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Friday, February 23, 2007

McCain to meet with religious right leaders today

Welcome to pander day. The P-I previews John McCain's big visit to kiss the rings of social conservatives.
More than any of the other candidates, I think (McCain) is making the right moves to reach the right people" in the conservative Christian community, said the Rev. Joe Fuiten, senior pastor of the Cedar Park Assembly of God Church in Bothell and head of the Positive Christian Agenda. Fuiten said he will attend.

---snip---

Fuiten's group has been lobbying in Olympia for legislation requiring parental notification for girls' abortions and against measures dealing with sex education in schools, domestic partnership rights and embryonic stem cell research.

McCain, a longtime opponent of abortion rights, said in South Carolina on Sunday that the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion "should be overturned."

Other Christian-right leaders invited to meet with him here include a Fuiten ally, Gary Randall, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Network, which also has been lobbying for a conservative social agenda in Olympia, and the Rev. Wayne Perryman, a conservative black Seattle minister.
Nice. Let's hope they give him a silver ring at least before they (ahem) consummate this wonderful political marriage.

And it seems like some folks aren't too keen on the Discovery Institute's involvement. Can you say "backpeddling?"
Some critics of intelligent design called on McCain to cancel his appearance. The Discovery Institute, however, has a lesser role in the event than it has implied on its Web site, which says the institute is "pleased to co-present (McCain's appearance) with CityClub of Seattle and the Seattle World Affairs Council."

The council said it and CityClub are the "co-sponsors" in charge of the event. Council spokesman Hilbren Buys said the institute, one of 10 "co-presenters," is merely helping to promote it -- "sort of hopped on board and wanted this to happen. ... They put it on their Web site with a bit too much credit on their side."
See, it's kind of like the Oscars for the conservative right. So Discovery has been kind of shunted off to the side and charged with presenting the award for best foreign language documentary, which happens right at the start when everyone is still popping the corn. First they lose Kansas and now they get dissed in their own town. How embarrassing for them.

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