I just heard on the Catholic Answers radio show that supporting Ron Paul was not right. The full context:
Caller: If Ron Paul runs as a third party candidate, can I support/vote/yard-sign for him?
Answer: If it's a state that is close, you are obliged to vote for McRomney rather than allow a Democrat to win. You cannot vote your conscience and be a good Catholic.
I will NEVER support Catholic radio again. EVER. Catholics should ALWAYS be free to vote their conscience. None of us should settle for a MSM picked candidate over the RIGHT candidate.
Tim is absolutely right, but the only way we can tell the mainstream media and their cohorts to "go to heaven" is to join forces and unite.
On our Catholics For Huckabee website is a solid proposal to beat these non believers at their own game by coming together in a Huckabee - Romney ticket with Ron Paul as Secretary of the Treasury.
Let's hang together, rather than hang separately.
http://catholicsforhuckabee.blog...nite-
right.html
If supporting/voting for Paul can be reasonably expected to be the margin between a pro-abort win and a (weak) pro-life loss, I can see their point, but Romney bends to the will of liberal courts.
However I doubt any of the alternatives would actually do anything more than the current administration (think of the Pontius Pilate paper during the Terri Schiavo fiasco). Ron Paul would do something.
Speaking of which, should I go easy this lent in the expectation of the occupant of the Oval Office a year hence, or do heavier penances in the hope a miracle will occur and a man after God's own heart will be placed in a leadership position? (Actually thinking about any of those leading us in 2009 results in a penance likely to empty the greater part of purgatory).
I can think of only one case where I would be required by my conscience to vote for someone other than Paul, and I have expressed this privately.
We live with the constitution in abeyance much like during the war or northern aggression. No habeas corpus. No appeal of "enemy combatant" status. Fine. Declare every abortionist an enemy combatant and put them in whichever convenient dungeon is available. Bush now claims that power so is evil for using it against those who have never taken innocent life or equally for refusing it for those who destroy innocent life on a mass scale. Let Mike, Mitt, or John say credibly that they will treat abortionists like Jose Padilla (and maybe through Felos, Greer, and Schiavo in nearby cells), and I would be compelled to vote for them as they would really end abortion.
I think Bush said we should have acted to end the Holocaust. But why does he not act to end the abortion holocaust?
Paul is unique in claiming he does not have the authority to end abortion (no more than I have by taking the law into my own hands).
I do wish someone would ask this question of the other candidates (and record their response).
But do remember, things are in God's hands. Divine Providence has acted to turn what not only appeared to be dead but was actually so into a resurrection. It wasn't too late even for Lazarus. And much can happen between now and when Ron Paul comes to St. Paul.
(And a plug - Minnesota I think has given Paul the most delegates so far).
I believe it was Divine Providence that gave us RP out of NOWHERE. Now we MUST choose, and the only choice I can make i good conscience is RP. I went to the Rep convention and was horrified to discover that they openly and admittedly bow to the UN 'government'! I was so repulsed that I nearly ran out of there! The only thing worse is the democrats!
There's nothing 'weak' in RP's pro-life stance, especially because, aside from pro-war Huckabee, there is no one else who can prove they have been reliably pro-life. Ending the war is a BIG deal, and no matter how sound RP's reasoning is, NONE of the other candidates are anywhere near there.
I think that God has given us ONE LAST CHANCE to take our country back and put it on the right track, as much as possible. If we blow this, we're in for a horrible ride and we deserve it.
Catholic radio is a lost cause- the cult of 'celebrity' has taken over their sense of reason and fidelity to the Church. Ambition is driving them. They have no more interest in RP than does Sham Insanity- they are neo-cons FIRST and foremost, sacrificing country, constitution and Catholic economics and justice for that, and it shows. A tragedy too, because it could really be a force for the new evangelization. They need prayer to get help to fulfill the opportunities they have.
The political machine- the military industrial complex, finance industry and so many others, have NO INTEREST in letting go of 'their' country and so they'll continue to undermine RP in any way possible. Media is their helper in this. We have to pray and bring it to the Lord, and trust that he will help us. There is no doubt that he wants restoration and not destruction. God bless Ron Paul! Thank you God for sending him!
Now that Paul has all but dropped out of the race in his 2/8/2008 e-mail message to supporters, are you going to keep the blog open as a "Catholics for Liberty" blog?
Count me in for that...
Hoosiertoo,
Ron Paul has not dropped out of the race, he said he's scaling back his national campaign operation. He's still running.
I believe we need both Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee to take back the GOP.
Did anyone see Huckabee's CPAC speech?
Aside from a little war-mongering, Huckabee outlined classic conservative and even Catholic positions.
He was talking about a Human Life Amendment, the end of the IRS, regaining our moral center, freedom and reponsibility and Phyllis Schafly.
I know the purists love Ron Paul (I love him, too!)and will stick by him till the bitter end, and I admire that---but we've also got to know when to compromise, especially when the stakes are as high as they are now.
With McCain, it's an unending warfare state; with Hillary or Obama, it's the welfare state.
Huckabee is much more moderate on the war issue. This may be naive, but I really because he is so good on the moral issues, he will have the prudence and courage to make the right decision if the prospect of more war appears again.
Aside from his pro life rhetoric, there is little about Huckabee that a Catholic can identify with. He opposes limited government and fully endorses globalism.
At this late date, any candidate that supports the travesty in Iraq is either a knave or a fool (or both). Huckabee continues to support Bush on this war.
Most disturbing for Catholics is that Huckabee has spoken at John Hagee's Cornerstone Baptist Church in San Antonio. Hagee, for those who are unaware, is one of the most virulently anti-Catholic protestants in the country. He calls the Catholic Church the work of Satan and has said the Pope is the anti-Christ. Are we (e.g. Huckabee) not known by the friends we keep?
No Catholic should support Huckabee. Frankly, the only candidate I can support in good conscience is Ron Paul. The others are polemicists at best; frauds at worst.
Its so much worse than that. All of the war candidates want NUCLEAR FIRST STRIKE WAR. The bishops have said that nuclear weapons are PURE EVIL. To vote for ANY war candidate in this current environment is a vote for pure evil. It is every bit as heinous as voting for abortion. Furthermore, as a matter of government policy, the Just War Doctrine of Christianity has been totally abandoned. Take a look here for references to these critical Catholic issues www.squidoo.com/antiwar
How sad Ron Paul ,who ran so wimpy,head down,making believe he was taking notes..now wants to just win back his seat...I tried to contact his inner circle re: learn to debate,use your medical expertise more "America needs a shot in the arm" 'sending out small checks of their own money to the citizens to stimulate the economy is like putting a bandaid on a gaping wound" etc etc..als why didnt he hit nafta more..that horrid bill caused the loss of millions of jobs and allowed our once great nation to be subjected to rotten foodstuffs and lead based painted toys for our tots..I will never vote for the lesser of two evils again..it has only brught us more and more leftward controls..re:evil...
There are so many voting problems and miscounts and other types of games, that it is impossible to believe that Dr. Paul did so badly. There are going to be lots of challenges to a 'presidency courtesy of diebold' and the entire idea of 'privatizing' our voting has to be rebelled against by the voters. The party structure is rigged and tightly controlled, but even with these things 'working for them' they can't come up with a candidate that the people can support. This is a strange year in politics and I think Ron Paul was Providential- exposing the corruption all the way through it. If that is correct, then we have no business writing him off yet. If God is helping Americans to see the light and bringing us someone able to make the changes, He is also able to help us win the election and keep him alive to serve.
"No Catholic should support Huckabee."
Say it ain't so, Ray K.! Even Pat Buchanan is calling Huckabee the best hope right now.
Huckabee is very pro-life and pro-family, has some good economic proposals, and is much more moderate than McCain on the war.
Re: Huck's alleged anti-Catholicism, associating with anti-Catholics doesn't automatically make one anti-Catholic. He is a Baptist after all and can't be held to the same standards as Catholics. Ron Paul has had to associate with alot of folks who aren't so desirable, either. McCain visited Bob Jones University a few years ago and noone is calling him an anti-Catholic.
Uncomfortable alliances are the bread-and-butter of politics, let's face it.
Huck has a number of Catholics on his staff and many, many Catholic supporters. Check out the blogroll on my blog if you want to see all the Catholic bloggers for Huck. Most of these are traditional, Latin-Mass Catholics to boot.
You might want to take a good look at Domers for Huckabee's blog, a group of Notre Dame students for Huckabee, run by Fighting Irish Thomas, an Irishman like yourself.
These are really serious Catholics.
I admit Ron Paul has many superior positions, but it doesn't look like he can win this thing right now.
Well Julie, you make some good points. I can tell you're a big fan of Huckabee's (you may even be working for him?!?). However, no dice for me.
His advocacy of a constitutional amendment to reverse Roe vs. Wade is pie in the sky. DC lobbyists have been running that canard up the flag pole for decades. The only thing it accomplishes is preserving their jobs and keeping the fundraising dollars flowing. Paul's position of returning the issue to the states is the only realistic one as far as I'm concerned.
Moreover, Huckabee is another big government "conservative", who's latest brilliant idea is to create a federal job program to expand I-95.
Buchanan, for whom I worked during the '96 campaign, is a brilliant guy. But in the end he'll support whoever the GOP nominee is.
Hagee is no Pat Robertson. Besides being violently anti-Catholic, he believes the rapture is nigh and that World War III needs to occur. Soon! And in the Middle East so that Christ can triumphantly return and save all the born agains, while casting all the heretics (mainly Moslems and Catholics) into hellfire. Huckabee is too cozy with this guy and I'm guessing he drinks from the same foul water. Bad religion, bad theology. Why does religous pluralism so often seem to include anti-Catholicism?
Sorry, Julie, I believe your guy is part of the problem. While I might have held my nose and pulled the lever for Romney, I can't when it comes to Huckabee or McCain. I've voted for "the lesser of two evils" one too many times. We need more Catholics to vote their conscience. Or don't vote at all.
I'm not working for Huckabee; what an idea! Huckabee hardly has enough money to run his bus.
I know Huck is not perfect, but he has some very solid principles and a real decency and strength which is very appealing to a lot of people.
My family and I also like Ron Paul very much. I am actually a Ron Paul precinct captain, to tell you the truth and an (unpaid) blogger for Huckabee.
If only we could combine them into one person, then we would have something! We get very annoyed when Huck starts beating the war drum, but his war rhetoric is very mild compared to Romney and McCain.
You say you worked for Pat Buchanan--you wouldn't happen to be Ray "Dino" Kelly, by any chance?
If you are, I was a good friend of your sister's at Christendom.
Just wondering.
Any of the candidates who are for the war are profoundly anti-christian! As a matter of foreign policy our government has ABANDONED the Just War Doctrine, going for an aggressive, illegal, first strike policy with 'usable' nukes! Our Bishops have said that nuclear weapons are PURE EVIL. This is a sifting going on at the supernatural level and we are all going to be held to account for THIS VOTE. Mother Theresa said the 'fruit of abortion is nuclear war' and our government has proclaimed this far and wide as the new policy. It must be spoken against, at least, and who among anyone here can vote for PURE EVIL, no matter how personable the candidate that is pro-war at this point! This explains it http://mschaut.wordpress.com/ and gives the 7 point Just War Doctrine.
Yes, Julie, I am Ray "Dino" Kelly. I remember you--you were from Colorado. Good to hear from you. Sorry I can't agree with you when it comes to Huckabee.
This Iraq war is a complete travesty. It is an immoral war and both the current pope and his predecessor admonished against it. It is an unjust war by every calculation. Even Huckabee's (apparent) mild support for it ought to be troubling.
Huckabee does seem like a nice enough guy with a pretty good sense of humor. However, I believe his positions are more extreme and dangerous than he lets on. It's disappointing that Catholics are flocking to him now the way they (me included) did to Bush in 2000.
Good to hear from you again after all these years, Dino!
Let me make this clear, I agree with you that this war is completely immoral. The only disagreement we have is apparent, not real.
The goal is to turn the Republican Party away from the disastrous principles animating the Bush/McCain War Party.
The supporters of Ron Paul (with whom I am in great sympathy) favor a more aggressive and immediate takeover of the Party from the ruling Bush elites. This is perfectly appropriate.
This will not, however, reach those many good, conservative Catholic/Christian gung-ho pro-war zealots who wrongfully consider Ron Paul a traitor and apostate through their own ignorance and stubborness.
These people even get nervous when Huckabee starts backing away from the "arrrogant, bunker mentality" foreign policy of this President,
yet are still willing to vote for Huckabee because of his pro-life/ pro-family values.
So, the goal of Huckabee and Ron Paul supporters is the same: Move the GOP away from the liberal, big-spending, globalist, secular, Rockefeller, East Coast, establishment types currently in control.
Any other disagreement is more cosmetic than substantive.
Yes, substantive issues- it is horrifying to discover that any Americans think that a Constitutionalist is a 'fringe candidate'! Since when has our Constitution been something to just let go, in favor of the industrial military complex and their so-called capitalist buddies? Our parties are now headed in two distinct direction- the corporate/military government (Fascism) or the athiestn big spending nanny state (Communism). All the lies and deception of both parties, smoke and mirrors, has mislead the voters and citizens in general and created a mess that will take at least as long as McCain's proposed 100 year war to recover from.
Ron Paul is what America needs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J...h?
v=Jy8JJU0W8po
Never Give Up! Never Surrender!
While Huckabee tried mightily to get Hagee's endorsement the rev held out for McCain. Bill Donohue says that Hagee:
has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church. For example, he likes calling it "The Great Whore," an "apostate church," the "anti-Christ," and a "false cult system."
http://www.salon.com/opinion/gre...ohue/
index.html
Glenn Greenwald over at Salon has a lot of other wonderful links, but you forget Huckabee was Hagee's guest as preacher.
There is a link to another blog with a YouTube of Hagee ranting about the Whore of Babylon.
So on the GOP front, of the three candidates, Ron Paul is the only one who isn't seeking or hasn't approved the endorsement from this bigot.
This blog needs to post this as a front article.
I haven't forgotten that Huckabee went to Hagee's "church" in San Antonio. I've been there as well and have met numerous members. Nice enough folks, but so are moonies, buddhists, and other brainwashed followers of false religion.
These candidates love to get endorsements from guys like Hagee because they know he'll deliver the vote.
The only guy that doesn't pander is Paul, who's been effectively marginalized....oh well, back to the cultural wasteland that is American politics!
I know this requires a belief in the miraculous, but heck, we are Catholics, right? Ron Paul is a gift from God. Since 1973, I have waited for a candidate who can talk to the millions who have been brainwashed into a "pro-choice" position. And here he is. They may still be "pro-choice", but they are willing to put that aside, because the other issues are so overpowering. I have waited for a candidate who can talk the Republican Party back into a vision of peace. And here he is.
This candidate reaches across all affiliations BECAUSE he reaches back into our roots as a free people. I sincerely believe God created us in His image and likeness, and He is love. He made us to be free, because only free people can love. Love can not be coerced. This was so important to God that He risked our choices against Him, and He paid the price so that we could still be "free to worship Him without fear, all the days of our life".
The battle for choosing Ron Paul for our President is not over, although it looks as if it is. If we Catholics could start a buzz amongst our own right now-right this very minute, it would catch like wildfire. It is the Catholic vote that is missing, and we could inflame it--or rather the Holy Spirit could. I plan on saying a rosary TONIGHT that you might read this, and agree, and start the movement all over again. Actually, the Ron Paul movement needs holiness, even while it insists on separation of church and state. I believe it is in OUR hands. Now, let me go say that rosary. Good night.
http://ronpaulforum.info
We would like to exchange links
Ron Paul Comic!
http://www.wittycomics.com/comic/40882
RIDE ON THE DOUBLE TALK EXPRESS LEADS TO WAR
John McCain is clearly focused on one thing and one thing only - WAR. He lives for it, he loves it, he’s obsessed by it, it is his entire identity. He is a Post Traumatic Stress, hot-headed and unstable egotisitcal lunatic who cares nothing about the will of the American people. He is loyal to his big corporate backers and his backers make a killing off of war, war and more war.
In his own words, “Friends, I want to give you some straight talk. Friends, there are going to be more wars. I’m sorry to tell you, but there are going to be more wars…”. Wow. Interesting Foriegn Policy approach there, John. Glad to know our tax money will be used wisely.
After 2004 it became apparent to me what I had been trying to forget after the 2000 election, that much of America is just not paying attention. It would be foolish to assume that this time around they have turned off “American Idol” and are really going to think this one through. McCain appeals to fear coupled with Amerian imperial arrogance. McCain, like Bush before him, can win. We cannot let that happen.
Unfortunately Hilary Clinton represents the exact same special interests that McCain does. They should run on the same ticket. Actually, come to think of it I take that back. Hilary Clinton represents Hilary Clinton. McCain represents those corporate interests that can most benefit by America expanding it’s empire through military aggression.
There is only one serious contender who is sane and that is Ron Paul. He did not support the invasioin of Iraq. He did not support NAFTA, amnesty for illegal aliens and he did not suppor the Patriot Act. He has consistently kept his campaign promises for each of the 10 terms he has served in the United States Congress.
Barack Obama will likely be our next President. I feel he is a good man and I would take him over McCain any day. However, this is not a Socialist country. We need to get back to the values of the Founding Fathers and the ideas put forth in the Constitution. The Ron Paul phenomenon is the beginning of a much larger and far-reaching revolution in America.
John McCain is a huge step in the wrong direction. He and his Neo-Con allies have hijacked the country and the time has come for us to take it back.
Someone who speaks in straight talk doesn’t have to keep reminding you that it’s straight talk. They just speak the truth.
As for me, I’m voting for Ron Paul.
www.BELLofLIBERTY.com
- Eric Allen Bell
Commenting by HaloScan
