There was an article in the New York Times yesterday about the possibility of Obama inviting Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who, like his late father, Robert P. Casey Sr. (who was not allowed to speak at the 1992 DNC) is a Roman Catholic who opposes abortion rights, to speak at the DNC this year.
The thinking is that if Sen. Casey speaks at the convention, it will show Catholics who oppose abortion that it is ok to vote for a candidate who supports it. They are also hoping that inviting Casey to speak will rectify his father not being allowed to do so 16 years ago.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, of Denver (where the DNC is to be held), says that voting for a candidate that supports abortion is a sin:
Archbishop Chaput, who has stopped short of telling his flock how to vote, has called abortion a “foundational issue.” He has said that a vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights or stem-cell research, like Mr. Obama or Senator John Kerry in 2004, was a sin that must be confessed before receiving communion. Mr. Obama’s Republican rival, Senator John McCain , an opponent of abortion rights, met last week in Denver with Archbishop Chaput.
The archbishop declined an interview request but his spokeswoman, Jeanette DeMelo, said that his views had not changed. In a column this year, Archbishop Chaput wrote that Catholics could support a politician who supported abortion only if they had a “compelling proportionate reason” to justify it. “What is a ‘proportionate’ reason when it comes to the abortion issue?” the archbishop wrote. “It’s the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face to face in the next life — which we most certainly will. If we’re confident that these victims will accept our motives as something more than an alibi, then we can proceed.” (Emphasis added)
#1: Abortions! Don't! Kill! Babies!
#2: If abortion is a sin because it kills babies, and abortions don't kill babies, then logically, abortion is NOT a sin.
I can understand the logic behind inviting this guy in the hopes that he'll attract more Catholic votes, since Catholics tend to be the major block of swing voters, but I'm just not sure it's worth it to invite someone who supports taking away a woman's fundamental rights as a human being to control her own body. I'm just not sure the trade-off is worth it.
Thoughts? Should Obama invite Sen. Casey to speak at the DNC?
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I don't really have an opinion on whether he should be "invited." But I do take issue with the premise that one would consider diversity of views unwelcome in the Democratic Party. There are a lot of pro-life Democrats out there. Now if it were the NARAL convention, which is issue-specific, then no, it wouldn't make sense to have someone pro-life there.
There's one of those quizzes online -- "You know you're from Pennsylvania if ..." -- where one of the entries was, "You only elect pro-life Democrats and pro-choice Republicans." I didn't even think about it until I read it but yeah, we have a weird habit of doing that here. Abortion rights in Pennsylvania -- they're wacky! *headdesk*
I like telling people like this that Jesus told me to help the poor, the weak and the needy, and that I find the right wing parties are the worst at that core tenet of Christianity. Hehehe.
I work at a church. I get to use this regularly. Though it's not usually over abortion. No one dares talk abortion with me. :D
I see nothing wrong with having Sen. Casey speak at the convention. Now, I don't think we should invite him to give a speak on choice issues, but to exclude a prominent Democratic senator from the Convention because he has one opinion that differs from the platform is something the Republicans would do. ;)
That damn bishop helped garner votes for Bush in 2004 and wrote an editorial for the NY Times...nice to see hes continuing to make a name for himself, along with all the other bishops who leave war, poverty, womens rights and the like to the "discretion" of policymakers (making it okay for good Christians to vote for people like Bush and other Rove beneficiaries), but not abortion (forget abortion...CONTRACEPTION).
One of many reasons I am a deeply, deeply embittered lapsed Catholic....what can you do? Religion isn't a democracy and dogma is dogma (even if it is deleterious to the here-and-now and the trade-offs many religious representatives make when they dip their toes into policymaking decisions are repugnant).
I want Obama to win. I want someone who respects family planning and will protect it to win. If it means inviting Casey to speak, so be it. But I can't take any more actual POLICY concessions to the religious right, and I'm putting Casey in there, even if he identifies as a ("blue dog") Democrat.