Anti-Catholic Blogger Quits Edwards Campaign

From Associated Press via Breitbart.com:

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- One of the chief campaign bloggers for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards quit Monday after conservative critics raised questions about her history of provocative online messages.

Amanda Marcotte posted on her personal blog, Pandagon, that the criticism "was creating a situation where I felt that every time I coughed, I was risking the Edwards campaign." Marcotte said she resigned from her position Monday, and that her resignation was accepted by the campaign.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, demanded last week that Edwards fire Marcotte and a second blogger, Melissa McEwan, for remarks he deemed anti-Catholic. Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, called the messages personally offensive, but decided to keep Marcotte and McEwan on staff.

"No matter what you think about the campaign, I signed on to be a supporter and a tireless employee for them, and if I can't do the job I was hired to do because Bill Donohue doesn't have anything better to do with his time than harass me, then I won't do it," Marcotte wrote Monday night.

Maybe she resigned in response to this:

February 12, 2007

EDWARDS BLOGGER STRIKES AGAIN: THEY MUST BE FIRED NOW!

One of the two women who got John Edwards into hot water by making vulgar anti-Christian comments has struck again. Yesterday, Amanda Marcotte reviewed a movie, “Children of Men,” on the blogsite Pandagon.

“The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal,” she said, “where god is viewed as so powerful he can impregnate without befouling himself by touching a woman, and women are nothing but vessels.”

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, commented as follows:

“On February 8, John Edwards addressed the writings of Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan saying ‘that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it’s intended as satire, humor or anything else.’ [Click here to see what he was referring to.] On February 11, Marcotte struck again.

“Anyone who actually believes that the birth of Jesus by the Virgin Mary is ‘generally interpreted’ as being a sexist exercise obviously lives in an anti-Christian ghetto. The 85 percent of Americans who are Christian do not believe this, and most of the other 15 percent do not either. Only those who think ill of Christianity could write such insulting commentary.

“John Edwards had better fire Marcotte and McEwan immediately. As I said last week on TV, these two foul-mouthed bigots are loose cannons with no particular loyalty to Edwards. I was just proven right.”

My Comments:
If you're going to ask me if I'm happy that Miss Marcotte is now out of a job, my answer is "Not really." I would prefer that she not hold (or at least didn't put in writing) such obscene and objectionable opinions at all. Then this would never have been an issue. Barring that, I wish the Edwards team had done a little more homework before hiring Miss Marcotte. (Actually, I believe they knew EXACTLY what they were doing in hiring her.) And, honestly, I do wish Miss Marcotte would have stayed on with the Edwards team, if for no other reason, to act as an anti-Catholic albatross around the guy's neck. Her quitting let that coward off too easily.

Of course, this is just going to place the focus of this whole debacle back on Bill Donohue rather than on Edwards' boneheaded decision to hire and stick by these anti-Catholic blogettes. But again, the issue isn't whether or not Donohue has said or done inappropriate things, but rather that a candidate who wants to be taken seriously as a presidential contender doesn't believe it to be inappropriate to keep bigots on his staff.

Nevertheless, whatever the shortcomings of Miss Marcotte, by quitting today she has proven that she has bigger b***s than Edwards does. Of course, Johnny has the prettier hair.


UPDATE (13 February)
Diogenes notes AP's compliant efforts to make Bill Donohue the story by painting him as the aggressor and the anti-Catholic blogette as a "targeted" victim. You see, according to AP, her comments were only "deemed" by Donohue to be offensive to Catholics. Nope, no bias there.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Diogenes on the Edwards Bloggers

Edwards Blogger Flap Discomforts Religious Left

Mark Shea: "Whores for Edwards Swings into Action"

Catholic League: "John Edwards Tolerates Anti-Catholicism"

Edwards Takes Stand in Favor of Anti-Catholicism

That Was Fast: Edwards Campaign Fires Bloggers

John Edwards Hires Anti-Catholic As His Campaign Blogmaster (Blogmistress?)