IS ROMNEY CATHOLIC-BASHING?

Mitt Romney said that President Obama "wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society." There is not much evidence of that. The President's economic policies seem to be 100% American. They act to advance the common good in ways designed to work in our society and often come from ideas developed right here in the good old USA, sometimes (like with health care) coming from Mitt Romney himself.

But why the attack on European social welfare policies? These policies mostly are not from the Moscow but Rome. In Germany, France, Italy, Austria, the Low Countries and elsewhere (but not the Nordic lands or the UK), the socialist parties were not in power when their domestic social security policies were designed, implemented and enacted. In all of these countries it was CATHOLICS not Socialists who designed and put in place the social programs that now exist.

So if Romney does not like European social security, let him blame who is responsible, the Catholic Church and her social teachings.

Church Proclaims National Migration Week

SANTORUM MAKING MONEY OFF ABORTIONS?

Anti-abortion conservatives have long turned a blind eye to the corporate involvement in abortion, following the strange theory that "a baby is 'less dead' when aborted by the private sector."

Rick Santorum has gone beyond even that politically hacked standard. He is a profiteer from the abortion industry. Santorum has earned over $400,000 as a Director of Universal Health Services, a for-profit hospital and surgical centers chain that offers abortion services as part of their money making operations.

How can a man who says he is anti-abortion be an officer of an abortion provider? The conservative line here seems to be "it's not personal, just business."

SUDDENLY, THE UNBORN ARE NOT IMPORTANT TO THE REPUBLICANS

Rick Santorum has joined Mitt Romney in opposing an EPA rule to cut abortifacient toxins like mercury in the environment.  The Obama Administration has proposed a new standard to reduce these toxins which cause spontaneous abortions.  For unborn babies who survive these environmental abortions, one in six will still have harmful levels of mercury and other toxins in them.

It seems some on the political Left can't bear to restrict women in crisis pregnancies from aborting while Santorum, Romney and most of the Republican Party cannot bear to restrict Big Business from aborting babies. 

http://www.creationcare.org/mercury/

Bachmann, Cantor and their Love for Abortion Advocates

GOP MANTRA: 'IT'S DIFFERENT WHEN WE DO IT'

Many Catholics who support the President disagree with his position on the legal status of abortion. Nevertheless, there is dismay by the strident and partisan rhetoric used selectively to attack Catholic supporters of the President. We are told that we cannot support "the most pro-abortion president ever" and that those who are pro-choice are not just wrong on policy but evil people, knowingly participating in murder.

Yet, the other day, Rep. Michelle Bachmann compared herself to Margaret Thatcher saying she would be a leader like her. Margaret Thatcher clearly was "the most pro-abortion Prime Minister ever." We Catholics are damned for our support for the President, but a pass is given to those who would support Thatcher.

And Sunday, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor once again trotted out his wife as an example that he is understanding, non-judgmental, loving and respectful of people who are pro-choice such as she is (the same could be said of Newt Gingrich's daughter, a GOP abortion rights activist).

Those who try to protect the unborn, be it civil protections or reduction of toxins like mercury which cause spontaneous abortions, do good work. But using a double standard where slurs are thrown against the President, while a different standard is used for Bachmann, Cantor and Gingrich, just give witness to the fact they are really not so much about pro-life, but just have a sinful and unChristian hatred of Barack Obama.

CATHOLIC BISHOPS SAY OBAMA EPA ACTION WILL SAVE UNBORN LIVES

ROMNEY AND CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS TO OPPOSE PRO-LIFE MEASURE

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., speaking on behalf of his brother bishops, demanded Congressional Republicans not proceed with their plans to block the Obama Administration's proposal to
cut the amount of poisonous mercury, arsenic and other toxins put in the air by big business.    These toxins cause the death of large numbers of unborn lives.  The EPA plans would reduce the amount by 90%.

"Children, inside and outside the womb, are uniquely vulnerable to environmental hazards and exposure to toxic pollutants in the environment," he said. "Their bodies, behaviors and size leave them more exposed than adults to such health hazards."

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, said that $9 will be saved in health and other costs for every dollar spent in compliance with the regulations. Jackson's two sons have suffered from asthma.

Mitt Romney and most of the other GOP presidential candidates are opposing the pro-life position taken by the Catholic Church on this issue.  By some estimates, mercury and other environmental toxins cause more unborn lives to abort than the total number of surgical abortions in the United States.

What to Expect in the Coming Election

Within our Catholic community, which should be a reflection of Gospel values, we have sadly found some of the most uncharitable and nasty attacks on the President. Decent people -- Democrats, Independents and Republicans -- are turned off by these attacks, but still it is unsettling. During the coming election campaign, this Blog will be documenting some of the inappropriate attacks on the President from persons claiming to speak from a Catholic perspective. We recently provided to Catholic activists in the President’s re-election efforts some blog postings by Kevin Rice and some from the ‘Catholic Vote’ blog. We want to make sure these examples don’t disappear from the Internet as the election approaches.

But it should be remembered that if conservative Catholics choose to continue down this path, it only helps in our efforts for the President. I would encourage readers to look at my blog post from three years ago, here: http://catholicsforobama.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-sunday.html

Also, Yahoo News recently reported as follows:

On private call, Republicans say attacking Obama personally is too dangerous:

Republicans on a private Republican National Committee conference call with allies warned Tuesday that party surrogates should refrain from personal attacks against President Barack Obama, because such a strategy is too hazardous for the GOP.

"We're hesitant to jump on board with heavy attacks" personally against President Obama, Nicholas Thompson, the vice president of polling firm the Tarrance Group, said on the call. "There's a lot of people who feel sorry for him."

Recent polling data indicates that while the president suffers from significantly low job approval ratings, voters still give "high approval" to Obama personally, Thompson said.

Voters "don't think he's an evil man who's out to change the United States" for the worse--even though many of the same survey respondents agree that his policies have harmed the country, Thompson said. The upshot, Thompson stressed, is that Republicans should "exercise some caution" when talking about the president personally.

And the respected Republican political writer Michael Gerson penned in an article entitled “Obama's strange buoyancy poses challenge for GOP” the following:

…while voters may be disappointed with Obama's job performance, they have not turned on Obama himself. His personal approval is strong. Here, there is a significant gap between the American public and, well, me. I have often found Obama's public manner to be professorial and off-putting. Americans seem to think it calm, self-possessed and reassuring. Even in his failures, Obama does not seem hapless. He fully inhabits the public role of commander in chief. And Obama's commitment to his family — his protection of their privacy and normality — is widely admired.

The power of such favorable impressions should not be underestimated. Americans do not believe that Obama has succeeded, but they still want him to succeed….a campaign of personal attacks against the president would likely backfire.

Our hope is going to be that conservative Catholics clean up their act, but if not, then we need to document their attacks on the President and share it with the electorate. This Blog will be ready for that mission.