Dems can't be Catholics or Christians, Kansas candidate says
Barb ShellyJust to prove that idiotic statements by politicians aren’t confined to Missouri, along comes Kansas Senate candidate Steve Fitzgerald of Leavenworth, who told a gathering at Polish American Democratic Club in Kansas City, Kan., last week that “If you’re a Christian and a Catholic you can’t be a Democrat.”
Fitzgerald also made some statements complaining about the initial omission of a mention of God from the Democratic Party platform, and he complained that Democrats are too tolerant of gays and lesbians, according to people at the forum.
A reporter for The Huffington Post got ahold of Fitzgerald, who told him:
“My main point is that the Democratic platform and policies nationally are an attempt to redefine marriage in effect to say what Christ has said about marriage is a lie. Christ said marriage is between one man and one woman and the Democratic platform said that it’s not true. So therefore, my point was that one cannot support the Democratic platform and be a follower of Christ.”
That position is pretty offensive to Fitzgerald’s opponent, incumbent Senator Kelly Kultala, who got up and told the club she was doing a good job of being both a Catholic and a Democrat, and that Fitzgerald was out of line.
Members of the club evidently agreed. Kultala got their endorsement.
As consolation, Fitzgerald gets the Todd Akin wannabe award. (The candidate for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat once said that “at the heart of liberalism is really a hatred for God.” )
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and his allies would love to dislodge the hard-working Kultala from her Senate seat. But Fitzgerald is doing a lousy job of containing his extremism, and backing him might become perilous.
Mark Hastert
7 months, 1 week agoGuys like Fitzgerald and Akin are why Americans need to be very fearful of Conservatism. It’s the equivalent of Sharia law.
George Hunsucker
Northland
7 months, 1 week agoHow do C’s get by with telling the Pope to stuff it? Why aren’t prodeath donkeys who are C tossed-out?
William R. Nelson
7 months, 1 week agoGeorge Hunsucker
Northland
7 months, 1 week agoThe beauty of thinking women:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/10/15/swing-states-poll-women-voters-romney-obama/1634791/
And now C’s are turning to R&R too….
Mark Robertson
7 months, 1 week agoAnyone who supports the right to have an abortion and something called same sex marriage, cannot be a true Catholic. I have never heard of Kultala, but have little doubt that she is a pro-abort, and thus not a true Catholic. Thank you. Mark Robertson
George Hunsucker
Northland
7 months, 1 week agoAnd there is of course big joe’s comments…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/15/catholic-bishops-bidens-debate-remark-on-contraception-mandate-not-true/?test=latestnews
Steve Alleman
Kansas City
7 months, 1 week agoOne can be against same-sex marriage as a Catholic and still be against using government power to force one’s views onto people that don’t share them. That’s the kind of Catholic legislator I can support.
If you’re against same-sex marriage, don’t marry someone of the same sex. Problem solved.
Phil Cardarella
7 months, 1 week agoOK, back in 1960, there was this guy named Kennedy who was running for President — and a bunch of anti-Catholic bigots took the position that no Catholic could serve as President, since he would have to follow the dictates of the Vatican rather than enforce our secular Constitution. Kennedy rebutted that argument in an appearance at the Baptist Convention in Houston: Personal religious beiefs do not dictate public policy for those who do not share that belief.
Fast-forward to 2012. Now, it is the ultra-Catholics who are arguing that an elected official cannot support the policies of a secular government that allow acts contrary to the teaching of his Church. Essentially, it is now these Catholics who are arguing — falsely — that no Catholic office-holder can follow his oath to the Constitution.
So, to argue that no Catholic can support the right of women to choose abortion (or birth-control, which is also on the Bishop’s no-no list) or the right of same sex couples to marry (or, that no Jew can tolerate the legal serving of shellfish at Red Lobster and no Muslim can tolerate ham being legally sold at supermarkets) is to confuse individual religious belief and practice with public policy in a pluralistic society.
Here’s the deal: In America, we don’t do Sharia Law — not even it’s Christian or jewish equivilents.
Charles Kigar
7 months, 1 week agoI couldn’t find anywhere that JC said ANYTHING about Marriage. The closest this I found was Paul in Corinthians 6:9
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
So.. it would look like Republicans shouldn’t count on admission either.
A GOP candidate for state senate in Kansas tells a small group in a basement that he is opposed to gay marriage. I am shocked, do you hear me, shocked. Next I suppose Huff Post will excitedly break the news that the NRA is opposed to banning guns and that the AARP wants to keep Social Security alive. The citizens of the Republic will be stunned to hear such news. I don’t pretend to know what Huff Post et al’s real agenda is in making a non-story like this national news, but they clearly have one. Take care—and, Huff Post, stop treating us like idiots. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
Phil Cardarella
7 months, 1 week agoPaul was a no-fun kind of guy who effectively invented Christianity in his own up-tight image.
The Jesus of the Gospels seems like a much better guy to share a beer with.