John McCain has lost my vote. This is not a superficial hypothetical vote that I never would have cast anyway. No, I have written several blogs pointing out how I would vote for him if he were to win the Republican nomination. I pointed this out, because he seemed to be the only Republican that was willing to stand up to the theocratic leaders of the Republican Party. He showed his bravery back in Vietnam and I was convinced that he would continue to be brave in spite of the Christian Neopharisees that are running the Republican Party. In fact, I thought that John McCain could turn the tide and fix the Republican Party from within. I was wrong.
After all, John McCain first earned my vote in 2000 when he spoke out against the theocratic neopharisees running that Republican Party back then. He made this statement on February 28, 2000:(link)
SEN. JOHN McCAIN: My friends, I am a Reagan Republican who will defeat Al Gore. (Cheers and applause) Unfortunately, Governor Bush is a Pat Robertson Republican who will lose to Al Gore. (Cheers and applause) I recognize and celebrate that our country is founded upon Judeo-Christian values, and I have pledged my life to defend America and all her values, the values that have made us the noblest experiment in history. But political intolerance by any political party is neither a Judeo-Christian nor an American value. (Applause) The political tactics of division and slander are not our values. (Applause) They are corrupting influences on religion and politics and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America, shame our faith, our party and our country. (Applause) Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.
I have to say, when I hear another Republican make a statement like this I will certainly be drawn toward them like a moth to fire. But, with John McCain's flip-flop this weekend I am guessing that it will be a long time before I hear it again. Apparently the neopharisees have a grip on the testicles of the Republican Party and they won't let go. John McCain was subjected to torture in Vietnam and he wasn't broken. But the power of the almighty Christian Neopharisees has taken control of John McCain's brain. And, I need a brave Republican to stand up to these people before I could ever vote that way again.
So, what did John McCain do? Well, he has anounced that he is speaking at Liberty University, the Lynchburg, Va this May. This University is the seat of the NeoPharisee movement lead by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Liberty University was founded by Jerry Falwell and is the conduit of his Fundamentalist Christian values spawning young NeoPharisees bent on focusing of Biblical constructs rather than the message that Jesus taught 2000 years ago. John McCain was right eight years ago when he call these people agents of intolerance. Speaking at this university lends credibility to this seat of intolerance.
More than that, he is kissing up to Jerry Falwell. And the kissing is beginning to look disgusting to me.
This is truly a sad day in American Politics. When I look for a leader to vote for I look for someone who supports a majority of issues the way I agree with. John McCain is a fiscal conservative, and I agree with him on these issues. However, I also look for a man that will stand up for his convictions. And, it is quite clear that he has flip flopped on this important issue. A man who's head can be turned by the promise of power in the White House is certainly subject to scrutiny. I can only hope that John McCain will come to his senses and stand up for what is right, but at this moment the Republican Party seems to be lost once again to the desire for political power.
Cross Posted @ Bring It On, tblog, Blogger and BlogSpirit