Earlier this month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called for two weeks of public protest in June and July against what it sees as growing government encroachment on religious freedom.Can't be long now until they start cutting off communion to Democrats.
The protests are expected to include priests and nuns and thousands of Catholic parishioners. Some activists expect civil disobedience, which could lead to powerful images of priests and nuns being led away in hand restraints.
I always get a kick out of two things when the Catholic leadership tries to influence US elections on behalf of Republicans.
1. That the Catholic leadership actually acts as if it still has any moral authority whatsoever after aiding and abetting, and continuing to cover up, the decades-long serial rape of children; and
2. That it pretends to represent some huge Catholic constituency when it views don't even represent a majority of US Catholics. Meaning, if you want to do the bidding of American Catholics, watch these people protest then do the opposite of what they're asking for.
Key findings from the [PPP] survey include:But even better? The more the fringe Catholic leadership rabble-rouses on this issue, the more it actually hurts Romney, according to PPP:
-57% of Catholic voters support the new policy President Obama announced yesterday allowing women who work for religiously-affiliated hospitals and universities to receive coverage for prescription birth control without requiring Catholic institutions to pay for the coverage directly. Only 29% oppose the policy because they believe it still goes too far in requiring birth control coverage; additionally 5% oppose it because they think Catholic hospitals and universities should be required to pay for this coverage. Catholic women are particularly positive toward the policy, with 59% of them expressing support.
-With the inclusion of President Obama’s solution for religiously-affiliated institutions, Catholics favor the requirement that health plans cover prescription birth control by a margin of 54% to 42%. Catholic Democrats (80% - 17%) favor the requirement by virtually the same margin that Catholic Republicans (16% - 79%) oppose it; significantly, politically independent Catholics favor the requirement by an 18-point margin (56% to 38%). Catholic women also favor it by an 18-point margin, while Catholic men favor it by a 4-point margin.
-This issue has the potential to cause Mitt Romney trouble with Catholic voters in the fall. 51% say they side with Barack Obama on this issue, while only 38% preferAnd it may just throw control of the US House to Democrats, again from PPP:
Romney’s position. Hispanic Catholics, a group Romney must make in roads with, go with Obama 59/32 on the policy and Catholic women do so by a 54/35 margin. Catholics ave been a key swing voting group in recent elections, supporting George W. Bush in 2004 and then Obama in 2008. Obama’s even-handed approach on this issue has him positioned well with Catholics for the fall.
-Congressional Republicans risk losing their majority in the House and squandering any opportunities in the Senate by continuing attacks on the popular birth control benefit.The trick here for the Obama administration, and campaign, is to make sure that any stories about the Catholic protests explain WHY people are protesting - namely, the Obama birth control benefit policy that most Catholics agree with.
As for the protests themselves, someone needs to counter-protest with a group of five year old boys holding signs saying "you lost your moral authority when you covered up my rape." The only way to chasten the Catholic leadership is for them to know that every single time they try to force all Americans to live under Catholic doctrine Americans will be reminded that these are the same people who to this day still protect child rapists.
