The Catholic Vote

You have the recipe right.
Prof Cathleen Kaveny has just done this to make the third prominent Catholic 'useful idiot' to support Obama.

Your post is good evidence that brevity is the soul of wit. It is also the most accurate analysis of the Catholic electorate I have seen yet (like it or not).

might I add,
step 3: Then proclaim that you are an ardent, devout, practising Catholic.

Step 4: proclaim how simple minded those single issue voters are.

WillyJ, you forgot Step 3.1: add that you were an altar boy (or lector, or catechism teacher.)

and then threaten to shove your rosary beads down the throat of anyone who questions your catholicity a la joe biden.

I'm confused, John McCain's voting record on abortion is not very good. Why is it a moral imperative to vote for McCain (who has a pro-choice voting reccord) and a grave sin to vote for Obama. If both are pro-choice should we not then look to the other issues.

I'm confused, John McCain's voting record on abortion is not very good. Why is it a moral imperative to vote for McCain (who has a pro-choice voting reccord) and a grave sin to vote for Obama. If both are pro-choice should we not then look to the other issues.

Colin -- have you been keeping up ? read the USCCB's statement that came out the other day. And if you have the time the book "Render unto Caesar" by Chaput ( or at least the last chapter and the afterword.
That is the true dilema, isnt it.

Colin,

Nobody is saying that it is a moral imperative to vote for McCain. Just because you can't vote for Obama because of his support of five intrinsic evils does not mean you have to vote for McCain.

As for McCain's pro-life record its one gigantic blot is his support of using so-called leftover embryos from IVF. Other than that his record on abortion is very strong and he is against creation of embryos for ESCR. So you can't really say his position on abortion is not very good - it is very good. It is his support of one aspect of ESCR that is evil.

But McCain's inconsistent flaw does not give one a pass to vote for Obama who supports ESCR including clone and kill and is the very radical in his support of abortion.

Voting for McCain would be a prudential decision to reduce the evil that a Obama presidency would bring - not a moral imperative.

The mental gymnastics that some Catholics will put themselves through to justify voting for Obama are simply amazing. They either have not heard of the Freedom of Choice Act or Born Alive Infants Protection Act, or they don't care.

It's a fearsome thing to watch so many people convince themselves that evil is actually good. The dictatorship of relativism at work...

What has 8 years with a pro-life republican president (and even a republican house and senate for half of that) done to reverse roe v. wade? nothing, although he did get us into a war that killed 1,273,378 Iraqis (conservative estaminet based on MSM reports) and 30723 Americans (troops and contractors). So voting republican equals no real change to abortion, more war related deaths, more poor people who can't pay for their own healthcare, a sicker environment, higher taxes for the poor to middle-class, and further declining economy. So if the net effect on abortion is the same, then how can you continue to vote republican?

don't forget that Bush was very pro-life and McCain is only moderately so, if so.

Colin--

Obama = FOCA = 125,000 additional abortions annually, loss of all conscience protections for health care workers and likely harassment/regulation/attempted shutdown of crisis pregnancy centers.

If one cannot vote for Obama because of the disqualifying issues but feels that s/he cannot vote for McCain, is it sinful to abstain?

Colin,

McCain is not Bush and Bush is not the GOP. It is a false choice that you offer.

The choice is not between the GOP and Obama but between McÇain and a Dem Congress or a Dem sweep of the "political branches." The distinction matters because the Dems have repeatedly proven that Dem power equals free reign to social liberals. With McCain as President, his power of the veto is quite powerful. With Obama as President, even IF he is the moderate that you hope he will be, he would have to call his party out to use the veto.

The short of it is that, as curious as it sounds, only in divided government is the President powerful under the Constitution. In a government dominated by one party, he is actually quite weak. So, if you are looking for other than a complete reversal of social progress, from the perspective of Christians, giving the Dems a sweep is ill-advised. Of course, if you have broken with the Church on social issues and favor the liberal causes advocated by Obama and the Dems, then this is precisely where you want to be socially.

Let me offer one last thought though... You presume that the Dems, once in complete control of the government will vindicate the interests you cite. I think this is the delusion of most Catholics who are contemplating a Democratic straight-ticket this year. But, you will be sorely disappointed. Legislative history clearly demonstrates that the economic issues that are central to your platform are remarkably consistent and conservative in both parties. In other words, you will be voting for a socially liberal revolution in hopes of an economic revolution that cannot happen.

Even if you HAVE broken with the Church on social issues, you are likely to find yourself disappointed on the economic too.

The good news is that the GOP is losing this one because of incompetence and old blood. The bloodletting in the party after a Dem sweep will make the Paoli massacre look like a field-day. I see a new GOP on the rise thereafter and, after suffering through six years of a Democratic assault on all that you claim to believe, we will welcome you home like the Prodigal Son.

See you in six. I'll leave the lights on.