After a conference call today announcing the launch of its Catholic National Advisory Council, the Obama camp released the council's full roster. It's a long and impressive llist of elected officials, scholars, and activists. The Obama camp is treating Catholics as Hillary Clinton's base--in Pennsylvania, they may be--and knows it has to go all out to eat into it. From today's call, it sounds like many of these folks will be out stumping for Obama in Pennsylvania and some of the other remaining primary states. That will matter a lot more than the press the campaign gets from today's announcement. Here's the list:
National Co-Chairs
Senator Bob Casey
Representative Patrick Murphy (PA-08)
Former Congressman Tim Roemer, President of the Center for National Policy
Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas
Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia
Tom Chabolla, Assistant to the President, Service Employees International Union
Victoria Reggie Kennedy, President, Common Sense About Kids and Guns
Sr. Jamie Phelps, O.P., Director and Professor of Theology, Institute for Black Catholic Studies, Xavier University
Sr. Catherine Pinkerton, Congregation of St. Joseph
National Steering Committee *
Mary Jo Bane, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School
Nicholas P. Cafardi, Catholic Author and Scholar, Pittsburgh, PA
Lisa Cahill, Professor of Theology, Boston College
M. Shawn Copeland, Associate Professor of Theology, Boston College
Ron Cruz, Leadership Development Consultant, Burke, VA
Sharon Daly, Social Justice Advocate, Knoxville, MD
Richard Gaillardetz, Murray/Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Toledo
Grant Gallicho, Associate Editor, Commonweal Magazine
Margaret Gannon, IHM, A Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton, PA
Don Guter, Judge Advocate General of the Navy (2000-2002); Rear Admiral, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Pittsburgh, PA
Cathleen Kaveny, Professor of Law and Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame
Jim Kesteloot, President and Executive Director, Chicago Lighthouse
Vincent Miller, Associate Professor of Theology, Georgetown University
David O'Brien, Loyola Professor of Catholic Studies at the College of the Holy Cross
Peter Quaranto, Senior Researcher and Conflict Analyst, Resolve Uganda (Notre Dame Class of 2006)
Dave Robinson, International Peace Advocate, Erie, Pennsylvania
Vincent Rougeau, Associate Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame
Mary Wright, Inter-Faith Liaison, Louisville, KY
National Leadership Committee
Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin
Former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle
Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois
Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Representative Xavier Becerra of California
Representative Mike Capuano of Massachusetts
Representative Lacy Clay of Missouri
Representative Jerry Costello of Illinois
Representative Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts
Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut
Representative Anna Eshoo of California
Representative Raul Grijalva of Arizona
Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island
Representative John Larson of Connecticut
Representative George Miller of California
Representative James Oberstar of Minnesota
Representative Linda Sanchez of California
Representative Carol Shea Porter of New Hampshire
Representative Peter Welch of Vermont
9
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Any list that includes Teddy Kennedy or Pat Leahy as providing advice from Catholics has an emetic quality on this practicing Catholic. And the people who dreamed up this council are serious! What a depressing list of second-rate pols and vacuous liberals! What possible advice could or would this gang provide other than say, do more of the same, Barry, favor abortion up to and perhaps even beyond the moment a baby's head appears--partial-birth abortion--and definitely oppose school vouchers. Ya gotta do what your interest group supporters want, Barry, and that's oppose anything that might disturb the government's near-monopoly on child education.
Howard Dean and various other Democrats want the public to ignore what the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has said. The corrupt newspaper where I formerly worked as a reporter has only once quoted anything that Rev. Wright has said, in a Sunday story tucked away on Page 10. Other news outfits haven't done that much. So let's forget the senator's close association with a genuine, full-blown racial bigot who holds nutty and loathsome views about this country, and forget Obama's blame Whitey speech in Philadelphia that entranced useful idiots like David Broder of the WaPo.
But Obama's vacuous convention speech in 2004 and campaign speech comments this year appealed to the hope of many for a postracial society. That "uniting" theme and postracial appeal were central to his candidacy! On the issues, he was to the left of most Democrats, but he differed little from the other Dem candidates for President this year. But the Wright problem erupted and can't be ignored: either Obama has weak judgment of people--ain't no new Wright, Barry--or he is a lousy liar. In either case, he's unqualified to hold any elective office.
He's being helped by an extremely partisan, corrupt, and incompetent mainstream press. Fidel Castro had the help of a simple-minded New York Times reporter while he was in the Sierra Maestre, Herbert L. Matthews; Obama has had the unquestioning support of a gang of journos who want to push him into power. Why do they no longer have any journalistic integrity? What happened to the press in recent years?
And now this bad joke of a council, which I learned about from a French-language blog. If it weren't for the blind support of press followers, Obama would rank zero in the polls. (And the President's low ratings, though still far higher than that of the Congress, would be higher if not for consistent press propaganda against him and his policies.) Whatever the AP or the rest of the press write and claim on politics and culture is likely not to be true. And that's not good news for a democracy.
I love the fact that Notre Dame is so well represented as it makes clear the lie that the institution is authentically Catholic.
NOTHING in the USCCB's, Forming Consciences and Faithful Citizenship justifies voting for an candidate who supports infanticide!!! NOTHING!!! You are not Catholics. You are wallowing in self-deceit! You all need to talk to your parish priests about abortion. The US Catholic Bishops said that it's NOT one issue among many to be considered. It must ALWAYS be opposed.
You must be very unintelligent if you think Bush is the worst President in history?
Ever heard of Harding? Johnson? Buchanan?
The Pope has personally stated that abortion is not a choice issue. With the capital punishment, the Pope basically says that it is up to the individual. But abortion is against our teaching no matter what. Anyone who calls themself a practicing Catholic and is pro-abortion, is not practicing the Catholic faith.
Who would Jesus torture?
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