When I read Kmiec's article my reaction was simple: Here's a really smart guy who is willing to twist an argument in hopes that he gets appointed to the Supreme Court after Obama wins the White House. Kmiec has always been known as a conservative and a pro-life Catholic. But he also has been known as someone who has lobbied hard for an appointment to the Supreme Court or a Federal Circuit Court. He sees the White House going to the Democrats, perhaps for eight years, he's not getting any younger, so why not get out in front as a social conservative who shils for Obama and reap the benefits?

I have not been "pro-McCain" for some time, believing there are better pro-life candidates. If, however, McCain is the Republican candidate, which at this time seems highly probable, I will be behind him 100%.

Let us not forget that the (somewhat less than) erstwhile Mr. Obama has ALWAYS refused to recite the pledge of allegiance, refuses to be respectful during the playing of the national anthem, has fawned over, and openly praised Fidel Castro (and others like him) and can easily be considered a closet muslim (denying their faith is allowable when it suits their greater geo-political needs). Yes indeed Mr. Kmiec this is JUST what we need in a commander in chief; especially while we are at war with muslim extremists and struggling to deal with Castro wannabes all over South America.

I am, in fact, of the opinion that Mr. Obama is a muslim plant, much like those given us by the USSR during its heyday.

Is Hillary any better? Not really, and fortunately the Republicans were savvy enough to show Mr. G. the door before he made it to the foyer.

"The teaching of the Catholic Church is clear: You cannot vote for a person who thinks that killing children is permissible when there is a reasonable alternative."

Regrettably this claim is incorrect. The bishops had the opportunity to make this simple and, one would think, obvious statement in the Faithful Citizenship document they released in November. This, however, is what they actually said: "A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position."

Clearly one can vote for a person who thinks that killing children is permissible … so long as he votes for him for other reasons.

Ender

Dear John,

A great article! You should visit more often from this vantage point.

Seeing Obama park himself with Ted Kennedy during the state of the Union Speech says it all.
"The cheese is old and moldy."

Ender:

You make a valid point, but what other reasons? In the Pope's list of non-negotiables (given in order of priority), sanctity of life is item numero uno. What possible issue could be a reason to ignore that item? Certainly not universal health-care or wanting to have an early end to the war in Iraq... (although both are valid issues of great concern to many).

Ignoring the issue of life would indicate an improperly formed conscience (imo). I understand you to mean that you perhaps wish the bishops' statement would have been more definitive, but it still seems very clear to me that Catholic voters must consider the issue of life at the top of priorities

(and I know that countless Catholic voters will ignore that heirarchy of non-negotiables and will still vote Democrat in the general election).

Comparisions of Ronald Reagan and Barak Obama?
Surely this is meant in jest.

Doug, it is almost hard to believe that anyone even made the comparison between Obama and Reagan -- it just shows the truth of the dictum, "the bigger the lie the easier it is to get people to believe it." Was it Goebbels or Goering? One of the two, I think.

Archbishop Chaput in a recent homily in Phoenix at the Red Mass provided a very salient thought when discussing the issue of considering or deciding to vote for a pro-abortion candidate.I paraphrase: Can you explain your vote to the millions of unborn children you will meet as you stand before God to give an account of your life? If you can adequately justify your vote for a pro-abortion candidate to Our Lord and those millions of children killed by abortion, then go ahead and vote for the pro-abortion candidate.

AS for this fellow, i keep it simple. In order for the candidate to get my vote, he must cross the threshold of being pro-life. If he cannot declare himself pro-life by word and/or deed, then he is not to be considered.

Or in the current case before us, there is no question that the Democrat, be it Obama or Clinton, is an extreme pro-abortion zealot.
So we support McCain. END of story. Now its time to work.

So Doug Kmiec thinks we should "give McCain up for Lent?" Well, that's OK by me--as long as we take him back for Easter. (Or, as my wife put, Obama should learn to rue the Easter Bunny!)

“The great masses of the people ... will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.” That was Adolf Hitler.

To really scare yourself, see more of his quotes on FamousQuotes.com, like:

“The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force.”

By means of shrewd lies, unremittingly repeated, it is possible to make people believe that heaven is hell — and hell heaven. The greater the lie, the more readily it will be believed.”

“I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.”

It is left to us to test everything ...

If you are really serious about fixing the abortion problem, then deal directly with the root issues of ignorance and immorality, not with the issue of existing legislation that will do little to correct the problem. Education and communication is key. In fact, reversing federal law will only revert the decision making process to the state level. As Kmiec suggests, would it not be better to address abortion through understanding and education on a personal and community level, rather then deal with it on a negative level that is only partially effective, if not moot.

Those true Catholics must surely realize that the war in Iraq is just as immoral as abortion. Certainly the pope thinks so, but that did not stop some Catholics for voting for Bush for his second term when everyone realized what a mistake it had been. Why do we run and hide from those issues? Are they any less important? As Kmiec mentions, we are a community who needs to reach out and help these folks make the right decisions, to help themselves before the problem occurs and to support these folks if and when unwanted pregnancy occurs. The truth is, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure surely applies in this regard. Trying to defeat the existing abortion legislation truly does defeat the morality of the situation since it causes immortality and physical danger to the women who will still seek the alternative.

No, abortion is an intrinsic evil and war is evil - BIG difference. Those who voted for Obama were/are in knowledgeable cooperation with intrinsic evil. To say those who voted for McCain were voting for war is just a lame justification for an intrinsic evil - but if it makes you feel better...

Secondly, abortion, like slavery, genocide, rape and murder must be outlawed! You put your soul in grave danger by justifying abortion.