Arkansas Blog

The standoffishness of the Catholic vote in Michigan doesn't surprise me.

This is one election in which the Republicans can no longer count on the Catholic vote. For one thing, they've burned their bridges with the Latino community.

For another thing, more and more Catholics have awakened to the reality that they've been used just as much as evangelical Protestants by the religious right: used crudely, cynically, and thrown away. There never has been any real intent to end abortion, and on the other life issues without which it's impossible to oppose abortion, the Republicans have a dismal record.

Still, they keep trying. The anti-gay marriage push in Iowa right now is an attempt to keep stirring the waters on the religious right side of the fence. And some Iowa Catholics may buy in, since the state Catholic conference has endorsed the attempt to pass an anti-gay marriage amendment.

But increasingly, Catholics refuse to vote as they are instructed by their bishops, even when those bishops threaten then to be excommunicated under pain of mortal damnation. The bishops of Charlotte, Atlanta, and Charleston tried that in the last federal election, along with the bishop of St. Louis, but I'm not aware of any of them shaking that big stick this election.

Even here in AR, where the Huck has some big-profile Catholic supporters, I suspect a sizable number of Catholics are going to vote the whole spectrum-of-life issues, not the mono-focused abortion and gay marriage issues. Despite the big man who used to supply the Huck with suits, or the failed and clueless judiciary appointment in eastern AR, or the former head of the AR Judicial Disciplinary Commission, I don't think the Huck can confidently count on the Catholic vote even in his home state.

I saw the middle gentleman of that (unholy) trinity at Mass on Christmas eve, by the way. He was at the Cathedral, and astonished my brother's family and mine by trekking his way up to the altar for communion before anyone else, as if the rest of us were meant to be there to admire church kissing state in the person of the failed and clueless judge.

Even tackier, he glad-handed friends up and down the aisles as he trekked to communion.

Not sure which was the more entertaining and goshawful sideshow--him and his folks, or the lady who pitched herself on the floor in adoration after receiving communion, being waved by the celebrant away from her position curled at his feet, so she ended up with just her high-heels splayed off the altar steps.

For those outside the zanier world of current Southern Catholicism, these pitch yourself on the floor folks are trying to give the rest of us poor sinners a message, straight from Mother Angelica and EWTN, with all its plush right-wing Catholic donors. They want to tell us we're not awed enough at receiving Jesus in the Eucharist; proper awe requires prostration, high heels and all.

Correction to previous posting: "threaten then to be excommunicated under pain of mortal damnation" should read "threaten them with excommunication under pain of mortal damnation."

Another memorable post Muddling.

>>proper awe requires prostration, high heels and all.<<

What is it with this new generation of god-freaks and prostration? There's a sect in Fayetteville that does it and advocates it with just a slight difference between them and pure Muslim who must kiss the ground. I think the locals do prostration without a mouthful of sand, dirt, dead skin flakes, dog hair in the process but they do face East.

That aside my favorite Catholic candidate can be found on my bluename.
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I loved the Catholic candidate's advert, Elwood. We sure have some zingers of candidates in this year's God squad, don't we?

God-freaks and prostration: not sure what makes this generation of god-freaks so prone to, well, be prone.

Religion is never very far removed from the erotic realm, so there may be something naughty feeling about writing around in the ground and kicking up one's high heels? Or some folks hear "prostration" and then "prostation"?

Seriously, I suspect it has a lot to do with the attempt to revive forms of religiosity that just shut the mind down altogether. Throwing yourself down on the ground in awe is a way of saying you're just nothing, God is everything.

And for those who went us to believe they speak unilaterally for God, the prostration is a useful political gesture. When you have folks flailing on the ground, they're less likely to ask pesky critical questions that, as theological David Tracy once wrote, do more than "skim the surface of thought."

Golly Gee, I think I left the Catholic church too soon with all that heels in the air,
prostration stuff....I would have loved the heck out of that.
When did the Catholic vote become so right wing? When I was an active member (1975-95)
they voted for liberal causes, in fact, priest that I became very good friends with, protested
against the Viet Nam war when he was teaching in California.
When I told him I'd voted for RR (beat me with a wet noodle) I thot he'd give me 10 hail Mary's
and 10 Our Father's.....guess he knew I'd taken a stupid pill that morning.

It'll be interesting to see how the Catholic vote breaks out in this election, jazzy. I think the Republicans have felt they had it locked up for some time now, and those bishops who have assisted in trying to deliver the Catholic vote to the Republicans--I would argue with the active assistance of the Vatican--are in an unhappy position now. Maybe they'd have been better advised to put their own house in order, what with the abuse crisis and all. I say this as a Catholic, though admittedly an alienated one.

I see the Iowa thing as more shameless pandering to the religious right, and there are definitely quite a few Catholics in the heartland and the South that will be swayed by that pandering. With what seemed the Huck's stellar success in Iowa, I think there are still some folks who are emboldened by the thought that if they can just get God's armies out in force, they'll carry the day.

And what better to accomplish this in those Catholic areas than playing the abortion and "family values" cards? Problem is, just about any position taken by the Republican party on most life and family issues is so vastly at odds with core Catholic values and teachings, a body has to be blind in one eye and unable to see out of the other to call this the pro-life party. Not much pro-life going on in Iraq these days, is there?

And nothing makes me more ashamed of some of the Catholic nitwits who have gotten into Congress on the coattails of the "pro-life" movement than the recent vote of not a few of them against the bill to assure health coverage for poor children. Talk about family values and respect for life!

Muddling, I think the catholic hierarchy does indeed speak a right wing philosophy but
when you get down to the parish priest one on one its a different story, at least, the one
I became such good friends with. He was punished for his vocal and outward display against
the Viet Nam war, stripped of his teaching position in California and transferred to pastor
a small parish near New Orleans, where I met him and he changed, nay saved, my life.
He is dead now but never forgotten,,,,his name was James Counahan and a wonderful
friend and mentor.

Jazzy, you're right, of course. Priests and nuns were well-represented in the ranks of those marching for civil rights for African Americans in the 1960s. And today, there are some shining examples of prophetic witness still in the ranks of clergy and religious: Helen Prejean's work against the death penalty is well known. Other favorites of mine are Fr. Roy Bourgeois, who has been arrested numerous times for protesting against our support of worldwide use of torture, through the School of Americas. Fr. John Dear is following in his footsteps.

That being said, American Catholics have been inching to the right politically ever since the middle of the 20th century, as more and more American Catholics became suburbanized, affluent, "blended" into the melting pot. The last two popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, were/are intent on moving the church to the right not just religiously, but politically as well. In many areas, priests who take an active role in politics have been punished--if those political movements are not right-wing.

In the U.S. in the last election, the abortion issue was used as a wedge issue to try to drive Catholics into the Republican fold. Bush has had some hard-core right-wing Catholics advising him on this strategy. In the previous election, voter guides were distributed to Catholic voters, making it appear that one can't be a faithful Catholic without voting "right," which is to say, pro-Repubican and anti-abortion.

There are already some grumblings along these lines with the present election. In October, the ultra right-wing Catholic organization The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property organized rosary crusades nation-wide. The ostensible reason was to celebrate Our Lady of Fatima and pray for the end of abortion. I personally think the demonstrations had much more to do with drumming up the Catholic vote for the Republicans in the coming election.

Still, the Catholic vote is contested, and likely to be more up for grabs in this election than in previous ones. There are well-organized groups like Catholics United for the Common Good who have developed voter guides noting the range of Catholic teaching on life issues--abortion is far from the sole life issue. This group is already being attacked by some right-wing Catholic politicians as diabolical. The voter guide is at http://www.catholics-united.org/.

Muddle,,, I'm having a senior moment.....who was the priest elected to congress???
He was wonderful and quite liberal so, of course, the church made him step down.
I agree that the pope's are moving more and more to the right but a pope never held
sway over me anyway, I answer to no mere mortal,,,,I wasn't a very good catholic, ha.
I do enjoy the mass,,,my french hubby was raised in the all latin time and served as
alter boy in his youth.
Thanx for the link,,,gonna check it out right now.