Will Mark Kirk Disavow John Hagee?

UPDATE: Finally and at long last, the Hagee anti-semitic side show was too much (or getting too much press) and the McCain side show decided to drop him after initially seeking out his support. That's not before he was defended and the Democrats were blamed. Here's what Lieberman said just last week:

Well, look, I think that the DNC is obviously doing this because they said Pastor Hagee is some kind of response to Rev. Wright for Sen. Obama, but I don't think hat's fair. The basic way that everyone has already said which was that John McCain never went to Pastor Hagee's church. He accepted his endorsement.

He represents a lot of people in this country, particularly Christians who care about the state of Israel. He founded a group called Christians United for Israel. The statements that were brought out that he had made about the Catholic Church were a total surprise to me. I know that Sen. McCain they were obviously reprehensible.

And I give Pastor Hagee a lot of credit for just plain apologizing. And I must say there is a difference because Rev. Wright never did apologize. He just restated the objectionable and reprehensible things he had said.

Last year, he also compared Hagee to Moses. Lieberman is probably one of the chief surrogates for McCain, so there is every reason to believe it was his job to soften Hagee's image in the Jewish community. Didn't work because it is what it is.

I'll note for the record that Mark Kirk stayed silent on Hagee the entire time and in my book silence is assent.

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Mark Kirk is a supporter of John McCain who sought and gladly accepted the endorsement of controversial preacher John Hagee. The mainstream media finally pointed out Hagee's comments against Catholics and Hagee under that pressure made an unenthusiastic apology, but what about Hagee's comments about Israel and Jews? The latest being circulated is all about how Hitler was fulfilling God's will (transcribed from the audio by Huffington Post):

And they the hunters should hunt them,' that will be the Jews. 'From every mountain and from every hill and from out of the holes of the rocks.' If that doesn't describe what Hitler did in the holocaust, you can't see that....

Theodore Hertzel is the father of Zionism. He was a Jew who at the turn of the 19th century said, 'this land is our land, God wants us to live there.' So he went to the Jews of Europe and said 'I want you to come and join me in the land of Israel.' So few went that Hertzel went into depression. Those who came founded Israel; those who did not went through the hell of the holocaust.

Then god sent a hunter. A hunter is someone with a gun and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter. And the Bible says -- Jeremiah writing -- 'They shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and from the holes of the rocks,' meaning there's no place to hide. And that might be offensive to some people but don't let your heart be offended. I didn't write it, Jeremiah wrote it. It was the truth and it is the truth. How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.

Have a listen:


Mark Kirk bases his campaign on his friendship to the Jewish community in our district and many in that community trust him. A member of that community, I never felt the love believing he's insincere. His connection to the anti-semitic hate group Chicagoland Friends of the American Renaissance and his acceptance of McCain's relationship with Hagee, together with his general endorsement of a have and have not society that usually hurts the Jewish people, are disturbing to me. Kirk needs to disavow John Hagee and tell his buddy, John McCain to disavow John Hagee.

If you are prepared to defend Kirk claiming that there is no evidence that Kirk himself has a relationship to Hagee, ask yourself this: is John Hagee the sort of person to whom you want your leaders to be beholden? Yes, beholden and McCain accepted Hagee's endorsement to get the contributions and votes of Hagee's followers. (Don't go there, Barack Obama disavowed his preacher loud and long.)

So far, from his silence, it seems Mark Kirk thinks it's just fine that his choice for President of the United States will be beholden to John Hagee.