The backlash against Notre Dame for inviting Obama to give the commencement speech this year has really been bugging me. The leaders of that institution (the same leaders who protected pedophiles for decades) have a double standard for Democrats and Republicans.
For example, the Catholic Church is vehemently opposed to the death penalty -- as it should be. As Governor of Texas, George Bush was a very strong proponent of the death penalty -- and he implemented it many times:
George W. Bush during his six years as governor of Texas presided over 152 executions, more than any other governor in the recent history of the United States. Bush has said: "I take every death penalty case seriously and review each case carefully.... Each case is major because each case is life or death." In his autobiography, A Charge to Keep (1999), he wrote, "For every death penalty case, [legal counsel] brief[s] me thoroughly, reviews the arguments made by the prosecution and the defense, raises any doubts or problems or questions." Bush called this a "fail-safe" method for ensuring "due process" and certainty of guilt.So, Bush actually had a role in the deaths of 152 people. Yet, the Catholic hierarchy welcomed him with open arms at Notre Dame's commencement in 2001.
Yet, this year, the Catholics leaders are having a hissy fit because Obama is going to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame. Obama never signed an execution order. He didn't oversee the executions of 152 people. No, Obama is pro-choice. He supports a women's right to choose (which is the law of the land because of Roe v. Wade.)
This just further confirms the hypocrisy of the church. Catholic leaders couldn't have gotten their heads any further up George Bush's butt. His sins were excusable because he's a Republican. And, Republicans, who mock most of the Catholic Church's values, play Catholic Church leaders for the fools that they are.
