A reader writes:
I am disgusted with the theocon reaction to Doug Kmiec’s endorsement of Obama. I have, for my entire adult life, been both pro-life and a Democrat. I have wrestled with the contradictions of that, been frustrated by the party’s fundamentalism on the life issue, and struggled with my conscience for decades. When I see Republican Catholics confidently assert their absolute comfort with everything their party stands for, I want to scream. Do they struggle at all, ever with the policies of an administration that has demonstrated disdain for human rights? With a party that dismisses concerns about torture as somehow being a weakness? That runs counter to the Church on the very war that has come to define being a Republican?
I wouldn’t mind if there was ever any evidence of some hand-wringing before landing on the Republican side, but they all seem to behave as if everything that comes out of Bush’s mouth is infallible holiness. Doug Kmiec has helped me see why, despite my concerns, Obama is the person we need in the presidency right now. And for that apostasy against the church of Bush, he is being vilified. I hope he sees the contempt of such people as an honor.
What’s amazing in this is that very, very few public figures have done as much for the pro-life cause as Kmiec. He was denied communion for supporting a political candidate. That’s all. And that is also grounds for investigating and removing that church’s tax exempt status. This priest went way over the line.
(Photo: Jose Cendon/AFP/Getty.)
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