ. Either religious right wingnuts have a thing for whores and anti-Christs or they're all working from the same script when they're defaming the Catholic Church.
And yet, there are still Catholics out there who insist on voting Republican for no other reason than Republicans pay lip-service to being "pro-life." (At least until the kid is out of the womb. Then he's on his own. Anyone remember SCHIP? The Republicans don't.) Catholics who vote this way are a lot like Hasidic Jews supporting a Neo-Nazi candidate because they agree with his position on gay marriage.
Any Roman Catholic who supports the Republican Presidential ticket is an ecclesiastical Uncle Tom.