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Over at the brand-new site Religion Dispatches, I have a piece about John McCain's embrace of televangelists John Hagee's and Rod Parsley's support:
When Hagee and Parsley are trotted out as shining examples of Christian leadership by Republican politicians, their critics often define them by their easily documented diatribes against Satan, the liberal media, other religions, or even witchcraft. Hagee, as founder of the Christian Zionist group Christians United for Israel (CUFI), is associated with his efforts to inject his eschatology into Washington’s foreign policy debate, with his calls for a preemptive military strike against Iran and opposition to any land concessions by the Israelis to the Palestinians. (Parsley also serves as a Regional Director of CUFI.) But to really understand what keeps these figures so popular with their ample followings--and therefore attractive to vote-hungry candidates--one needs to look beyond the outlandish sound bites and straight to the source of their religious, cultural and political power: money.Read the whole thing and check out Religion Dispatches.--Sarah Posner
