Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Democrats Attack Church in Disgusting Ad

Matthew Archbold reports at National Catholic Register that the Democrat Party isn't even trying to hide its disdain for the Church anymore:


Matt's piece is mistaken about one thing: the Democrat Farm-Labor Party is not some "Democrat Party supporting independent non profit group"; the DFL is THE official Democrat Party in the state of Minnesota. This is the Democrat Party in Minnesota blatantly attacking the Church.

This is what you tacitly support when you vote for Democrats. That doesn't mean you should vote for Republicans (who aren't exactly paragons of Catholic virtue either), but when you vote for the Democrats, you're voting for an ideology inherently hostile to the Catholic faith.

And this is just the first step, believe me. As our old friend Regular Guy Paul has noted, "Liberalism Leads To Religious Persecution".


(Hat tip: Creative Minority Report)


UPDATE
I'm hearing that what appears on the other side of this mailer is aimed at a Protestant clergyman. Once I have confirmation of that, I will update this post with the information.


UPDATE #2
Here is Matt Archbold's response to the suggestion that this ad specifically targets a particular Protestant clergyman:
Nobody doubts that the piece hits Tim Pawlenty and Dan hall on the other side but there can’t be any doubt that it uses the image of a Catholic priest to deliver its messsage. The other side is about healthcare for the poor and who the Democrats blame for holding up Obamacare? The bishops. It’s that simple.
On the other hand, Commonweal provides the reverse side of the mailer in an effort to bolster the argument that it is not aimed at the Catholic Church.

But I'm not buying the argument. "Preacher Hall" doesn't wear a Roman collar. "Preacher Hall" is shown on the reverse side in a coat and tie. So why the Roman collar on the front? I agree with Matt that it is to represent a Catholic priest.

Matt is correct that the reverse side of the flyer is an attack on those who opposed ObamaCare, like Governor Tim Pawlenty. "Preacher Hall" is attacked in the ad for "remain[ing] silent" over alleged health care cuts and for endorsing someone else who "stands with Pawlenty in rejecting over $1 billion" in ObamaCare funds.

C'mon! This ad isn't about "Preacher Hall". This ad is about ObamaCare and the people of faith who don't support it. People like the USCCB. How stupid do you think we are? "Preacher Hall" is merely a stand in for all the people who oppose ObamaCare because of its abortion funding. Again, people like the USCCB.

Since "Preacher Hall" doesn't wear a Roman collar, and since the ad is a targeted attack on people of faith who oppose ObamaCare - "Don't pass this off on God" - I think it is quite appropriate to conclude that the image on the front of the mailer represents a Catholic priest and to see this ad as an attack on the Church for its opposition to ObamaCare.


UPDATE #3 (27 October)
Kathryn Lopez offers her take at The Corner:
... I think it’s safe to say it’s unholy politics. That’s a bipartisan problem for sure. But there is reason for bipartisan, ecumenical offense here. It’s an insult to suggest there isn’t some convenient anti-Catholicism here. But more so, it’s an insult to intelligent debate. Tim Pawlenty doesn’t “Ignore the Poor,” and I don’t know many men of the cloth who do either.

The Democratic party in Minnesota disagrees with cuts the governor made and this candidate won’t throw under the bus (to use the most overused phrase in politics). Democrats can easily make that point without the use and abuse of clerics.

UPDATE #4 (27 October)
Ed Morrissey, who lives in Minnesota, has more on the story:
If the Minnesota DFL intended to make a splash in an otherwise-obscure state Senate race, well, they succeeded. The party, which is the Minnesota version of the Democratic Party, sent out a mailer attacking Republican challenger and Christian minister Dan Hall by accusing him of ignoring the poor for opposing ObamaCare. However, the front of the postcard shows a headless man wearing the traditional shirt and collar worn by Roman Catholic priests, with a button that proclaims “Ignore the Poor” — which has a large number of Catholics in Minnesota angry over a perceived attack on their church. KSTP reported on the mailer and the DFL silence last night...

[...]

The flip side of the mailer is a classic case of a cheap-shot, last-minute attack campaign that both parties indulge in the final stretch of an election, but the front picture goes way beyond anything in recent memory in attacking a church of any kind in a political campaign. The full context in which this was issued makes it difficult to believe the archdiocese’s expressed hope that this was just a poor decision. A few weeks ago, the Catholic bishop issued DVDs with the Catholic Church’s arguments on same-sex marriage, which the DFL and its supporters decried as interference in the election. This looks suspiciously like payback...

[More]

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

7 Comments:

At 10/26/2010 4:10 PM, Blogger Katherine said...

Anti-Catholic? No.

The piece is directed against a Protestant minister who is also the Republican candidate for a state senate seat, the Rev. Dan Hall. Had you included the rest of the flyer this would have been clear.

I’m not sure this was the best piece but I am also sure that the Catholic Church does not own the clerical collar. It is worn by the majority of Protestant and Orthodox clergy in Minnesota.

Why do you choose not to show the whole mailer? It takes issue with Rev. Hall for not supporting a Minnesota Health Care bill endorsed by the Catholic Church.
Rev. Hall makes a big deal that he is a clergyman in his campaign to be a Republican state senator. The DFL respond that he seems to be a clergyman that does not care for the poor the way other clergy including the Catholic Church calls for.

 
At 10/26/2010 4:31 PM, Blogger Pro Ecclesia said...

The image comes from National Catholic Register. Perhaps you could ask them why they didn't show the other side. If you have access to it, you're perfectly cabable of and welcome to provide a link to the entire thing so that we can see what's on the other side.

By the way, the "clerical collar" to which you refer is accurately called the "Roman collar". As in Roman Catholic. That other denominations may choose to wear it does not make it any less associated with the Catholic Church.

If you are correct about the context of the ad, I will happily update my post to reflect that. But even so, the image on the ad is needlessly provocative.

 
At 10/26/2010 9:20 PM, Blogger Katherine said...

If you are correct about the context of the ad, I will happily update my post to reflect that. But even so, the image on the ad is needlessly provocative.

I appreicate your correction and update of the previous post.

You might be right that the ad is needlessly provocative.

But the point is that Rev. Hall, who is running as a Republican political candidate while making the big deal of the fact he is a clergyman, is out of step with most Minnesota clergy, including the Catholic Bishops and the Lutheran Synod. The narrative makes the point that unlike Catholic, Lutheran and other clergy, Rev. Hall has opposed important programs to provide health care for the poor in Minnesota.

The cover photo is jarring because we do not expect clergy to be this way. So voters should not expect the election of Rev. Hall to put in office a man who is reflective of clergy in Minnesota.

Side Issue: "Roman Collar" is the style. Another style of clerical collar is the "English Collar" (the term English only being a geogrpahical reference of it origin; it is not particular to Anglicanism).

However, they are all clerical collars used by Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox clergy and not an indentifier or mark of a particular church. It is a general indication of Christian clergy.

 
At 10/27/2010 10:24 AM, Blogger DP said...

The idea that it isn't an oblique slam/payback at Catholicism is pretty much eliminated by the existence of this other flyer featuring a St. Anthony side altar.

Again, why the specifically Catholic imagery here?

http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Preacher-Politician.jpg

 
At 10/27/2010 10:25 AM, Blogger DP said...

The idea that it isn't an oblique slam/payback at Catholicism is pretty much eliminated by the existence of this other flyer featuring a St. Anthony side altar.

Again, why the specifically Catholic imagery here?

http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Preacher-Politician.jpg

 
At 10/27/2010 10:26 AM, Blogger DP said...

Sorry for the double post.

Another point: the *best* thing that can be said is that the brass at the DFL are utterly uncomprehending of Christian imagery and differences. And that's still breathtakingly stupid and a bad sign in and of itself.

 
At 10/28/2010 11:40 AM, Blogger Katherine said...

Well, they have convinced me I would never vote for Rev. Hall.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

hit counter for blogger