DNC SEEKS TO WOO CATHOLICS

[MC Just]

February 14, 2005

DNC SEEKS TO WOO CATHOLICS


Both the outgoing chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Terry McAuliffe, and his successor, Howard Dean, recently addressed the relationship between the DNC and the Catholic Church.


Catholic League president William Donohue took note:

“At last Thursday’s send-off gala for Terry McAuliffe, the departing head of the DNC took a parting shot at the Catholic Church: ‘I was very dismayed at the Catholic Church in last year’s election. The way they went into their pulpits and told people it was a sin to vote for John Kerry was nothing short of just outrageous.’ What is really outrageous is for this sore loser to cruelly caricature what the bishops said.



“Moreover, it was partly because of McAuliffe’s antics that I filed an IRS complaint against Miami’s New Birth Baptist Church last summer. On August 29, Baptist Bishop Victor T. Curry, Rev. Al Sharpton and Terry McAuliffe turned a religious service into a Bush-bashing exercise. Here’s what McAuliffe told the congregation: ‘Get out to vote and we’ll send Bush back to Texas.’



“On Saturday, Howard Dean said, ‘We have to remind Catholic Americans that the social mission of the Democratic Party is almost exactly the social mission of the Catholic Church.’ A case can be made for that position, but it must also be said that the DNC’s positions on abortion, stem-cell research, gay marriage and school vouchers are the mirror opposite of the Church’s teachings. So how does Dean expect to deal with these issues? He recently tried to calm the fears of the abortion-rights extremists in his party by saying there was no need for them to change their position, but ‘we can change our vocabulary.’



“If the DNC is going to bring Catholics back into the fold, it will take a change in policies, not vocabulary. And it will have to be done without lecturing the bishops on what constitutes their episcopal authority.”


Aww what's the matter are they mad because they lost?

Edited February 15, 2005 by MC Just

[toledo_jesus]

they just don't understand. -_-

[Jaime]

There is so much about the democratic platform that is about justice and fighting for the poor.

I would probably be a loud voice for the party if they
would only change their views on the unborn! That one is a deal breaker

[AngelofJesus]

They can't change their views. They are heavily funded and entrenched with pro-abortion advocates. That is their home. It is where they live and thrive, warm, plenty of leftovers, and no one brings the bug spray. Perfect living conditions for roaches, I mean pro-abortionists.

[Joseph]

[quote]On Saturday, Howard Dean said, ‘We have to remind Catholic Americans that the social mission of the Democratic Party is almost exactly the social mission of the Catholic Church.’ [/quote]

almost exactly?

[Sojourner]

[quote name='hot stuff' date='Feb 15 2005, 11:41 AM'] There is so much about the democratic platform that is about justice and fighting for the poor.

I would probably be a loud voice for the party if they
would only change their views on the unborn! That one is a deal breaker [/quote]
I totally agree. If the Democratic party were not so rabidly pro-abortion in its rhetoric, I would totally sign on. I hate having to be a one-issue voter.

There is a pro-life Democratic organization, though. There's a local chapter here in Indianapolis that I'm going to check out ... www.democratsforlife.org

I think it's ridiculous that the DP is so willing to alienate such a large percentage of voters over a single issue.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Sojourner' date='Feb 15 2005, 03:03 PM'] I totally agree. If the Democratic party were not so rabidly pro-abortion in its rhetoric, I would totally sign on. I hate having to be a one-issue voter.

There is a pro-life Democratic organization, though. There's a local chapter here in Indianapolis that I'm going to check out ... www.democratsforlife.org

I think it's ridiculous that the DP is so willing to alienate such a large percentage of voters over a single issue. [/quote]
You've gotta factor in gay marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and some other things, too.

I'd probably be a "Zell Miller Democrat" if I weren't a Republican...that's a place where I would be comfortable.

[Jaime]

[quote]There is a pro-life Democratic organization, though. There's a local chapter here in Indianapolis that I'm going to check out ... www.democratsforlife.org[/quote]

dUSt is right. I am a slow poke.

You have to admit that democrats for life is a strong step in the right direction. Yes the party , nay the country, needs to become more aware about the other life issues. But as far as the democratic party is concerned, I think this is a huge step! If we can change the party from inside, what a difference that would make.

[Socrates]

As a hard-core conservative, I don't like anything about the modern Democratic party. However, I think it would be great if more Democrats (and Republicans) became pro-life.

However, I just don't see this happening in the Democratic Party. It seems that abortion "rights," gay "rights," and the like has become the ideological core of the party. These people with a radical leftist social agenda seem to have become the core voters in the Party, and the Party seems to be wedded to their agenda.

[MC Just]

[quote name='Sojourner' date='Feb 15 2005, 02:03 PM'] I totally agree. If the Democratic party were not so rabidly pro-abortion in its rhetoric, I would totally sign on. I hate having to be a one-issue voter.

There is a pro-life Democratic organization, though. There's a local chapter here in Indianapolis that I'm going to check out ... www.democratsforlife.org

I think it's ridiculous that the DP is so willing to alienate such a large percentage of voters over a single issue. [/quote]
Exactly, I've told democrats that. All I keep hearing is "but we are for the poor". and "it's the woman's right to choose"..

Edited February 15, 2005 by MC Just

[Guest Aluigi]

The Democrat's idea of social justice is certainly NOT almost exactly the same as the Church's. The Church is not for high tax and big government to help the poor at all, that is a form of semi-socialism. Yuck. That's why I really don't like the democratic party and am more inclined to support the republican party, though it does not necessarily have the results the Church would want. Anyway, the Democrat's platform is far from the same social justice the Church seeks. The Church is about protection of private property from the state because private property helps separate us from the animals, and the more the state takes from it for its (usually ineffective) programs of welfare et cetera which oftentimes make people dependent. I am not saying the Church supports the Republican party, simply that there are very few things the democratic party can be considered with the Church on, not even its economic ideas.

[Socrates]

Well put, Aluigi.

I agree 100%

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

I am glad Howard Dean is leading the DNC. He'll drive it into the ground. Worst politician of my life-timeup to now.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='hot stuff' date='Feb 15 2005, 04:22 PM']
dUSt is right. I am a slow poke.

You have to admit that democrats for life is a strong step in the right direction. Yes the party , nay the country, needs to become more aware about the other life issues. But as far as the democratic party is concerned, I think this is a huge step! If we can change the party from inside, what a difference that would make. [/quote]
Pennsylvania is filled with pro-life Democrats. THat is why this last election was so hard here for Catholics.

[P3chrmd]

DNC will never "woo" me into anything.

I'm a ultra-conservative republican here!

DNC, you are in my prayers!

[Jaime]

Fleetwood Mac.... HUGE democrats

[JP2Iloveyou]

I am noticing a couple of things here. The country is becoming more and more pro-life and conservative. Regardless of what the dems did, they couldn't win this year. They absolutely got trounced. They lost nearly every major Senate race (excpet for Ken Salazar in Colorado, who is a conservative democrat anyway!), they lost seats in the House, and they lost the presidency. George W. Bush got more votes for president than anyone else in the history of our country.

Secondly, I am at a wonderful seminary that loves the Church, the Holy Father, and is not content with buying in to all the dissent and liberalism that infiltrated the American church in the 70s and 80s. Those days are over folks. The men at my seminary are very pro-life and when we are ordained, we will speak about it. The same is going on at most of the seminaries across the U.S. The next generation of priests will not be afraid to preach about this from the pulpit. So, what does this mean? It means the millions of Catholics who crossed party lines and voted for Bush last year will increase greatly in the future. Bush won the Catholic vote 51-49% and 55-45% among Catholics who attend Mass weekly. That number is only going to go up folks. The democrats had better figure this out or they will be in for another rude awakening in '06.

BTW, in '06, Sen. Mark Dayton of Minnesota, a liberal democrat, is resigning his seat and will not seek reelection. Word on the street is that Mark Kennedy will run for that seat. He is currently a Congressman and is cut from the same cloth as Rick Santorum. Kennedy is a daily Mass going, conservative Catholic Republican. He even started a congressional rosary.

[Norseman82]

Democrats for Life have been around for at least 20 years, to my knowledge, so this is nothing new.

[JP2Iloveyou]

yeah, and the DNC ordered the link to Democrats for Life to be removed from the party website. Can we please be honest here folks? The democratic party as it stands right now is not pro-life.

[rachael]

[quote name='MC Just' date='Feb 15 2005, 08:51 AM'] “On Saturday, Howard Dean said, ‘We have to remind Catholic Americans that the social mission of the Democratic Party is [b]almost exactly[/b] the social mission of the Catholic Church.’ [/quote]