Are They the Same? May 7, 2008

Are They the Same?

By Guest Contributor
May 7, 2008

Via Jessica Hagy‘s Indexed:

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Is it fair to put them in the same league?


[tags]atheist, atheism, Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Hillary Clinton[/tags]

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  • Darryl

    It’s not a matter of fairness, it’s a matter of taxonomy. According to at least one measure, they play on the same league. But, there are many metaphors, all of which are true, and none of which is real.

  • QrazyQat

    To start with, it’s “et al.” (for instance Hagee) on the Republican’s side, and it’s people he specifically sought out, even though he’d previously (can you say “flip flop”?) said they were “agents of intolerance”. The Democrat has also (twice now) clearly stated he doesn’t many of support Wright’s beliefs and statements, and he’s clearly stated which ones, and he has denounced Wright for them. The Republican, OTOH, has offered mild statements and said he is glad for Hagee’s support. And the media has hammered on the Democrat and his “nutty preacher” (only some of whose statements are nutty — the ones that have commanded the most attention as inappropriate were the preacher quoting Reagan appointee Ambassador Peck from a Fox News interview!) while giving the Republican a pass on his connections which he sought. Bottom line: false equivalence yet again.

  • Yes, it is fair.

    Unfortunately, the media slams the left-wing preacher and gives a pass to the one on the right. I haven’t seen any MSM calling for McCain to disavow his preacher.

  • Daniel

    McCain doesn’t have to answer for his preacher yet because nobody is paying attention to him right now. It’s all about the democratic primaries currently. When the democrats quit playing this idiotic game and pick Obama, then you will see the focus on McCain’s preacher. Right now focus on McCain would be stupid because it can’t damage him politically. It would all be blown over by the time the democrats pick their candidate.

  • Polly

    I am not a Barak supporter (nor Billary, nor McCrazy), but I’d say that the corporate media is being incredibly hypocritical by not challenging McClone’s ties to that warmogering, fascist bigot, Hagee.
    Hagee wants to attack Iran, blames Katrina on homosexuals, and blames the WTC attack on the removal of god’s protection because we kicked him out of public schools. What’s the difference between saying THAT and saying that god is “damning” America?

    These are all politically demarcated comments, unlike the vague reference of “god damn America.” by Wright, who is a bit of a nut himself. Moreover, McClone calls him a spiritual advisor and has not had to distance himself at all. I can’t tell if the double standard is just plain old racism or political in nature. Either way, it’s disgusting.

  • It shouldn’t read “nutty preacher.” It should read “snake oil God for dollars salesman.”

  • It shouldn’t read “nutty preacher.” It should read “snake oil God for dollars salesman.”

    In that respect, yes, it’s fair to throw them together. It doesn’t matter what particular rhetoric they use to separate their congregations from their money and common sense. The result is the same.

    There’s no difference between McCain and Obama in this respect, either. Both of them are using these idiots to pander to their constituents. Obama was using a black church whose preacher said a lot of things white people didn’t like. Whoops. As far as I know, McCain’s idiots haven’t said anything to piss off blacks, just liberals. McCain also hasn’t tried to use his “spiritual advisers” as anything but window dressing, while Barack tried to turn his into a possible tide-turning speech about race. That really bit him on the ass.

  • Spiderbrigade

    Yes, this is a purely taxonomic diagram. In other words it is not to scale. If it were to scale the area labeled B would be a lot bigger than A. Area A would be, from my experience, small indeed.

  • The difference is that Obama was a member Wright’s church for 20 years and called him a mentor in his book. McCain, as far as I know, was never a member at Hagee’s church. There is a big difference between accepting the support of a preacher in your bid for president and supporting a crazy preacher by sitting in the pew for 20+ years.

  • What’s “fair”?

    I love the “et al”

  • Mark

    Hey, you forgot about that freak named Jerry Fallwell who claimed that the world trade center blew up because America was too soft on homosexuals/ This nut, this freak, this lunatick is one of the best examples of proof that there is no God.

    Why are Christians so nasty and awfull?

  • “Area A would be, from my experience, small indeed.”

    You obviously don’t have enough black churches in your experience. Nutty, Christian and Democrat. And lots of them.

  • Karen

    Nutty, Christian and Democrat. And lots of them.

    Hoo boy – I’ve seen a few. 😉

    Now, if she’d made it “nutty spiritual leader” instead of “nutty preacher,” you’d have a whole bunch of overlap with Democrats. Man, the kooky New Agers in liberal circles are an entire universe of fruitcakes all to themselves!

  • I’d say Robertson is slightly more crazy than Wright, and insane Republican preachers on average are a little more crazy than insane Democrat preachers, but ultimately I think Wright is in the same league as Robertson, in the sense that they both have exactly the same amount of evidence to support their claims: none. The evangelical protestant church and the black church can both be extremely loopy, in very different ways. They both should be ashamed of their actions and philosophies, in general.

    BTW, anybody who hasn’t been acquainted with Pat Robertson should check out the “Predictions” section of his wikipedia article. Pretty scary stuff.

    He’s an egotistic, solipsistic, retarded child, and he deserves a few hours in hell.

  • stogoe

    Yes, I’d say that’s fair. To clarify, though, “nutty preacher” is an awfully big group, and who exactly counts as one is up to the viewer. For me, while Hagee/Donohue/Robertson et al are obviously much worse than him, I still consider Wright nutty.