Sen John McCain (R-AZ), still soiled from a chummy sit down with his
favorite "agent of intolerance," Rev Jerry Falwell of the new and
improved Moral Majority, has put out a feeler for a speaking invitation
to Bob Jones University - the premier madras of Christian
fundamentalism. Apparently BJU's policy against interracial dating is
no longer an issue for McCain, as it was in 2000. True, when it became
public knowledge, Reverend Bob rescinded his racist, control-freak
diktat, but have his separatist impulses gone away, too? Just like
that?
Supporting Bush and his war may have been McCain's self-imposed,
partisan, and "patriotic" duty, but as a candidate for president he
runs the risk that all this sucking-up to his former mortal enemies
might alienate the people who gave him an 18 point victory over Bush in
the 2000 NH primary. Granite Staters proudly wear the mantle of having
the lowest per capita regular church attendance in the nation.
Reaching out to all Americans is an admirable strategy for a
presidential candidate, but it's not the same as being all things to
all people. As another Republican upstart once said, "You can fool
some of the people some of the time..."
The aegis of the religious right is crucial to winning the Republican
presidential nomination. No one's arguing that point - not yet
anyway. But would John McCain rather be president than be right? Maybe
not. He refuses to sign on to the gay marriage amendment; he supports
stem cell research, and opposes torture - it seems all he has in
common with his preachy friends are impeccable pro-life credentials,
tax-cuts for the rich, a thirst for power, and his warmongering.
And warmongering is the word for it. Since he went to Congress in 1983,
McCain has strapped himself like Slim Pickens to every cruise missile
America has launched. In fact, John McCain has met nary a military
option he didn't adore. His best buddy in the senate, fellow NamVet
Sen Chuck Hagel =A4 (R-NE), took a principled, if un-Republican, powder
from Bush's Iraq debacle earlier this year. But McCain soldiers on,
acting more like an administration official than a member of the upper
house. If Bush has given him a single rationale for the war in Iraq
that has even a whiff of truth to it, he should share it with us...
Read the rest of this story and lots more at http://www.lostnation.tv/
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