Lieberman ignores concerns, cozies up to radical evangelist

July 23, 2008

When Joe Lieberman agreed to headline John Hagee’s Christians United For Israel Washington Summit, it was some months ago, before the political controversy over Hagee’s radical worldview, and before even John McCain decided Hagee is a little too nutty to be associated with. I thought it was at least possible that Lieberman, citing his loyalty to McCain, would back out of the event.

No such luck.

Mr. Lieberman was greeted by a boisterous standing ovation in a room decked out with United States and Israeli flags. “I am your brother Joseph,” he said.

Asserting that Mr. Hagee had worked hard to fight anti-Semitism, Mr. Lieberman said: “I don’t agree with everything Pastor Hagee has said, and I can safely say that the pastor doesn’t agree with everything that I’ve said. But there’s so much more than that that we agree on.”

Mr. Lieberman added, “I will tell you tonight the bond that I feel with Pastor Hagee and each and every one of you is much stronger than that and I am proud to stand with you tonight.”

I argued a while back that Lieberman either a) has no idea what Hagee believes, but stands by him anyway; or b) knows what Hagee believes, but doesn’t care. Given Lieberman’s speech last night, it’s clearly the latter.

Indeed, Lieberman acknowledged the controversy surrounding Hagee, and proceeded to compare the radical evangelical to Moses. Seriously.

A friend of mine alerted me to this transcript of Lieberman’s remarks:

“The political controversy that has swirled around Pastor Hagee reminds me of one of the unique lessons in the Bible about leadership. In Greek mythology, the leaders were flawless and virtual demi-gods. It was impossible for mere mortals to try to emulate them. The heroes of the Bible, however, are humans, great humans, but with human failings.

“Even Moses fell short of God’s expectations. He made a mistake and hit the rock rather than speaking to it as God commanded. His sister, the prophetess Miriam, sinned too when she spoke badly about Moses. But this didn’t make Moses and Miriam bad people or failed leaders. Their shortcomings were only part of the larger fabric of their remarkable lives of faith and service. And that’s the way the Bible and those who read it view them.

“And that’s why I would say Moses and Miriam were fortunate that they did not live in the merciless attack-counterattack political culture of our time which would undoubtedly have stressed their shortcomings and ignored their great deeds. I can only imagine what the bloggers of their day would have had to say about Moses and Miriam.”

Keep in mind, Lieberman thinks liberal bloggers are foul-mouthed, and political leaders shouldn’t be associated with groups like MoveOn.org, but John Hagee is respectable because of his life work fighting anti-Semitism and building bridges between Christians and Jews.

I see. So, Lieberman is fine with the fact that Hagee’s support for Israel is “rooted in the belief that the Jewish state will — soon — be the site of Armageddon,” and his “brand of Christian Zionism closely links support for Israel to the end of the world and the conversion of the Jews to Christianity.”

And Lieberman is fine with the fact that Hagee believes Jews have been persecuted over the centuries, but it’s their own fault.

And Lieberman is fine with the fact that Hagee’s “support” for Israel is rooted in the notion that Hagee welcomes Israel’s destruction.

It’s not that Hagee loves Israel, so much as he foresees a blood-soaked war in the Middle East that leads to Jesus’ return, at which point the Jews who survive will become Christians. This is the man Lieberman wants to be associated with — and publicly compares to Moses.

For that matter, I’m emphasizing Jewish concerns, but let’s not forget that Hagee has also levied jaw-dropping attacks against Catholics, African Americans, women, Muslims, and gays.

The NYT reported, “Over 40,000 signatures were delivered to Mr. Lieberman’s office encouraging him not to speak at the event.” For the sake of what’s left of his reputation, he really should have listened.

“Even Moses fell short of God’s expectations. He made a mistake and hit the rock rather than speaking to it as God commanded.

Did this send anyone but me into gales of laughter?

  • seriously, if you were from Connecticut wouldn’t you just close the curtains and stay home under the covers tomorrow so you didn’t have to show your face in public until you could move to a different state?

    Steve had a post the other day with 3 of 4 likely #1 seeds if he ever had a March Madness style bracket for nuttiest congressperson. Most of them were fairly obscure names to the general public. But if Senators are invited, ol JoeLie would be Final Four material.

  • Well, if he wants to be the poltical version of a radio shock-jock, then let’s call him “Joe Shock” from now on.

    Or better still—Joe Savage—then I can wax eloquently about how he serves as a national poster-child for the legalization of ex-post-facto abortion.

  • I guess the question is who should be most embarrassed by this association? Lieberman or Hagee? Who was doing the slumming?

    Visually they are Mickey Mouse meets Shrek III. Morally they are Toxicman meets Two-Face

  • The sickness of these war cheerleaders knows no bounds. Liieberman is a power fool. His ego cannot see his own absurdity.

    When Hagee told the story of a man who told him, “I don’t believe there is a hell”. Hagee’s response was, “There is one and you’re going there”. He’s going there simply because he doesn’t believe there is one???. Hagee is demonstrably insane, condemning and bigoted and leads a group “he” created who has given up reason in favor of violent fanaticism. He’s no more a Christian than Hitler who depended on the prejudice and moral defects of depraved people to carry out his mission. His interpretation of the Bible is only HIS interpretation and he cherry picks only what justifies his opinion and made billions from the fools he’s convinced can buy their way into heaven via his interpretation of rapture.

    Libermann is self-destructive as are those fanatics who mistake him as a decent human being. He would send all our children to their deaths while cheering them on as killers for Christ. A more despicable representative is hard to find. Jerusalem Joe has got to go.

  • From VP candidate (just one of Al Gore’s egregious errors in judgement back in 2000) to national joke in just 8 short years. I’m really looking forward to his defenestration by the Democrats in 2009, but frankly I don’t think “Joke” will hang around for it, coward that he is. Watch for a well-timed resignation, followed the appointment of a republican to serve out his term by Connecticut’s republican governor, his final “Schtup you!” to the Democrats.

  • Suppose this same god object that told Moses to SPEAK to a rock also told Shrub to SPEAK to Iraq? Would s/he be pissed if Shrub beat the crap out of Iraq? Then cast his eyes about the horizon for other objects to pummel?

  • I think Joey (#6) had it right. Leiberman needs love and acceptance, and since he’s said so many stupid things that he’s been rejected by his own party, then he will go wherever he can get his ego rubbed. Smarmy.

  • I remember that petition to stop Lieberman from speaking at ths thing and I thought it was hilarious. I couldn’t and still cannot understand why anyone would want to stop Lieberman from expressing his opinions and attitudes on these matters. Obviously the guy wanted to speak at Hagee’s gathering. Obviously he is in enough accord with Hagee that he feels it appropriate to be there. Why should anyone try to prevent him from expressing that publicly? People have some really strange ideas about the power and appropriateness of petitions sometimes.

  • excellent, Nashville_fan – that is the correct answer to our Jeopardy 2010 “Political Punchlines for $400” question. The board is yours, pick a category.

  • Lieberman and Hagee want the same thing for different reasons: massive, full-scale attacks on Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and anywhere else that, in Lieberman’s view, remotely threatens a greater Israel in which Israeli settlements continue to expand into palestinian territories.

  • Crap like this is why I was not at all surprised by the J Street poll.

    But hey, if JoeLIE wants to make it painfully obvious that he’s a disgusting little toad who’ll suck up to anyone for some attention, more power to him.

  • JMonkey said: “The Greek gods weren’t flawed? Did Lieberman sleep through Classics?”

    Rabbinical education.

    Hagee is a disgusting person, but the American-Jewish community that cozy up to him simply because he “supports Isreal” without critism or comment are simply vile.

  • I’m gonna evoke Godwin’s law here, but I wonder if Joe Lieberman, had he been around during the Holocaust, would have been one of the Jews given special privileges in exchange for ferrying other Jews to the gas chambers.

  • Seriously….what in the heck is Lie Berman on? He doesn’t appear to be the type that would do crack, but this just goes to show you can never tell. As for Hagee, the vid on Jewsonfirst.org illustrates his obsession with Jewish people. Lieberman is a joke, but Hagee is a very serious, and dangerous, clut leader.

  • What JMonkey said.

    I found “The life of David,” by Robert Pinsky a fascinating look at the old testament and as such a fascinating look into just how similar to Greek myths the bible is.

    This is an interesting look at some rarely heard views on Zionism, which I assume was the point of the Hagee soirée.

  • As a CT resident, I hang my head in shame at the very mention of Lieberman’s name. I laughed at first when I heard he was going Independent. I was in utter shock when he won. I am completely dismayed/apathetic/angry (all at once) over all his actions during this term. I just died a little after reading this article. I’m sorry America, I failed you; my vote just wasn’t enough. I hope you can accept my sincere apologies and accept us back one day as a blue state.

  • Hagee, like most Christian Zionists, is a closeted anti-Semite. If Loserman can’t grasp this fact after listening to Hagee call the Jews “cursed” and that Hitler was sent by God to punish the Jews, he deserves all the humiliation and derision he can

  • George Arndt, @23

    I’m sure that Joe Lie knows, *precisely*, what the Hag stands for. But, as someone up-thread has mentioned, they both want a nuclear attack on Iran and the sooner the better. The Hag — because he thinks that, in retaliation, Iran will annihilate Israel, speeding up Armageddon (Hallelujah!). The Lie — because he’s sure that Iran will not be in a position *to* retaliate, once Israel and US are done nuking it into oblivion.

    What it comes down to is The Lie betting on: “my God is older — and therefore wiser — than your God. I and mine will survive, but meantime, Iran will be smouldering cinders”

  • Is this Joe Lieberman a US senator or does he represent Israel? All I ever hear about him is that he will do anything, including changing parties, to represent Israel and spend billions of our money on a foreign country. He wants to start wars with different countries that are enemies of Israel. Maybe he should go over there and run for office there so that then he could really do what he wants to do. Hopefully there are not any Arab senators or Chinese senators that do this!

  • Is Joe Lieberman possessed? What has happened to the man?

    I am embarrassed that I once supported his bid for the Vice-Presidency. He has now become a better, rabid Republican than the even the most rabid of Republicans.

    I pity Senator Lieberman. Getting too close to the dogs that are trained to kill will get you bitten. His time is short. You can’t serve two gods.

  • “I couldn’t and still cannott understand why anyone would want to stop Lieberman from expressing his opinions and attitudes on these matters.”

    People don’t have any problem with Joey “expressing his opinions and attitudes on these matters” as long as he doesn’t do it in front of a group headed by someone like Hideous Hagee. Joey has every right, of course, to give a speech in front of Hagee’s group, just like others have every right to tell him that it would be a mistake to do so.

    “Why should anyone try to prevent him from expressing that publicly?”

    No one did anything of the sort…or was there stories that I must have missed of people barricading themselves in front of the building where Joey was going to give this speech to Hideous Hagee’s group? Stop trying to make a martyr out of Joey where he isn’t one.

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