The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 18

Ever hear of Jews for Jesus?

Ever hear of Jehovah's Witnesses?

Probably most of our readership have heard of the latter and fewer of the former. Nani, more than once described as "an honorary Jew," can attest that what Jehovah's Witnesses are for some Christians --- the bothersome, in-your-face evangelicals --- Jews for Jesus are to those of "the chosen people." If you can believe it, Jews for Jesus, who purport to have converted from Judaism to Christianity and then engage in unrelenting proselytizing to all Jews henceforth, probably push their views on others more than JWs.

Turns out that Sarah Palin has her own Jeremiah Wright story, this related to a Jews for Jesus preacher at her church... drumroll please...

Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.

"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."

Palin was in church that day, Kroon said, though he cautioned against attributing Brickner’s views to her.

What's more, senior pastor Ed Kalnins at her Wasilla Assembly of God church, which Palin attended most of her adult life prior to her gubernatorial move to Juneau, teaches that "I believe that Jesus himself operated from that position of war mode." Are you F-ing serious, Nani? Yes, I am. Kalnins states:

What you see in a terrorist — that’s called the invisible enemy. There has always been an invisible enemy. What you see in Iraq, basically, is a manifestation of what’s going on in this unseen world called the spirit world. … We need to think like Jesus thinks. We are in a time and a season of war, and we need to think like that. We need to develop that instinct. We need to develop as believers the instinct that we are at war, and that war is contending for your faith. … Jesus called us to die. You’re worried about getting hurt? He’s called us to die. Listen, you know we can’t even follow him unless you are willing to give up your life. … I believe that Jesus himself operated from that position of war mode. Everyone say “war mode.” Now you say, wait a minute Ed, he’s like the good shepherd, he’s loving all the time and he’s kind all the time. Oh yes he is — but I also believe that he had a part of his thoughts that knew that he was in a war.

Would McCain have pushed on with tapping Palin to be his running mate had he known these associations prior? After all, nailing Obama on Rev. Wright has been the GOP's best trump card to date and capitalizes on the precious, precious fear that still fills the hearts and minds of so many Americans nearly 7 years after 9/11.

Only one thing is certain: very little controversial information about Palin could have come to light to the McCain camp in her vetting process because they only started vetting her last Wednesday!

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was not subjected to a lengthy in-person background interview with the head of Sen. John McCain's vice presidential vetting team until last Wednesday in Arizona, the day before McCain asked her to be his running mate, and she did not disclose the fact that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant until that meeting, two knowledgeable McCain officials acknowledged Tuesday... McCain had spoken with all of the others on his shortlist over the course of a selection process that went on for several months, but he was least familiar personally with the person he finally chose.

The scary idea is that some of this won't matter, that there are still enough crazed Christianists in this country to find Palin's views "refreshing."

Oy vey!