Nitpicker picks a fine nit today; John McCain singing, at a VFW today in front of hundreds, "Bomb Bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys song "Barbara Ann". In April 2006, on Meet The Press, McCain stated that a US attack on Iran could bring on "Apocalypse"
As Nitpicker reports:
(A) man -- wondering if an attack on Iran is in the works -- wanted to know when America is going to "send an air mail message to Tehran."
McCain began his answer by changing the words to a popular Beach Boys song. "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran," he sang to the tune of Barbara Ann.
Now, some very creative people have done "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" previously ( video at the end of my story ) but I have something better to add than mere parody....
The real story implicit here, in the background of McCain's "Bomb Iran" song stunt, is McCain's admission, last year before he began to realize a need to court the Christian right, that a US attack on Iran could precipitate "the Apocalypse".
That was last year.
This year, in 2007, John McCain has been courting Christian Zionist leaders such as John Hagee who say they want the Apocalpyse to happen. Hagee has, in fact, formed a powerful national US lobbying group to bring it on.
The failure of both mainstream and progressive media to pay serious attention to John Hagee and the American Christian Zionist movement may prove to be one of the most tragic journalistic failures of our time. because the growing political clout of that pro-war lobby may prove to be the decisive factor tipping the US towards a potentially catastrophic war with Iran.
As part of my research into a February meeting between John McCain and CUFI founder John "Apocalypse Now!" Hagee, who was the keynote speaker before a substantial portion of Congress, at last February's AIPAC convention, and McCain I dug up the following startling Meet The Press statement by McCain:
TIM RUSSERT: So we could have two wars at once?
SEN. McCAIN: I think we could have Armageddon.
-- John McCain, on the Iran crisis. April 2nd 2006, "Meet The Press."
-- John McCain, on the Iran crisis. April 2nd 2006, "Meet The Press."
A few weeks ago, to little notice, Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee, founder of the new "apocalypse now!" national lobbying group CUFI ( what is CUFI ? see story footnote ) met with Presidential candidate and US Senator John McCain and, over breakfast, discussed Israel and "other matters."
Pastor Hagee declined to detail in the email he sent out to members of the CUFI mailing list because "This newsflash goes to the ends of the earth and I don't want to read it in the media tomorrow." At a July 19th, 2006 Washington, DC inaugural event for CUFI; following a recorded greeting from President George W. Bush; and with four US Senators and the Israeli ambassador to the US in attendance, Pastor John Hagee stated:
"the United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West... a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ.".
[7-4-2011 - update and correction: the text, above, is a misquote incorrectly attributed to John Hagee--who has publicly declared (CUFI Washington D.C. summit 2007) that "It is time for America to consider a military preemptive strike against Iran to prevent a nuclear holocaust in Israel and a nuclear attack in America" but has not directly stated that this will bring about the end-time scenario Hagee predicts.
For an extended discussion of this misquote, see Christians United For Israel Lashes Out (Anatomy of a Misquote)
For an extensive collection of sourced John Hagee quotes here at Talk To Action - see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
So, what were the "other matters" Hagee and McCain discussed last January 29th? And, why is Senator McCain seeking political support from an advocate for apocalyptic war?
Pastor Hagee's email to members of CUFI:
CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL
Membership Update
January 29, 2007
Newsflash!
This morning I had an extended breakfast with Senator John McCain of Arizona. Our topic of discussion was Israel and his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States of America.
Senator McCain's comments concerning Israel are on target! He gets it! While I do not want to put the specifics of our conversation in this update I am glad to report to our leadership and supporters that John McCain is solidly pro-Israel.
We discussed his positions on other matters that I will share with you when I speak with you in person. This newsflash goes to the ends of the earth and I don't want to read it in the media tomorrow."
So, what's CUFI ? Here's an intro, from one of my pieces on John Hagee and Christians United For Israel. After that I've posted links to a number of related articles.
In previous installments of an ongoing series, I've examined the beliefs of Pastor John Hagee, founder of "Christians United For Israel", an ostensibly pro-Israel lobby whose members seek to trigger a Mideast conflict they hope will spiral into a devastating world war that will cause Global mass death and the death of 2/3 of Jews in Israel. Hagee, who calls for a preemptive nuclear strike on Iran and also states that will trigger the apocalyptic war he craves, has warned in his sermons about a conspiracy of "Illuminati" and international bankers seeking to create a "New World Order". John Hagee spoke, before many US Senators and Congress members, to a cheering crowd, at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual convention last Sunday evening :
That leading US politicians now happily appear at public events with, cheer on, and consent to share the stage with a man who advocates a fringe conspiracy theory some would call anti-Semitic and urges a "preemptive" use of nuclear weapons in order to cause widespread nuclear war indicates the extent to which US political and religious culture has lurched far right, towards what some call an "apocalyptic death cult", over the past four decades since the era in which Lyndon Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign devastated Barry Goldwater's presidential hopes by airing just one time a 30 second TV commercial, the "Daisy" ad, that effectively tarred Goldwater as eager for nuclear war. Now, for Republican politicians wooing a key bloc of evangelical GOP voters, public expressions of nuclear blood lust are no longer stigmatized or politically toxic ; they are an asset.
TTA contributor Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst for Political Research Associates, provides some background on the recent history of "New World Order" conspiracism among John Hagee's fellow Christian Zionists such as Tim LaHaye and Pat Robertson in The Age Old Conspiracy
Previous installments in an ongoing series, by Bruce Wilson, on John Hagee and Christian Zionism:
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In previous installments of an ongoing series, I've examined the beliefs of Pastor John Hagee, founder of "Christians United For Israel", an ostensibly pro-Israel lobby whose members seek to trigger a Mideast conflict they hope will spiral into a devastating world war that will cause Global mass death and the death of 2/3 of Jews in Israel. Hagee, who calls for a preemptive nuclear strike on Iran and also states that will trigger the apocalyptic war he craves, has warned in his sermons about a conspiracy of "Illuminati" and international bankers seeking to create a "New World Order". John Hagee spoke, before many US Senators and Congress members, to a cheering crowd, at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual convention last Sunday evening :