In 2004, Deal Hudson stepped down from his Catholic advisory position in George W. Bush's re-election campaign after allegations surfaced that he solicited an improper sexual encounter with an 18-year old Fordham University freshman. According to the National Catholic Reporter, which broke the story in August 2004, the incident happened in Hudson's campus office after a night of heavy drinking and resulted in a legal settlement and Hudson's loss of his tenured professorship.
Unlike George Bush, Senator McCain seems to think Hudson's value to the campaign outweighs other moral concerns, and has brought Hudson onto the "Catholics For McCain National Steering Committee." Catholics United believes that figures like Hudson should not be honored with such official positions, and is asking Senator McCain to remove Hudson from his team of Catholic advisors.
Deal Hudson's record as a powerful figure in the Catholic far right - as well as his apparent contempt for our church's social teachings - is legendary. In 2000 he worked with Karl Rove to create a White House Catholic Working Group - a group, he bragged in his recent book Onward Christian Soldiers, which deliberately shut the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops out of high-level policy discussions. Last year Hudson attacked the Vatican for taking action against climate change, and claimed that our Church was simply "jumping on the global warming wagon."
It's time to end the politics of division embodied by the likes of Deal Hudson, and to protect the Catholic faith from being manipulated to serve a narrow partisan agenda. Join us in calling on Senator McCain to do the right thing and remove Deal Hudson from his Catholic steering committee.
Sincerely,
James, Kaitlyn, and Chris
The Catholics United Team
For more information:
"The Real Deal: How a philosophy professor with a checkered past became the most influential Catholic layman in George W. Bush's Washington" - National Catholic Reporter
"Bush Campaign Adviser Quits as Sexual Misconduct Case Is Recalled" - New York Times
14 comments:
First Donatelli and now Hudson? bad week for McCain.
This blog is what I have been looking for. Thank you for making a home for Catholics voting for Barack.
I will check back frequently.
getting underage schoolgirls drunk and then having sex with them is not my idea of pro-life. Deal should resign.
The Washington Post reported on this today.
"Hail Mary"
(I took your advice, otherwise, my comment wouldn't be civil!)
Shame on Sen. Obama for not being a Dobsonite, but scre*ing freshmen at a Catholic univ. is just fine.
Heaven help us.
"Catholics United Object to McCain Catholic Advisor With Record of Immorality"
Did Hudson leave the girl for dead in a submerged vehicle he drove off a bridge?
Will Catholics United ask Obama to reject St Ted Kennedy's endorsement?
Hey folks, check this out. Obama wants a national police force bigger than the Armed Services.
He wants a Police State so he can arrest anyone talking bad about a homosexual, muslim, or his administration.
Don't get rid of your guns folks.
ELECTION 2008
Obama's 'Big Brother' vanishes from speech
'Civilian security force' missing from 'call to service' transcript
-----------------------------------
Posted: July 16, 2008
9:37 pm Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Sen. Barack Obama
Democrat Sen. Barack Obama's stunning assertion in a recent speech that the U.S. needs a "civilian national security force" that would be as powerful, strong and well-funded as the half-trillion dollar Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force is not included in published transcripts of his prepared remarks.
In the July 2 speech in Colorado Springs, Obama insisted the U.S. "cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set."
Campaign officials have declined to return any of a series of WND telephone calls over several days requesting comment. Nor have they posted a transcript of the speech on their website.
The lines are not included in a transcript of the prepared remarks published by the Denver Post and Wall Street Journal.
And how many of you were upset with Bill Clinton and his little escapade with Monica???
So let's not be hypocritical about this OK?
Yes, Max. AND McCain's ADVISORS must represent authentic Catholic values???? How about Barack Obama?? Does his stand on abortion/support of Planned Parenthood reflect authentic Catholic values??? He is the candidate himself!!! Yet many Catholics support him....including Katherine. I find it interesting that Hudson has been such an outspoken critic of Obama and that he has become the target of this attack. Hudson has paid a price for his behavior and has addressed his actions publicly, as anyone who is familiar with Crisis Magazine knows. I think it is interesting, Katherine, that you make a big deal (excuse the pun) out of this issue but consistently turn a blind eye to the significant anti-Catholic positions of your favorite candidate. Catholics United need to use their energies to defeat Obama NOT their own candidate.
Since you ask, I was very upset and said that I thought Clinton should have resigned the presidency.
Katherine said...
"Since you ask, I was very upset and said that I thought Clinton should have resigned the presidency."
But you voted for him didn't you?
No, I didn't. Seems you are operating from a lot of bad information.
"And how many of you were upset with Bill Clinton and his little escapade with Monica???
So let's not be hypocritical about this OK?"
It is not at all hypocritical for members of the Catholic community to say that we do not want someone with a history of predatory behavior speaking for or speaking to the Catholic community.
There are sharp differences between the case of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski vs. Deal Hudson and his victim; not the least of which is the fact that Clinton never claimed to be Catholic. By most accounts, at least, what transpired between Clinton and Monica, while inappropriate, was mutually consensual. So it was really nobody's business in the first place; outside of Clinton, Monica and Hillary (and God). On the other hand, Hudson, a presumably respected professor, got one of his young students drunk and tried to take advantage of her... without her consent. That is criminal behavior which our society rightly feels the need to deter.
The only source of hypocricy, in this story, is that Hudson, rather than facing any real justice for his behavior, chose to accept termination from the university and allow the matter to quiet down. Then he went on to become publisher of an ultra-conservative Catholic magazine that professed to promote the restoration of morality among the faithful and, consequently, to society. His role, as publisher of that magazine, provided the spring-board for him to become the "Catholic outreach director" to the Bush campaign; and, subsequently, religion advisor to the Bush Administration. Pretty hot deal for a sexual predator!
In his role as the religion advisor to the Bush Administration, Hudson engaged the same sociopathic, predatory behavior in his political maneuverings that he demonstrated when taking advantage of this young college student. That even today, in the McCain campaign, that bastard is still able to project himself as morally and religiously relevent is an absolute insult to the Catholic community; especially given all the many humiliating reports that had in the last decade been outed about sexual predators among the sheep.
Personally, I think it shows an incredible amount of political misjudgement on the part of John McCain to have selected Hudson to head up his Catholic outreach in the first place. Moreover, it demonstrates, to me, that McCain is really out of touch with faith; and is only seeking to engage those who so successfully steered Bush's faith outreach. Wow! Doesn't McCain know the tide has turned on that political question? And can't his "people" vet a little better than that?
Now we as Catholic Americans, together with other Americans get to choose the next President of the United States; and, in doing so, what direction the United States will be going in the next four years. I think we're doing a good job of that with that in backing Barack Obama.
But, in regards to who goes out into the public sphere professing to speak for and with us, we need to be a whole lot more vocal than we are. Neither in word nor in deed does Deal Hudson speak for me; nor, I am sure, does he really speak for any true Catholic or person of goodwill, wherever that person stands on the political spectrum.
CATHOLICS REALLY UNITE FOR TRUTH. THE TRUTH IS OBAMA ISN"T THE RIGHT STUFF. HE, HIS BEING PROPED UP BY HIS BACKERS. HE HAS NO EXPERIENCE, TWO YEARS IN THE SENATE. AND HE's RUNNING FOR THE PRESIENCY. I SMELL NO TRUTH HERE, ESPECIALLY HE'S PRO ABORTION TO THE EXTREME. CATHOLIC< COME ON NOW GET REAL. LISTEN TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. DON"T FALL
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