Does anybody read these?

My right to choose ... a Democrat.

Someone asked me today how I can be Catholic and support Barack Obama. This person brought up the dreaded a-word.

Anyone who's read my blog for more than a week knows that the Catholic church and I don't agree on everything, but it's the only church I got. And, even if the Pope himself tries to run me off with his little scepter, I'm not going anywhere.

David Wilhelm, who has been one of my personal heroes since I met him way back in 1995, once spoke to the Christian Coalition. This is an excerpt of that speech:

I believe and trust in Jesus Christ, and I am a Democrat.

I am a Christian, and I am also a Democrat.

Now, I am no preacher. I am no great theologian. I try not to
take myself too seriously.

But I do take my faith seriously.

And like most Americans, I believe strongly that God and faith are
not and can not be the province of one political party or movement.

No party has a corner on the allegiance of the community of
believers.

However inconvenient it might be, God is an Independent.

And no entity can claim to speak for all persons who believe in Christ and consider themselves to be Christians.

I don't believe that Jesus is a Republican or Democrat. I don't believe that he thinks either of these candidates are particularly good or bad. In all honesty, I believe Jesus would be appalled with our nation for many, many reasons. So, I just have to have hope and vote based on what I want America to look like. And, no, I don't want anyone to kill the babies. But I don't want them to kill the prisoners either. I want everyone to have food and a warm home. I don't want my cousin to be sick because she lost her job and couldn't get health insurance until it was too late and she had cancer. I think America is the greatest country in the world, and I think we're better than that.

I don't truly believe anyone is for abortion. And yes, I understand Catholics should think abortion is bad. And I do. But not everyone's Catholic, and I don't want anyone's religion to dictate our country's policy. Because believe you and me, if churches start calling the shots in this country, it won't be the Catholic Church. Those fundamentalists might hate the baby killers and the lesbians, but they hate Catholics just as much. Don't fool yourself about that.

As a political scientist, I realize that abortion and gay marriage are "wedge issues," and I'm not taking the bait. And besides, I don't like that my best friend is treated like a second-class citizen. I don't like that he feels like his church abandoned him, and I'm not giving up my faith without a fight.

I'm not perfect. I believe in stem-cell research. Yeah, I said it. Stem-cells could help me have healthy babies. How the hell could I be against that? And yes, I realize that's a little selfish. But, I'd also love for paralyzed people to walk again and for Parkinson's disease to go away, so I'm not entirely selfish.

And, for the most part, I agree with the church. I've never even thought about an abortion (of course, I also swear by birth control, so maybe my seat in hell is already saved). I told my divorced boyfriend to get an annulment before he asked me to marry him. So, I'm not a complete godless heathen. But no one's perfect, and I just think we all need to stop judging people.

I truly believe that abortion can't be the only issue. It just can't. I can't choose a war-monger and a woman who shoots polar bears out of helicopters over someone who wants people to earn a fair wage and have affordable health care. And, besides, exactly how many abortions has Barack Obama had and/or performed?!?

posted by Laura at 11:33 PM