Thursday, February 16, 2006
Don't Hate Me Because ...
Wasn't that a shampoo or cosmetics commercial? Don't hate me because I'm beautiful?
rocky mountain woman at Busted Halo suggests:
Stop condemning Catholics, like myself, who voted for Bush because of his strong stand against abortion.
Condemn? Hate? Not me. But I think we can be critical of Catholics who voted Republican, the first party, as Liam reminds us, that included a significant number of supporters who advocated legal abortion. Every time I check, they still have pro-choice or pro-abortion folks among their numbers.
And let's check the man himself on his abortion record: Did Texas see a significant drop in the number of abortions in the late 90's? The US since 2001? And so what if the Supremes roll back 20th century decisions on abortions? It's only going to return the matter to the states, and do you really think that state politicians are going to be any more vigorous than their buds campaigning nationally were? The Republicans will never stand behind a Life Amendment--and face it: that's the only thing we can reasonably hope for on the national front politically.
The Bishops in the United States called all of us to consider the abortion issue above the other issues based on their document the Gospel of Life.
But please, let's not pass off a matter of prudential judgment on something as flimsy as "The bishops made me do it."
What is the point of having a social order that is able to provide universal health care and protects the poor if we are still allowing the systematic killing of the youngest and most vulnerable?
A nice comfortable theoretical. The sad truth is that the main item on deck isn't universal health care, but the dismantling of the safety net to pad the coffers of special interests. Our president jacks up the war budget and still talks about tax cuts. What happened to the value of sacrifice? If the war is truly a just cause, let the president go to Big Bidness and the wealthy Americans and say to their faces: "America has been very good for you. It's time for you to shoulder your fair share along with the middle-class and the poor. It's time to make sacrifices for the troops and for the promotion of democracy in Iraq and around the world."
Many Americans, including our bishops, have been brainwashed by the political culture. We have more options than one of the two major parties. And we should all be clear that given two generations of abortion availability, plus bi-partisan support for that choice, the real pro-life struggle will take place in the hearts and minds of those considering ending a pregnancy.
If Catholic voters are smart in 2008, they will make one of three choices:
- They will abandon the Republicans, who haven't been able to nudge abortion practices off point since 1981.
- They will find an alternative, even if it means voting third party.
- They will abstain from voting from any and all races without viable pro-life candidates.
My advice to Catholic voters concerned about abortion: ignore everything a politician says.
But even if you ignore my advice and you've voted for another Rove disciple taking office in 2009, I won't hate you because you're a rube.
