When Demagogues Compete You Win

Well, I guess we know who the uniter and who the divider is now, don't we?

Catholic League President Bill Donohue blasted Sen. John McCain for accepting the endorsement of Texas evangelicalist John Hagee, calling the controversial pastor a bigot who has "waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church."

Yes, that would be this Bill Donohue.

Oh, and that would be this John Hagee.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, in what is perhaps a presaging of a McCain presidency, today the Senator from Arizona created a rift between the frothing, wild eyed Jesus loving wing of the republican party and the frothing, wild eyed papist loving wing of the republican party.

Can't we all just get along?

Apparently not.

Well, it should surprise no one that McCain chose the bible thumpers instead of the Mary lovers. Or maybe they chose him, it really doesn't matter because now the pope has to send the holy ninjas to...um...educate his King James Version loving WASP behind.

On a serious note though, this has to give pause to the McCain campaign. It certainly doesn't benefit them to split the bigot wing of the party. It's not like they have a whole lot else going for them amongst voters who aren't pro-war, in favor of recession and think politicians should be rewarded for their public service by being allowed free access to the public's money.

The seriousness of this breach cannot be overestimated. It may even cause some to rethink the candidacy of Mike Huckabee who said he was disappointed in the Hagee endoresement:

Interestingly, the Hagee endorsement didn’t sit well with presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee; he expressed his “disappointment and surprise” with Hagee for not choosing him. "I hate the papists as much as McCain he told reporters. "I'm a baptist minister for crying out loud. I even hate the Lutherans."

McCain spokesperson Jill Hazelbaker says, "Hagee endorsed John McCain. While we welcome his support, it shouldn’t be seen as a wholesale endorsement of all of Mr. Hagee’s views. It's not like we're going to care about anything he says after we get elected you know. It's the republican way."