Outside of Jeremiah Wright controversy, a number of other candidates in the 2008 race encountered similar scrutiny of religious advisors, though generally with less publicity, leading some commentators to allege that the criticism of Wright was fueled by racism or double standards.[1]
- Rudolph Giuliani hired Monsignor Alan Placa, a Catholic priest and longtime friend who had officiated at his second wedding, to work in his consulting firm after he had been ordered to cease priestly duties amid accusations of molesting three children.[2]
- Mitt Romney faced criticism for his role as part of a "dynastic family" within the Mormon church, including issues of racial discrimination stemming from the church's formerly held doctrine of not allowing African Americans into the priesthood, a practice which they ended in the 1970s.[3] Due to the controversy, Romney gave a major speech on the issue earlier in the campaign.
- John McCain has been criticized for several religious associations. He accepted support from Jerry Falwell and spoke at the commencement of his Liberty University. Falwell had been criticized for saying that gays, feminists, and liberals were in part to blame for 9/11. Although McCain had previously criticized Falwell as an "agent of intolerance", he stated that the two had come to an understanding of one another.[4] He has accepted an endorsement by Reverend John Hagee, who was subsequently noted for anti-Catholic and anti-Muslim statements and declaring Hurricane Katrina a "judgment of God" for the "level of sin" in New Orleans.[5][6][7] McCain later rejected Hagee's statements, saying that accepting the endorsement was "probably a mistake" but that he was still glad to receive it.[8][9] McCain additionally called Rod Parsley his "spiritual adviser". Parsley holds views similar to Hagee but has also called for the total destruction of Islam.[10][11] In addition, McCain's "Catholics For McCain National Steering Committee" features Father Deal W. Hudson. While Hudson was a professor at Fordham University, he seduced an 18-year-old student, lost his tenured position, and resigned from a position on the Bush reelection team. [12][13]
- Hillary Clinton has described herself as a Methodist[14] and has stated the Methodist church she attended as a youth gave her the opportunity to expand [her] horizons".[15] For fifteen years she has been part of a secretive religious group called "The Fellowship Foundation", whose congregants consist of exclusively heavy political players, including scores of senators from both parties, and is best known for organizing the National Prayer Breakfast. The group was established in the 1930s by a Methodist evangelist named Abraham Vereide and is currently led by Doug Coe. In 2005, TIME Magazine named Coe as one of the 25 most powerful evangelicals, calling him "the Stealth Persuader."[16][17] In 1993, journalist Jeff Sharlet went undercover to learn about the Fellowship, who he described as "secret theocrats" and as having "traditionally fostered strong ties with businessmen in the oil and aerospace industries" and various dictators. Sharlet quotes Coe as saying, "We work with power where we can, build new power where we can't", and says that the group's leaders "consider democracy a manifestation of ungodly pride". In her autobiography Living History, Hillary Clinton described Coe as "a genuinely loving spiritual mentor" who "became a source of strength and friendship" for her during her more difficult years as first lady.[18][19][20][21][22]
Some critics argued that the Wright case is more significant than McCain's associations with Hagee, as Obama noted that Wright guided him to Christianity, baptized his children and performed his marriage ceremony, and Obama attended Wright's church for twenty years, whereas McCain first met Hagee while campaigning for president.[23] Eugene Rivers has countered these criticisms by first explaining that Obama was not always in church, and that the several minutes of soundbites continually played by the media obviously do not equate to twenty years, noting that Wright's 30-year body of sermons had been gone through by the media and that they had been unable to find any other controversial statements in them. Rivers also explained the motivation of Obama in attending the church and relating with Wright, noting such things as that Obama was only twenty-four when he met Wright; that Obama at the time was struggling with his personal identity as a bi-racial person, half-black yet never having opportunity to understand black culture; that Obama's father had abandoned him at age two and that he never had a father-figure in his life and that he may have seen this some in Wright; and, that Obama felt a loyalty to Wright because of the early positive influence Wright had in his life in helping Obama work through these issues, which Rivers described as "deeply personal and complex" for Obama.[24][25]
Comparisons with similar politicians
E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post contended that white religious leaders who make controversial statements often maintain their political influence.[1] As an example, Frank Schaeffer, son of the late Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer, noted that his father in his books denounced and called for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government and compared the U.S. to Hitler; yet, no one had ever asked any Republican leader to denounce Schaeffer or his statements. Rather, he was a frequent guest in the home of Jack Kemp, had lunch with and was a guest in the Gerald Ford White House, met with Ronald Reagan, and assisted with the appointment of C. Everett Koop as U.S. Surgeon General. Frank Schaeffer also pointed out that Mike Huckabee, while he was a presidential candidate, named Francis Schaeffer's Whatever Happened to the Human Race? as one of his favorite books, which contains one of the instances where Schaeffer compares America to Hitler's Germany. Frank Schaeffer argues that if his father's words had been spoken by Jeremiah Wright or any other black American preacher, then those preachers, because of their race, would have been accused of treason, and their followers would have been subject to smear by association and required to renounce and distance themselves, as had Obama. Schaeffer specifically charges that this is evidence of a double standard and racism, which Schaeffer says has been carried out by the Far Right in the U.S., as well as by Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign.[26]
Stephanie Miller said, "How anyone can be held to this standard of being responsible for everything someone else has said is just beyond me."[27]
References
- ^ a b Dionne, E. J. (2008-05-02). "Fair Play for False Prophets". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ^ Brian Ross and Avni Patel (2007-10-23). "Giuliani defends, employs priest accused of molesting teens".
- ^ Christopher Hitchens (2007-11-26). "Mitt the Mormon:Why Romney needs to talk about his faith".
- ^ Reviewed in Think Progress. "VIDEO: McCain Says Jerry Falwell is No Longer an 'Agent of Intolerance'".
- ^ "McCain embraces bigot". Catholic League. 2008-02-28.
- ^ Glenn Greenwald (2008-02-28). "Some hateful, radical ministers - white evangelicals - are acceptable".
- ^ Clyde Haberman (2008-05-02). "First Thing, Muzzle the Clergy?". New York Times.
- ^ (Film clip of John McCain and George Stephanopoulis on ABC Thisweek) (2008-04-21). "McCain Flip-Flops In 30 Seconds: Hagee Endorsement A 'Mistake,' But 'I'm Glad To Have' It". Think Progress.
- ^ Greenwald, Glenn (2008-02-29). "The McCain/Hagee story picks up steam".
- ^ David Corn, "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam", Mother Jones, 12 March 2008. Available online. Archived.
- ^ Anne Hart, "McCain's free ride must end", Savannah Morning News, 4 May 2008. Available online. Archived.
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/05/mccains-catholic-committe_n_100277.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070808025732/http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/bn081904.htm
- ^ http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/327623.aspx
- ^ Mark Preston, "Hillary Clinton talks religion", CNN, 26 June 2006. Available online. Archived.
- ^ Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet , "Hillary's Prayer: Hillary Clinton's Religion and Politics", Mother Jones, 1 Sept 2008. Available online. Archived.
- ^ http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/4.html
- ^ Jeffrey Sharlet, "Jesus plus nothing: Undercover among America's secret theocrats", Harpers, March 2003. Available online. Archived.
- ^ Andrea Mitchell and Jim Popkin, "Political ties to a secretive religious group", NBC News, 3 April 2008. Avialable online. Archived.
- ^ Joshua Green, "Take Two: Hillary's Choice", The Atlantic, Nov 2006, Available online. Archived.
- ^ Maureen Farrell (2004-08-24). "'We Could Control This Country': 33 Extreme Reasons to Give Bush the Boot".
- ^ Randi Rhodes Show, 6 May 2008. Rhodes frequently refers to this matter.
- ^ http://www.nationalledger.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=23&num=19489
- ^ WRDW radio, 10-11pm EST interview on 2 May 2008
- ^ "FOX News interview with video".
- ^ Frank Schaeffer, "Obama's Minister Committed "Treason" But When My Father Said the Same Thing He Was a Republican Hero", HuffingtonPost, 16 March 2008. Available online. Archived.
- ^ Stephanie Miller Show, @10:55 AM EST, 6 May 2008.