Hudson and Fournier: Catholic Countdown to Election 2012, Day 27. Debating the Obama Catholics

By Deal W. Hudson & Keith A. Fournier
10/10/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

The strategy of the Obama surrogates is misrepresentation on a vast scale

Over the past few years, both of us have been thrust into debates with various Obama surrogates. Whether on radio, TV, or in print, the experience is disconcerting and would be dispiriting if it were not, at times, so humorous.

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Over the past few years, both of us have been thrust into debates with various Obama surrogates. Whether on radio, TV, or in print, the experience is disconcerting and would be dispiriting if it were not so humorous.

Obama's chief Catholic surrogates include James Salt of Catholics United, Steve Krueger at Catholic Democrats, Jon O'Brien of Catholics for Choice, Dr. Stephen Schneck who teaches politics at the Catholic University of America, Nick Cafardi former dean of the Duquesne University School of Law, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend whose latest book is entitled, Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way.

These are the names you see attached to statements defending President Obama and other pro-abortion politicians for their latest attempts to broaden the government's abortion mandate, such as the federal funding for abortion contained in the Affordable Health Care Act. All of them simply deny it is there, and launch into an elaborate explanation of how the program is "set up."

Their explanation makes its even clearer why Catholic institutions should resist the HHS mandate They are all but admitting that the insurance program is an elaborate ruse designed to give Catholic institutions 'cover.' Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, initially supported the Affordable Health Care Acting, and denied the presence of federal funding for abortion, but changed her mind after the egregious violation of religious liberty which was caused by the announcement of the HHS mandate.

What a relief it is to see that even for an Obama surrogate there is a limit to the pretense. Not so, however, with the others, who still say things like, 'No president in history has defended the religious liberty of Catholics like President Obama!' Yes, you are reading that correctly; these words were spoken by an Obama surrogate on Ave Maria Radio on Tuesday. (Tuesday's debate with Deal Hudson is not yet posted, but should be shortly).

If you listen to the debate you will also hear this Obama supporter arguing that none of the contraceptives covered by the HHS mandate are actually abortifacients. When asked whether or not, if it was true, that it meant the HHS mandate was a violation of religious liberty, there was no response.

In addition to Sr. Carol Keehan, another Obama supporter, seems to have kept his promise to no longer aid and abet Obama's policies. In 2008, Prof. Doug Kmiec was easily the leading Catholic surrogate for Obama/Biden, but after the HHS mandate, Kmiec declared he was "without a candidate." Kmiec resigned from his ambassadorial post in Malta in April, 2011 after the State Department accused him of spending too much time on his non-diplomatic interests. Kmiec has maintained a low profile, thus far, in the 2012 election.

Another tactic of these Obama surrogates is to latch onto the latest academic study that purports to legitimize the president policies. The latest of these is a report published this week by Washington University that the HHS mandate of contraception coverage will actually lower the number of abortions nationwide. The claims of this report fall to pieces the moment they are inspected with any academic rigor, as seen here. But you can be sure the Obama Catholics will be touting the Washington University study until election day -- and we would not be surprised if Vice President Biden cites it in his debate with Congressman Paul Ryan on Thursday evening.

Let's hope that Ryan is familiar with a study by Planned Parenthood's own Guttmacher Institute, which argued in 2007, that any government funding for abortion dramatically increases the number of abortions. Their study of Medicaid funding showed "18 to 35 percent of women who would have had an abortion continued their pregnancies after Medicaid funding was cut off." In other words, the more government funding for abortion, the more abortion, by as much as 35 percent.Even if the Washington University study was true, the drop in abortions would be far outweighed by the gain in abortions caused by the new federal funding.

The strategy of the Obama surrogates is misrepresentation on a vast scale. In other words it's a big lie. History has shown the bigger the lie the more likely it is to be believed. Why? Read the explanation by a master of the big lie:

"The size of the lie is a definite factor in causing it to be believed, for the vast masses of a nation are in the depths of their hearts more easily deceived than they are consciously and intentionally bad. The primitive simplicity of their minds renders them a more easy prey to a big lie than a small one, for they themselves often tell little lies, but would be ashamed to tell big lies." (Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf, 14th Edition, 1936.)

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Obama, Catholic vote, Obama Catholics, Catholic Democrats, Catholics for Obama, Catholics for Choice, Catholics United, Abortion, Pro-Life, Romney, Ryan, Obama, Biden, Deal W. Hudson, Keith A. Fournier

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1 - 10 of 16 Comments

Judy Claar
7 months ago
Hi Rob! I addressed that issue to you on another post. Me, the "war hound", Ha! Blessings...
Rob
7 months ago
You are right Judy, RR is for life, except for those darn exceptions that keep the whole machine running. I think the reveral of the Mexico City policy is the most you can expect.
vance
7 months ago
Great article. All your points hit the nail on the head. The Party of Death and Deceit have used their Catholic in name only surrogates for years to deceive Catholics to stay in the ranks of the Party. Worse yet is that we have many Carol Keehan's among the Bishops and clergy. Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, California is a prime example. He and his ilk are worse than surrogates.
Judy Claar
7 months ago
Almeras, Very astute. I agree with what you said. I do not know that our brothers and sisters know what an evil Obamacare is. Romney has to Win before he can Do Anything. And you are correct Almeras, I think in the order you listed priorities. That is the order Most of the people voting will vote for, besides our enormous bill to China...R/R knows what they must preach and do first to become elected. That is the Goal, Right To Lifer's...for R/R to be elected. Therefore, Catholics must vote R/R because he is for Life. The other opponent is O/B, The Culture of Death. Romney knows that this country is more than half past Death...and its mesmerized followers are too. So he has to gather his votes on All fronts. Our Right To Life is on the brink of Death if Obama wins. Perhaps Dead. That is Fact. We must be patient. If R/R wins, and as he makes more people happy, R/R will have a chance to repeal Obamacare, which in turn will stop some killings, and the Mandate. R/R will have accomplished a lot! if one compares that to where we are now falling headlong into the deepest abyss that you can imagine. Prayerful Blessings...

We remain Persistence in Prayer. The Rosary. The Eucharist, and Holy Mother Church. And remember, that God acts and answers in His own Time. We are not foreseers of the future. He is.The 2,000 years since Christ was here, is only like 2 days to Him. Our hearts are different...mine, tells me to follow R/R. Prayerful Blessings...
Paul-Emile Leray
7 months ago
What is one reason why politicians spend so much time campaigning on university campuses and inside large stadiums? It is not only about facilities capable of holding large crowds. Demagogues inside mobocracies like to work crowds who are impressionable, easily molded and influenced. Why do they spend so much time targeting young voters? One reason is that many of these youth are naive ideology based impressionable gullible minds easily swayed by sophistry, sensationalism, platitudes, tone, style, presentation, to name but a few examples. The more lost a democracy is, the more fertile the ground for demagogues to rise to power and/or maintain it if they are already in power. Politicians will lead you off a cliff like lemmings if you do not watch them. How to reconcile the fact that it is the nature of truth that it often separates itself from the crowd with the other fact that in a democracy majority opinion has much weight? The majority is often, if not usually, wrong. Let us see what happens next, in a sphere where sophistry often seems to have too much influence in part due to the non critical thinking of the collective whole of the citizenry.
Paul-Emile Leray
Sum Nemo
7 months ago
Based upon the articles I see at this website, Catholic Online is now "Republican Online" and it is becoming increasingly clear that if I do not vote Republican, I am not a "true" catholic and, according to some, should be excommunicated. While I will not vote for Obama, I am equally adamant against Romney and the Republican Party. Our two-party system has failed ingloriously, but we, being the sheep that we are, are too lazy to do the work necessary to bring a viable alternative to the ballot. Instead, we would rather waste valuable time posting our rancor at each other on these "forums". I was told as a child that there is a direct correlation between effort and results. If Obama or Romney, Democrat or Republican, is the best we can do, or the best we are willing to accept, we deserve no better.

By the way, I am in agreement with Mr. McGuire. Even more, I see nothing written at this website anymore that would be conducive to encouraging constructive dialogue (Maybe this website is "Republican Online" in Catholic clothing). I guess the question becomes do we really want to work out our differences and find common ground for the good of all or are we satisfied to engage in sanctimonious behavior, shaking our fists at one another?
Rush Glick
7 months ago
Sometimes pointed, blunt, to-the-point words are necessary tools during times of trial. The Catholic Church is currently under a direct attack through the HHS mandate. To soften words at such a time as this will serve only those who wish to have the government gain a surer foothold upon the precious ground of our fundamental constitutional right to religious freedom. Sadly, this was, I feel, brought to our doorstep through our own naive notion that government can provide the answers to society's ills - let "them" take care of it for us. How many in the Church, both lay and clergy, firmly embraced the notion of nationalized healthcare in the first place, even when we were told that we needed to hurry and pass it so we find out what was actually in the legislation? (Have any of us ever had a good result after buying a car in that manner?) We soon found out what lurked inside that Everestine document. The good news is that we can correct this very soon - November 6. One presidential candidate promises to end Obamacare, and with it the mandate, while the other will implement it. The choice is ours...
Paul-Emile Leray
7 months ago
If it is difficult to discern who will do the most good, then ask who will likely do the least amount of harm. Campaigning and governing politicians resemble the Pharisees, often concerned more with the letter of the law and public image than with the pursuit of truth with an honest and sincere heart. Chaos is fertile ground for terrorists and demagogues to rise to power. Usually, a vibrant middle class is important for societal stability. What are some core issues facing the United States at present, both nationally and internationally? Who is most likely to work through the core issues following a peaceful process towards those ends? Catholic natural laws and positive laws (manmade); let us never forget that moral laws and positive laws often do not equate. Politicians mirror the collective consciousness and unconsciousness of the citizenry. Therefore, if the politicians are excellent, if they are horrid, if they are mediocre; in a democracy simply consider them as mirror reflections of the collective whole. Impressed? Not impressed? They mirror the collective whole, both in terms of consciousness/awareness and unconsciousness/unawareness. Critically analyze and listen for sophistic reasoning (much of it in politics is precisely that) during their debates and speeches. Are they appealing to the mob, using demagogic language? Are they making use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises to gain power? Are they giving the semblance of wisdom, without possessing the reality? (Sophistry) See the parallels between the Pharisees and the Politicians. Now, consider why so many martyrs died and why. Choose your politicians wisely, because they can do great damage (with YOUR money). Only naive fools would give them more trust than they merit, based on thousands of years of history the world over. Be critical, when voting. Flash? Drop it. Fancy suits? Who cares. Red and blue power and soft ties? See past it. Euphemistic language? See past it. Hand gestures? Never mind. Listen to what they are saying and are not saying. And treat them as YOUR servants, since they ARE. They work for YOU. They want their names in the history books? YOU, the citizenry, get to write their scripts. You are the directors, they are the actors on stage. YOU pull the strings, NOT them. They work for you. Do NOT put them on pedestals. They are human beings, nothing more and nothing less. Here is what they often do:
1. Terrorize.
2. Infantilize.
3. Control.
Fear turns people into frightened childlike sheoples who then often surrender too much of their FREE WILL to end up becoming controlled by at times tyrannical authoritarian autocratic types. Exercise your Christian free will and keep them as honest as possible. And NEVER trust a politician, 100%. Never be naive and gullible, including with politics and politicians. A well educated citizenry is also good for politicians, since it tends to assist political leaders to walk towards and on a higher road. (and one that is more narrow and straight as well, again, with YOUR money)
Paul-Emile Leray
Robert Green
7 months ago
There is NO such thing as a Roman Catholic Democrat!!!

Section 2272 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

The key words are "Formal Cooperation!" You can't get much more formal than voting for or contributing to a political party or one of its members who have a Pro-Choice plank in their platform. Anyone claiming to be Catholic and supporting those that would perpetuate a Pro-Choice viewpoint cannot be Catholic. If you contribute to the Democrat Party, you support their view of Pro-Choice. If you vote for someone who claims to be Pro-Life within the Democrat Party, you vote for someone who will support Pro-Choice members of their party and make it impossible to ever eliminate abortion in this country. Giving aid and comfort to the enemy can be prosecuted as treason in this country. Why would you want to help those that would give aid and comfort to those that fight against one of the primary tenets of your faith? Life...from conception to natural death!

I reiterate...There is no such thing as a Roman Catholic democrat! They are all excommunicated!
JayKaye
7 months ago
How can the author of this article expect anyone to believe such hogwash. Depicting Obama as another Hitler is nothing more than another punch below-the-belt on partison basis, gone from mud-slinging to rock throwing.

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