McCain Steps Up Pandering to Christianists

It's almost sad to see John McCain shamelessly pandering to the most lunatic elements of the Christian Right, particularly after the way the wingnuts screwed him over in 2000 and ended up setting the stage for the Chimperator and all the negatives of his hubristic regime. Now, McCain apparently - like some cheap prostitute or disingenuous rent boy - will say and do anything required to kiss the bigoted asses of the leaders of the Christian Right such as extreme gay-hater, Phil Burress, in order to get them to direct the sheeple to go out and vote for McCain come November. McCain's disgraceful pandering only re-enforces my analysis as to why any LGBT citizen voting for McCain needs mental health therapy. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times describing McCain's latest steps to embrace the gay-haters:

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CINCINNATI -- Sen. John McCain, who has struggled to win the trust of evangelical voters, met privately Thursday in Ohio with several influential social conservatives who have been critical of him -- and impressed them, while telling them only some of what they wanted to hear. . . . And, according to participants, he indicated that he would take seriously their requests that he choose an anti-abortion running mate and would talk more openly about his opposition to gay marriage -- a pledge he carried out later in the day by endorsing a ballot measure in California to ban gay marriage.

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Many conservatives have been upset that McCain opposed a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a position he said he took because he believes states should decide the issue. At the meeting, McCain sought to reassure conservatives by emphasizing his work on behalf of an anti-gay-marriage measure in his home state. He referred to that in his endorsement of the California initiative, lauding efforts to "recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona. I do not believe judges should be making these decisions."

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McCain is scheduled to fly Sunday to Asheville, N.C., to meet privately with the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. The younger Graham met this month with McCain's rival, presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, who has launched his own effort to court skeptical evangelical leaders. McCain told the activists Thursday that he also hoped to meet with James C. Dobson, founder of the influential group Focus on the Family, who has said he would not vote for McCain. "The senator spoke fondly of him, but believes there's probably room for some bridge-building," said Mike Gonidakis, head of Ohio Right to Life.

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Viars said she was "holding out" to see who McCain picks for his ticket before she decides whether to volunteer for the campaign, as she did for Bush.Others said McCain can't win evangelicals merely by meeting with them privately; he has to embrace them publicly. "We told him that if he didn't come out and share his pro-family stances on these issues, then he can kiss Ohio goodbye," Burress said. "We can't deliver his message for him."