The Republican Catholic Problem

The Republican Party is proving increasingly anti-Catholic...or at least my knowledge of their anti-Catholic tendencies is increasing.

John McCain and Joe Lieberman embraced right wing pastor John Hagee. In fact, John McCain SOUGHT OUT Hagee's endorsement and McCain specifically said, "I admire and respect Dr. Hagee's leadership of the -- of his church." McCain went so far as to call Hagee his "spiritual guide." Only much later (long after Barack Obama had distanced himself from Reverent Wright) did McCain, under considerable pressure, abandon Hagee. According to a Catholic News Agency article:

It’s not hard to find evidence that Rev. Hagee does not think highly of Catholics or the Catholic Church. In a video discussing the biblical book of Revelation, John Hagee suggests the Pope is the anti-Christ, and that the Catholic Church is "The Beast" (17:30 and following) mentioned in the book.

McCain clung to Hagee for so long...despite the fact that Hagee attacked Jews, Muslims and Catholics. Hagee has been described as a bigot who "waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church." And McCain called him his "spiritual guide" and expressed admiration of this bigot.

Of course McCain wasn't the only Republican candidate who embraced Hagee. Mike Huckabee also sought out Hagee's endorsement (from same article quoted above...also see this article). Huckabee was also endorsed by anti-Catholic author Tim Lahaye.

Well, now I am finding even more virulent anti-Catholicism by a Republican candidate right here in my own State Senate district in NYC. My State Senator is Democrat Velmanette Montgomery, a wonderful woman well loved by the community. A Christian who supports gay marriage, she is definitely a left wing Christian. In 2006 she won re-election against the Republican by what can only be called an overwhelming margin: 42,869 votes to 2,420.

This year the Republican Party is fielding a certain gentleman, Christopher Strunk, against Velmanette Montogomery. And this man seems the worst of bigoted, anti-Catholic scum to date. Let me offer you some quotes a fellow Daily Gotham blogger picked up.

Republican candidate in my own district, Christopher Strunk, blames all America's ills on Catholics:

The NWO [New World Order? He doesn't define this term] as with the Federal Reserve and the majority of the Supreme Court is under the control of the Vatican and Holy See (because it is the oldest and most continuous worldwide organization still left standing) and that the NWO is fine tuned by the Jesuit Military order, who absolutely directly control the Vatican See’s corporate business arm SMOM and all the dog an pony show spin-offs that sort of look different aren’t. The Jesuits very seductively use liberation theology insurgency operations that in the context of change use the it takes a village communist model of feudalism as a small is beautiful ploy want every community to be cut-off from the world and be on its own without mention of how to form a common defense and foreign policy projected to make such resolve clear...

The Government is the enemy of invention and crushes the people in favor of the friends of the Pope and Vatican see.

Wow...generally I have only heard this kind of paranoid bigotry levelled at Jews. Strange to hear it directed against Catholics, but hey, that's the modern Republican Party, I guess, from Hagee to Strunk.

I am sure that Strunk will lose badly to Velmanette. But come on. I THIS the best the Republicans in NYC can do?