July 23, 2004

First they came for the Baptists...

Here they go again.

The Republican National Committee has asked Bush-backing Roman Catholics to provide copies of their parish directories to help register Catholics to vote in the November election, a use of personal information not necessarily condoned by dioceses around the country.

In a story posted Thursday [the July 21 column--ed.] on its Web site, the National Catholic Reporter said a GOP official had urged people who attended a Catholic outreach event in January to provide parish directories and membership lists to the political party.

From the NCR column:

In early June, for example, the New York Times reported on a Bush-Cheney appeal to churchgoers. "The Bush-Cheney '04 national headquarters in Virginia has asked us to identify 1600 "Friendly Congregations" in Pennsylvania where voters friendly to President Bush might gather on a regular basis," wrote Luke Bernstein, coalitions coordinator for the Bush campaign in Pennsylvania. "In each of these friendly congregations, we would like to identify a volunteer coordinator who can help distribute general information from other supporters."

"What was striking about the Pennsylvania e-mail message was its directness," said the Times.

No one should be shocked at the lengths each campaign will go to this election to identify and energize their voters. But if asking congregants to help spread a political message is "direct," what does that make asking Catholics to fork over their parish directories to the Republican National Committee?

Did these bastards ever even read the Constitution? Yes, I know it says the government will establish no religion, but the implication has always been there'd be no interference with or subornation of religion for political purposes. Found via Body and Soul, whose post you should also read).

Posted by Linkmeister at July 23, 2004 03:29 PM
Comments

Yeah, Bush will stop at nothing to become re-elected.
I'm expecting Republican spam on my website at any time.
Thank God for Blacklist!!!

Posted by: toxiclabrat at July 24, 2004 05:21 AM

Something I always tried to explain -- with, of course, little or no success -- to Roy-backers is that once religion starts getting involved in government, and government starts sponsoring religion, it won't stop there. It can't stop there. Inevitably, the government is going to start interfering with religion. I then try to point them to histories of the Thirty Years' War, but by then they've run away.

Posted by: Mac Thomason at July 24, 2004 11:23 AM