And when emboldened pro-choice Democrats move to enact the Freedom of Choice Act that would strip away even the minimal protections currently in place for unborn life (and they will), we should expect that Catholics for Obama will speak forcefully against it and insist that its enactment would undermine the Obama pledge to unify the country. And when pro-choice Democrats seek to repeal the Hyde Amendment and use taxpayer money to finance more abortions (and they will), we should expect that Professors Cafardi, Kaveny, and Kmiec will speak as publicly and vigilantly as they did urging his election to remind President Obama that using the wealth of government to fund the industry of death contradicts the theme of the Obama campaign to move beyond the politics of division.
Something about all this has not been sitting well with me. If we discuss the implications of the election and the “what comes next” with the assumption that the results are a result of rational processes, we risk careening off into unreality.
In my view, the tide of popular enthusiasm of Barack Obama cannot be attributed simply to the media’s bias, voter registration drives and the imbalance of campaign funding. Mark Levin of the National Review Online expresses something we ought to ponder:
“I honestly never thought we’d see such a thing in our country - not yet anyway - but I sense what’s occurring in this election is a recklessness and abandonment of rationality that has preceded the voluntary surrender of liberty and security in other places. I can’t help but observe that even some conservatives are caught in the moment as their attempts at explaining their support for Barack Obama are unpersuasive and even illogical. And the pull appears to be rather strong.”
The rationalizations of “Catholics for Obama” that at some level Obama was the preferable “pro-life” candidate are a sterling example of the victory of wishful rationalization over reasoning. In Barack Obama’s own words:
“With one more vacancy on the Supreme Court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a women’s fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe v. Wade. The next president may be asked to nominate that Supreme Court justice. That is what is at stake in this election.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice, and have consistently had a 100% pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.
“When South Dakota passed a law banning all abortions in a direct effort to have Roe overruled, I was the only candidate for President to raise money to help the citizens of South Dakota repeal that law. When anti-choice protesters blocked the opening of an Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic in a community where affordable health care is in short supply, I was the only candidate for President who spoke out against it. And I will continue to defend this right by passing the Freedom of Choice Act as president.”
If prominent Catholics not only supported Obama but went as far as to begin political organizations based on such fatuous foundations in the face of the avalanche of evidence that was available, how can we expect that rational accountability and re-evaluation will ever take place? If we are dealing with elements that are (dare I say it) delusional, it is equally delusional to expect them to play by the rules of the Rational Game.
I don’t mind making logical arguments in the public forum. I just think it’s a misguided use of resources to expect that they will have much impact. Amy, I don’t know anyone who was directly influenced by Catholics for Obama, but they didn’t need to be. The tide sweeping the U.S. (of which Cs for O is a symptom, not a cause) picked them up and carried them off just fine.
So what do we do now? I’m feisty and I’m not just going to sit here. And, figuratively speaking, I can see Russia from my house.
R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Jesus, we trust in you.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your kindness.
In your compassion, blot out my offenses. (Ps 51)
R.
You have seen the trouble and sorrow,
You note it, you take it in hand.
The helpless trusts himself to you
For you are the helper of the orphan. (Ps 10)
R.
God of hosts, turn again we implore.
Look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
The vine your right hand has planted. (Ps 80)
R.
And the apostles said to the Lord,
"Increase our faith." (Luke 17)
R.
God is our refuge and strength
A very present help in distress. (Ps 46)
R.
"Be it done to me according to your word." (Luke 2)
R.
You sit enthroned, judging with justice.
Have pity on us in our sufferings,
You who save us from the gates of death. (Ps 9)
R.
On this rock I shall build my church
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Mt 16)
R.
I will remove disaster from among you
So that none may recount your disgrace. (Zeph 3)
R.
Many conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ,
But our citizenship is in heaven.
Stand firm in the Lord, beloved. (Phil 3-4)
R.
Mortal man is no more than a breath.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
O Lord, turn your ear to my cry.
Do not be deaf to my weeping. (Ps 39)
R.
Whatever gains I had, I count as loss
Because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (Phil 3)
R.
He, the Lord, is our God.
Throughout the eath his judgments prevail. (Ps 105)
R.
Before my people call, I will answer;
While they are yet speaking,
I will hear and answer them. (Is 65)
R.
Wait for the Lord with courage --
Be stouthearted. Wait for the Lord. (Ps 27)
R.
Hold onto the word of life. (Phil 2)
R.
My soul clings to you;
Your right hand holds me fast. (Ps 63)
R.
I say to God, my rock, "Why hast thou forgotten me?"
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
O send me thy light and thy truth,
My help and my God. (Ps 42-43)
R.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver us. (Ps 40)
R.
What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
It is sown in dishonor -- it is reaped in glory.
It is sown in weakness -- it is raised in power. (1Cor 15)
R.
Behold, a white horse. He who sits upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed -- King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Rev. 19)
R.
Adonai says to my lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." Ps 110
R.
Be exalted, O God, among the heavens. (Ps 108)
R.
Let us pray.
O God who makes all things new, accept our sacrifice of contrition and praise, and glorify yourself in us.
Give us the grace to be conformed to your will and your heart in every particular.
Do not dispose as we deserve but have mercy on us as we offer you the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask all these things with the help of all the saints and angels and in submission to our Lord, Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, and the King of all Kings.
Amen.
