HRC Says Wright Would Not Be Her Pastor; So Who Would Be?
| Wed Mar. 26, 2008 10:56 AM PDT
In Pennsylvania Tuesday, Hillary Clinton spent the day personally fanning the flames of the Obama-Wright fire. "He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."
That's a fair point, but the the logical follow-up is, who would Hillary have chosen as her pastor? Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet delved into that question in our September/October 2007 issue:
When Clinton first came to Washington in 1993, one of her first steps was to join a Bible study group. For the next eight years, she regularly met with a Christian "cell" whose members included Susan Baker, wife of Bush consigliere James Baker; Joanne Kemp, wife of conservative icon Jack Kemp; Eileen Bakke, wife of Dennis Bakke, a leader in the anti-union Christian management movement; and Grace Nelson, the wife of Senator Bill Nelson, a conservative Florida Democrat.
Clinton's prayer group was part of the Fellowship (or "the Family"), a network of sex-segregated cells of political, business, and military leaders dedicated to "spiritual war" on behalf of Christ, many of them recruited at the Fellowship's only public event, the annual National Prayer Breakfast. (Aside from the breakfast, the group has "made a fetish of being invisible," former Republican Senator William Armstrong has said.) The Fellowship believes that the elite win power by the will of God, who uses them for his purposes. Its mission is to help the powerful understand their role in God's plan. ...
That's how it works: The Fellowship isn't out to turn liberals into conservatives; rather, it convinces politicians they can transcend left and right with an ecumenical faith that rises above politics. Only the faith is always evangelical, and the politics always move rightward.
—Justin Elliott
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Comments
Hey Aaron McCain isn't above the religious nut bag connection and the straight talk express seems damn crooked to me. In 2000 he called Pat Robertson and other religious right leaders agents of intolerance, now he wonders around with religious nut John Hagee who calls the Catholic Church "the great whore". The hypocrisy and utter lack of straight talk are plain to see and obviously politically convenient.
Hillary Clinton undoubtedly wanted to get some additional poltical traction out of the Wright affair. But that doesn't change in any way the problem: Obama REMAINED at that church. Wright is his SPIRITUAL leader. Why are people letting their attention be diverted by the reaction of Clinton? It's a normal reaction and she certainly doesn't seem particularly principled by expressing it. The problem is the extremism that Obama condoned by continuing to go to that church. I can't believe that people can be swayed that easily by that speech he made. What's the Democratic process coming to? Is it coming down to who has the best ads or who has the slickest speeches?
"Why are people letting their attention be diverted by the reaction of Clinton?"
I don't think they are. The national attention is still fixed on the fallout from the fact that Obama's minister once lost his temper in a rant about America.
We're too busy thinking about that, actually, to care about either of the candidates' platforms, or the substance of their plans to end the war, or their economic policies.
We're too busy thinking about that, even, to examine Clinton's association with the quasi-fascist religious group "the family," which condones far more destructive elements than "black liberal theology."
I mean, it's just such a great excuse to bash Obama, isn't it? I've personally been waiting, praying for something to come along, so I could have an excuse to "denounce and reject" him. Because just admitting the truth, that I don't want a black guy as President, seems to make people think I'm racist or something...it's crazy, huh? But thank God for this Wright thing...thank God for journalists who can cut & paste & sensationalize portions of peoples' speeches, and nevermind all the positivity that comes out of the Trinity Church.
Like Obama said, we can keep playing these soundbites over & over again through November...get your popcorn ready!!
Senator Clinton's church is the Methodist Church. They agree with Pastor Wright on Israel. SWC Geneva, 24 March 2005,World Council of Churches Refuses Simon Wiesenthal Center's Request To Rescind Israel Divestment Campaign. The general secretary of the World Council of Churches has defended the church body's recent call that its member denominations consider withdrawing investments from firms profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church USA, The Episcopal Church, amongst other main line churches call for divestment as well. Carter's book on Apartheid by Israel gives ample examples of the situation. Carter in his book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid" , pg 209, "...(I)n the United States, Israeli government decisions are rarely questioned, voices from Jerusalem dominate in our media..." In other words, Zionist dominate the US media. "At the same time, political leaders and news media in Europe are highly critical of Israeli policies, affecting public attitudes." "Citizens in 15 European nations, indicate that Israel was considered to be the top threat to world peace."
Kathy, you would be right about Wright, IF he were the person the media has portrayed him to be based on 30 seconds of sound-bites. Numerous people, white and black, who know him and his church have now come forward to say these sound bites in no way represent his lifetime of service. Yes, the clips are crackpot (though in one he was referring to something someone ELSE said), but even the crackpottiest of the clips, the AIDS conspiracy theory, has also been said by no other than Bill Cosby, white America's favorite non-threatening black man. Should we all "denounce and reject" Bill Cosby? I'm sure that you, like most of us, have said things in the heat of the rhetorical moment that you feel do not represent you as a person. Would it be fair to take clips of those things and use them to impugn the judgement of your friends because they have been your friends for two decades? That is what you are doing when you use Rev. Wright against Barack Obama. Get on YouTube and listen to some complete sermons by Wright. Base your opinion on complete information, not info-tainment.
Hopefully, Sharlet's expose will get something going within the next few weeks. Totally sick of Hillary's "you can't pick your family but you can pick your pastor".. Who picked Bill, or did she and Chelsea give him the boot?
I HAVE THOUGHT CLINTON BELONGED TO THAT CULT AND THATS WHAT IT IS. GOD WILL NOT HELP THE U.S. BECAUSE HE IS GOING TO DESTROY US. ITS BECAUSE WE DO NOT FOLLOW THE BIBLE AS WE SHOULD. THE RESULT IS WHAT GOING ON NOW IN THIS COUNTRY. IF YOU READ REVOLATIONS THERE IS NO MENTION OF THE U.S. THATS BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO DESTROY OUR SELVES BECAUSE WE HAVE DISHONORED HIM AND WE WILL BE NO MORE.
Shame on him for calling himself a pastor ? Pastors are not supposed to breed hatred and racisim. What happened to being proud of his own country? , the country that he has enjoyed with all the opportunites as everyone else. I find it funny that he mocks certain past presidents, at least they had the courage to say things in a more positive light; and help change the world to be better. Everything out of this guy's mouth is foul. What has he done to enrich his life and the lives of his parishoners ??; according to what I have read nothing. GOD must be saying please find another profession cause you are hurting my feelings. !! Its too bad that Obama attended even one sermon from this guy; His mother who was white would have been rolling around in her grave; poor woman. And the NAACP; are they that desperate for speakers these days ?..there are a multitude of healthy, educated black men and woman who could have spoken at your last event; instead you chose a racist like Paster Wright., great ! really moving forward ? NOT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_wKOgMNs0U
This is Chillary's true religion. The religion of Dirty politics.
