Consistency
A while back, I wondered whether those convervative Catholic voices who opposed Kerry so strenuously in 2004 would oppose with equal fervor the pro-choice, pro-gay rights (and Catholic) Giuliani. The Huffington Post has a report on a few who are beginning to do so:
In its campaign to thwart Giuliani, The Conservative Declaration is
joined by a recently-established group named Fidelis, a Chelsea,
Michigan-based organization with the goal of becoming the preeminent
Catholic political operation within Republican ranks. (Data based on
exit poll surveys in 2002, 2004 and 2006 suggest that about 20 percent
of Republican primary voters are Catholic.) Fidelis was founded by
Joseph Cella, who in 2004 founded the annual National Catholic Prayer
Breakfast in Washington, an event regularly attended by President Bush.
Federal Election Commission and IRS reports filed by the Fidelis PAC
and the Fidelis Media Fund, two political arms of Fidelis, reveal the
group raised only $22,386 in the 2005-2006 election cycle.
But Fidelis organized anti-Giuliani protests in April at the
Republican debate in Columbia, South Carolina, and the group intends to
be a constant presence at Giuliani events from now on. Cella, who is
eager for publicity, contends that “using new media strategies and
tactics, we can mobilize hundreds of thousands of people against an
unacceptable nominee, or candidate in this case, and have a very
powerful impact with a relatively small financial investment.”
The anti-Giuliani group with the least visibility – but substantial
ambition — is run by Steve Dillard, a Catholic activist in Macon,
Georgia. Dillard, a former law clerk to conservative Judge Daniel A.
Manion of the Seventh Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, in 2002 created
Southern Appeal, a conservative legal blog. He is currently launching a
web site, Catholics Against Rudy, with the goal of becoming an integral
part of the Catholic blogosphere, consisting of more than 1,000 web
sites accessible at www.catholicblogs.com. A search for “Giuliani” on
catholicblogs.com suggests that Dillard may have a ready audience: the
overwhelming majority of posts are from people who share Dillard’s
belief that “a faithful Catholic cannot in good faith vote for Rudy
Giuliani.”
Two points: Consistency–as we’ve all heard before–is the hobgoblin of small minds …
Also, while a “faithful Catholic” might have trouble voting for Giuliani in a Republican primary–where he is running against other, pro-life Republicans–that same Catholic need not have any qualms about voting for Giuliani (who has said he would at least consider appointing pro-life judges) in the general election where he would face the unquestionably pro-choice Hilary Clinton or other equally pro-choice Democrats. Even the most faithful Catholics are permitted to use their judgment and choose the lesser of two evils.
Dillard and E.J. Dionne were interviewed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s “Hardball” a couple of days ago. Dillard is not the best public debater but was nonetheless very clear in his opposition and his attempt to rally the troops.
Now, whether he can rally the episcopacy is another question. Their hardcore Republican hearts (in the main) must be agonizing about this. The “true believers” in the GOP are a Mormon and a Baptist (Fred Thompson)! Aarghhhh!
Here’s the link to the Fidelis website–it doesn’t list any people advising or running it –is it funded by Tom Monaghan of Ave Maria fame?
http://www.fidelis.org/traditional_marriage.php
Sorry.
Fidelis operatives Cella and Burch were involved with the Ave Maria List, which was a Monaghan operation. Found it in an article on the Fidelis site:
http://www.fidelis.org/news/nationaljournal_9305.php
But there’s no quick link to Fidelis’ board or staff on its Web site as there is with the Catholic League.
Louis Freeh has endorsed Giuliani. Word is he is a faithful Catholic.
Here’s what bothers me about conservative support for Guiliani. I don’t mind if they rationalize overlooking his pro-choice views. They may be willing to overlook these faults because they believe he will do more good than harm. In this way they would be no different from pro-life Catholics who vote Democratic.
But what’s bothersome is that his only apparent recommendation is his supposed strength on national security. His support of torture and other methods of dubious or outright morally unacceptable practices in fighting terror is seen as a strength, not a weakness. Ditto for his authoritarian tendencies.
It really plays into the worst fears of moderates and liberals that what conservatives care about isn’t really social issues like abortion and so forth, but rather that are pushing a different vision of America – one that is more authoritarian, harsh, and less democratic (with a small d).
Kudos to the consistent conservatives who are putting pressure on Guiliani. Boos to those who seem infatuated with the idea of a quasi-monarchical executive branch.
To me the conservatives opposing Giuliani are minimal. He will get the anti-abortion vote because he is a Republican. Unless they get tremendous heat the bishops will in no way come out against him the way they did Kerry.