Recently in John McCain Category

Following increased media scrutiny of the extreme statements made by Sen. John McCain-supporter Rev. John Hagee, the controversial televangelist issued a letter on May 12 apologizing for the disparaging comments he made about the Catholic community. In response, Sen. McCain said, “Whenever someone apologizes for something they did wrong, then I think that’s a laudable thing.”

While Rev. Hagee sought to make amends for his anti-Catholic comments, The New York Times reported that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) publicly commented on the fact that he did not apologize for his anti-gay comments.  The televangelist has stood by his assertion that Hurricane Katrina was caused by God’s anger at New Orleans’ decision to host a gay pride parade.

Though the Times did print the DNC’s comment, many mainstream media outlets glossed over or ignored altogether that Rev. Hagee did not apologize for his anti-gay remarks.  Though it is notable that the DNC called attention to his outrageous statements, it is unfortunate that many mainstream media outlets failed to address the fact that Rev. Hagee had only issued a partial apology.  Hopefully in the coming weeks, media will continue to scrutinize Rev. Hagee and question why Sen. McCain has not encouraged him to issue a full apology.

Cindi Creager is the Director of National News.

As journalists continue to discuss the relationship between Sen. Barack Obama and his controversial former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, prominent voices in the media are asking why the connection between Sen. John McCain and anti-gay televangelist Rev. John Hagee isn’t receiving equal attention in the news. 

After Rev. Hagee again defended his contention that Hurricane Katrina was caused by God’s anger over New Orleans hosting of a gay pride parade, the May 8 edition of MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann replayed audio of Rev. Hagee’s extreme anti-gay comments and raised the question of why Sen. McCain’s relationship with the televangelist is not being widely scrutinized by the media.  On the program, host Keith Olbermann talked with Washington Post columnist and associate editor Eugene H. Robinson about the unequal media coverage of Rev. Wright and Rev. Hagee. Robinson opined that a lack of diversity amongst leading journalists could be a reason that many reporters are not recognizing the newsworthiness of Rev. Hagee’s incendiary anti-gay views.

In addition to Olbermann, New York Times columnist Frank Rich devoted his May 4 column to address what he perceived to be a racially motivated double standard in the media coverage of the relationships between Sen. Obama and Rev. Wright and between Sen. McCain and Rev. Hagee.  Noting Rev. Hagee’s anti-gay comments, Rich argued “If we’re to judge black candidates on their most controversial associates — and how quickly, sternly and completely they disown them — we must judge white politicians by the same yardstick.”

National journalists aren’t alone in raising questions about Rev. Hagee’s endorsement of Sen. McCain.  Noting Rev. Hagee’s anti-gay rhetoric, Denver Post op-ed writer Gail Schoettler penned a May 7 piece concluding, “We need to look just as closely at the words of other ministers who preach contempt and hate. In this election year, maybe America will begin to hold all vicious preachers accountable for their loathsome words.”

With people such as Olbermann, Robinson, Rich and Schoettler calling on the media to hold Rev. Hagee accountable for his hateful anti-gay statements, it’s time for more journalists to ask Sen. McCain why he refuses to dissociate with him.

Cindi Creager is Director of National News

Over the past few months, cable and network news programs have been asking why Sen. John McCain’s campaign pursued the endorsement of anti-gay televangelist John Hagee. Media scrutiny of the Rev. Hagee reached a wider audience on ABC’s popular daytime talk show The View on April 30.  During a heated exchange between co-hosts Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck about the political relevance of Sen. Barack Obama’s relationship with controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright, Behar quoted the Rev. Hagee’s statement that God’s anger at New Orleans for having a gay pride parade caused Hurricane Katrina.

After giving the audience the opportunity to hear the Rev. Hagee’s incendiary quote word for word, Behar questioned why his relationship to Sen. McCain hasn’t received the same attention and criticism as the Rev. Wright’s relationship to Sen. Obama.  Though the hosts of The View often engage in political debates, this is the first time that involved discussion of the Rev. Hagee’s anti-gay statement has taken place on a daytime TV talk show.

The conversation on The View brought close scrutiny of Hagee’s comments to a much broader audience, and prompted Alan Colmes to ask guest pundits on the April 30 episode of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes –which featured a clip from The View—to respond to the same issues that Behar addressed.  In this unique election climate, it’s not uncommon for the lines between hard news and entertainment to be increasingly blurred, underscoring the degree to which a wider variety of media outlets are shaping public perception of all of the candidates.

Cindi Creager is Director of National News

In an April 23 Op-Ed in The Ithaca Journal, Christopher Latimer, a political scientist and openly gay Republican, raised issues surrounding John McCain’s candidacy as it relates to LGBT voters that haven’t been fully discussed in the media before.

While McCain gets mixed reviews from conservatives and liberals on his general voting record, little has been reported on the long-term consequences for the LGBT community with regard to potential McCain appointments.

A key argument that hasn’t been raised during this election cycle with regard to any of the candidates for President is the impact that their appointments will have on LGBT Americans.  Latimer discusses the wide latitude that an Attorney General has in deciding which discrimination cases are pursued at the federal level and notes that given McCain’s opposition to an inclusive hate crimes law and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, it’s unlikely that a McCain appointee serving in such a critical role would be an advocate for the LGBT community.

Even more significant would be the lasting impact that a new justice on the Supreme Court would have.  McCain voted for the confirmations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito – both of whom haven’t voted on any cases that are significant for the LGBT community but have generally sided with Justices Scalia and Thomas on many cases that are related to social issues.  President Bush has railed against ‘activist judges’ and McCain has seemed to take the same verbal posture when it comes to discussing potential nominees to the court. 

It’s critical that the media continue to look beyond the voting records of the individual candidates to the long-term repercussions that Presidential appointees will have for the LGBT community.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy 

On April 18, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC's Countdown proposed several tough questions for ABC News' George Stephanopoulos to ask Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain during their then upcoming April 20 interview on This Week.  Encouraging Stephanopoulos to press Sen. McCain on his association with anti-gay televangelist John Hagee, Olbermann posed the cutting question: "...you proudly accepted the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee, who wants the U.S. to start a nuclear war as part of the apocalypse, who called Catholicism the great whore, and who said Katrina was God's punishment of New Orleans for holding, quote, 'a homosexual parade.' Senator McCain, does Pastor Hagee love Catholics, Muslims, New Orleans, gay people, parades and life on earth as we know it as much as you do?"

Not surprisingly, Stephanopoulos didn't use such strong language on This Week when he addressed Rev. Hagee's support of Sen. McCain. Instead, Stephanopoulos asked Sen. McCain if "it was a mistake to solicit and accept [Hagee’s] endorsement." Sen. McCain replied "oh, probably, sure," but went on to say that he's "glad to have his endorsement"  Unfortunately, Stephanopoulos did not follow Olbermann's suggestion and ask Sen. McCain to further explain why he’s still glad to have the support of a man who is well known for his extreme anti-gay rhetoric.

Cindi Creager is Director of National News

 

Presidential hopeful John McCain might be seen by many as independent, but he’s actually conservative, the Associated Press (AP) wrote today. The story pointed out that though McCain does not support a federal ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples, he is by no means an advocate for the gay community in large part because he does support statewide marriage bans. In a CNN interview last month, he said he was “proud to have led an effort in my home state to change our state constitution to protect the sanctity of marriage as between a man and a woman” and that as President, he “will continue to advocate for those fundamental principles.”

The AP story, which was picked up by dozens and dozens of papers across the country, goes out of its way to remind Americans that likely Republican presidential nominee McCain is not an independent at all, but that he falls in line with conservatives. It points out his support of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, his opposition to hate crimes legislation, and his opposition to protecting gay and transgender people from job discrimination.

The article grouped McCain’s anti-gay stances with his anti-abortion, pro-war, and gun control stances. The fact that the AP spent considerable time discussing McCain’s stances on gay issues right alongside other social issues places our community at the forefront of the election. The article’s use of the gay issues as one of four categories of controversial social issues may serve to again position the gay community as a wedge with voters. The media’s regular reporting on the candidates and the gay community may influence voters with opinions on gay issues (for better or for worse).

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy 

On March 29, national newswire Reuters reported that residents of certain states – including Florida, a key swing state - will not only be voting for a president this November but also for ballot initiatives that would ban marriage for gay and lesbian couples.  While the ballot initiative has received local coverage, the Reuters article highlights the ways that anti-gay initiatives might not turn out voters in the same numbers during this election cycle for a national audience.

 

In contrast to the 2004 election, these types of ballot initiatives may not have the same power to mobilize anti-gay voters to support Republican candidate John McCain. Reuters pointed out that these voters may already view McCain's political platform as insufficiently anti-gay. "I have a hard time envisioning social conservatives who want to ban gay marriage in Florida getting excited about John McCain at the polls," said Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida at Gainesville. "McCain doesn't have the credibility on the issue that Bush had and so people who come out to vote on it may not vote for McCain." As ballot initiatives develop in Florida and other states, it seems that McCain's past opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment – which President Bush had championed – may prevent him from reaping the spoils of the anti-gay vote.

 

Cindi Creager is Director of National News  

As the media closely scrutinize the campaign supporters of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, journalists still tend to overlook the outrageous anti-gay comments made by a key supporter of Sen. John McCain.  On March 21, host Dan Abrams of MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams took note of the media's overall inattention to McCain's most controversial endorsees by nicknaming the presidential hopeful "Teflon John." Abrams called particular attention to the revelation in the March 23 issue of The New York Times Magazine that McCain's campaign sought the endorsement of anti-gay televangelist John Hagee. Though Hagee dodged a question in the Times interview about his allegation that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for a New Orleans gay pride parade, Abrams provided viewers with the audio clip of his incendiary statement. With so much invested in the 2008 election, it will be interesting to see whether there will be a national conversation about Hagee's anti-gay rhetoric and his endorsement of McCain if the media follow the lead of Abrams and others by continuing to confront the public with the audio of his inflammatory comments.

Cindi Creager is Director of National News

In recent weeks, the media have been busy scrutinizing controversial statements made by the supporters and associates of the leading presidential candidates. We recently noted the work of journalists who brought to light the extreme anti-gay statements made by John McCain supporter and televangelist John Hagee. On the March 14 broadcast of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, correspondent Tom Foreman continued to take a close look at the anti-gay backgrounds of McCain's high-profile supporters. Foreman brought attention to the alarming anti-gay comments made by televangelist and McCain supporter Rod Parsley, who McCain has called a "spiritual guide."  Parsley was quoted as saying in the report, "I will lift my voice against the agenda of America's tortured and angry homosexual population."

It is encouraging that the media keep raising awareness of the anti-gay comments made by these high-level political supporters.  We hope they continue to question whether this divisive rhetoric reflects the candidates' platforms as well as the views of most Americans.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy

As influential religious and political figures endorse presidential candidates, the media have begun to examine how their statements about different constituencies square with the candidate’s political platform.  San Antonio televangelist John Hagee's (right) recent backing of John McCain led journalists to scrutinize Hagee's incendiary anti-gay and anti-Catholic comments.  On The Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive's "On Faith" website, writer Claire Hoffman questioned whether McCain's proud association with Hagee – who had asserted that God's anger at an upcoming New Orleans gay pride parade caused Hurricane Katrina – reflected the Republican candidate's aspiration to unite a diverse coalition of voters.

Similarly citing Hagee's offensive remarks about gay people and Catholics, both MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric recently raised questions about McCain's uncritical acceptance of Hagee's endorsement. If the media continue to responsibly examine the anti-gay background of presidential endorsers, they will look into McCain's recent appearance with and praise for Ohio televangelist Rod Parsley.  Parsley, like Hagee, is known for his espousal of virulently anti-gay rhetoric.

This is not the first time the media has questioned the association of anti-gay figures with presidential hopefuls. Last fall, Donnie McClurkin, a conservative minister and supporter of the degayification attempts of so-called “ex-gay” activists, took part in South Carolina rallies for Democratic candidate Barack Obama. After media brought to light McClurkin's anti-gay background and scrutinized it in the context of Obama's inclusive political platform, Obama publicly stated that he "strongly disagrees" with the preacher.  

It is encouraging that the media are continuing to ask whether the anti-gay views of presidential endorsers conflict with candidates' promises to build inclusive and unifying political campaigns.

Cindi Creager is the Director of National News