Gays "Make God Want to Vomit": Meet Santorum's Honorary Florida Chairman

[rug]

Rev. O'Neal Dozier of the Worldwide Christian Center SHALOMshowTV/YouTube

Rick Santorum's first stop in the Sunshine State is the church of a gay-bashing, Islamophobic pastor.

—By Adam Weinstein
Sat Jan. 21, 2012 11:25 PM PST

While the network news shows spend this Sunday marveling over Newtmentum in South Carolina, Rick Santorum will quietly make his first stop in Florida, site of the next primary on January 31. He'll be dropping in to see the honorary chairman of his state campaign—a Bush-connected Islamophobic pastor who says gays "make God want to vomit."

Santorum, the other conservative darling in the Republican presidential race, plans to speak from the pulpit at the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach on Sunday morning. It might seem a strange stop for a white Catholic Republican from the Northeast: While the ocean-facing side of Pompano is affluent and conservative, WWC literally sits on the wrong side of the tracks in the Collier City neighborhood—a poor, tight-knit African American district that swung strongly for Barack Obama in 2008. But WWC is different: It's run by the Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a firebrand social conservative who's tried to turn this depressed community red, and has been rewarded handsomely by Republican politicians for his efforts.

Dozier opened his church in 1985 and immediately began preaching a different kind of gospel. "We teach and preach on the cultural issues," he says in a recent video. "We also teach and preach on the war on terror. We teach and preach on the dangers of Islam and Islamic fascism here." He says he was heavily influenced by the work of the Rev. D. James Kennedy, a founding father of the Christian right who started the annual Reclaiming America for Christ political conference at his church complex just down the street in Fort Lauderdale.

Attending functions like Kennedy's helped Dozier build a valuable political Rolodex. As the GOP sought ways to connect with minorities, it took a shine to Dozier, and he was happy to deliver their messages at his pulpit. In 2001, Governor Jeb Bush appointed him to serve on one of Florida's key judicial nominating commissions. "I helped him pick his judges in the state of Florida," Dozier said. He also went on to visit with President George W. Bush in the White House. And when Charlie Crist campaigned to take over the governor's office from Bush, Dozier sat on the campaign's "Strengthening Florida's Families" panel. Dozier later remarked at a prayer breakfast that the Lord Jesus had told him, "Charlie Crist will be the next governor of the state of Florida."

http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/rick-santorum-oneal-dozier-florida-gay

[cbayer]

1. And an Islamaphobe to boot. Isn't he just lovely.

[rug]

2. He makes McClurkin look enlightened.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Santorum and Dozier make me want to vomit!

What a vicious man! Meaning Dozier, but of course, so is Santorum.

Incidentally, the whole concept of God vomiting seems oddly un-scriptural!

[rug]

4. Santorum's campaign is inexorably marked by ejected bodily fluids.

[MarkCharles]

5. People like this are Christian terrorists.

Not to mention how poorly they interpret their own holy book.

[2ndAmForComputers]

6. Wait, God has a digestive tract? What does he eat?

No, don't tell me...

[Sal316]

7. This ain't a church.

Dozier opened his church in 1985 and immediately began preaching a different kind of gospel. "We teach and preach on the cultural issues," he says in a recent video. "We also teach and preach on the war on terror. We teach and preach on the dangers of Islam and Islamic fascism here."

I'm sorry. A church is to preach the Gospel, the good news... you know, sight to the blind, freedom to the captives.... that stuff Jesus preached in his very first sermon announcing his ministry.

Preaching on "cultural issues" and the "war on terror" makes you a political mouthpiece.