Monday, July 5, 2004

Church vs. State?

From Mary Ratcliff at the american street:

. . .

Republicans are countering his message with their values, namely that Kerry's position on abortion should supercede all other concerns. They are aggressively targeting Catholics in this region and have convinced a number of potential Kerry voters that they cannot vote for Kerry without endangering their souls. On Sunday's All Things Considered, one person who went to see Kerry told the reporter that although he really liked Kerry, he could not vote for him because of what his priest said. Will he find himself voting for Bush or just staying home?

. . .


Now wait a second . . . Let's look at that again.

". . .one person who went to see Kerry told the reporter that although he really liked Kerry, he could not vote for him because of what his priest said."

Uh, um, aren't we violating at least one federal campaign law here? Can a priest tell his congregation how to vote? Can a priest, while not endorsing the incumbent directly, advance a church doctrine in a way so as to 'disqualify' his opponent? Oh no, I think not. Can we get the FEC to investigate? Maybe threaten the Catholic Church with its tax-exempt status? I think not either, not while this administration is still in office.

Read the rest of Mary's post. This just caught my eye by the seeming illegality of it, but she sums up Kerry's trip through the heartland as a general success, aiming his message at the rural counties who voted for Gore in 2000.

No comments: