()AP Photo/Meet The Press,
Alex Wong)
According to NYT columnist Paul Krugman:
"Last month Mr. Falwell issued a statement explaining that, in his view, Jews can't go to heaven unless they convert to Christianity.... Senator John McCain obviously believes that he can't get the Republican presidential nomination without Mr. Falwell's approval. During the 2000 campaign, Mr. McCain denounced Mr. Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson as "agents of intolerance." But next month Mr. McCain will be a commencement speaker at Liberty University, which Mr. Falwell founded. On Meet the Press [last Sunday], Mr. McCain was asked to explain his apparent flip-flop. 'I believe, he replied, 'that the Christian right has a major role to play in the Republican Party. One reason is because they're so active and their followers are. And I believe they have a right to be a part of our party.'"
It seems to me that McCain is absolutely right (in every meaning of the term). The extreme Christian right not only has "a right to be a part of the [Republican] party," but for all intents and purposes is the Republican party today. It is an admission that no one can win the Republican nomination without the approval of its most extreme sectarian forces. Any lingering nonsense about McCain the independent or the maverick should finally be put to rest next month when he stands shoulder to shoulder with one of the most extreme right-wing Christian bigots. If McCain's hunger for power is so great that he can't stand up to someone as extreme as Falwell, he fits in perfectly with the worst elements in his party. - Dan
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