Sullivan recognizes in her article that "in some respects, President Obama only has himself to blame for the current controversy," but that’s just a token offering she makes to objectivity so she can continue to make her ideological point: the bishops are overreacting and Catholics should be embarrassed of fighting – actually "crusading"- against FOCA.
But FOCA has also provided ammunition for those on the right who want to paint Obama as "the most pro-abortion president ever." It's been less than a month since he took office, but so far the President has given social conservatives little evidence to back up that charge.
After looking so well-informed about the history of FOCA and Obama’s role in its drafting, one wonders if Sullivan honestly believes that "social conservatives" can’t make a case that Obama is "the most pro-abortion president ever."
With the exception of a handful of Catholics and Evangelicals, most practicing Christians are aware that Obama’s pro-abortion record is unmatched by any previous Democratic candidate, especially when it comes to the Born Alive Act in Illinois.
Obama is the most pro-abortion politician ever to take office. Period.
"Social conservatives" do not need more evidence; Obama’s track record as a senator is enough.
It is the President who must show that he has changed from the pro-abortion fanatic he has always been, and so far he hasn’t given any proof of it. On the contrary, the reversal of the Mexico City Policy and the appointment of pro-abortion activists to prominent positions within his Administration give no sign that he desires "common ground" with pro-lifers.
Sullivan then quotes one of the usual suspects:
James Salt, director of organizing for the progressive organization Catholics United, thinks the USCCB has been prodded into focusing on FOCA by misinformation from right-wing groups. "These right-wing organizations are deliberatively misleading people in order to stoke the culture war," says Salt. "They're using this as a fundraising tool, as a way to gin up their relevancy. And unfortunately some of these groups have the ear of certain bishops."
Nobody can blame Sullivan for doing her job as a liberal evangelical. But Salt, who claims to be a "non partisan" Catholic, implies that the bishops are "useful idiots" of right wingers.
According to Salt, "certain" bishops are controlled by the right wing conspiracy, and those "certain" bishops control the whole USCCB. Is Salt implying that the American bishops, who unanimously voted in favor of fighting FOCA, were manipulated and are still being manipulated by some shadowy extremists, and that the bishops don’t really believe in what they say?
Catholic or not, Salt has a well-known background as a Democrat field operative, and as such, he is making a very wrongheaded move. Telling the bishops "you are idiots" is not the best way to get their attention.
(Column continues below)
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Sullivan tries to reiterate her point that some Catholics are embarrassed and that every other Catholic should be too:
Some of the USCCB's own policy staffers are reportedly frustrated by the attention given to FOCA. And a few Catholic officials have even taken the rare step of speaking out to correct misinformation about the issue.
As an example of these "frustrated" Catholics, Sullivan points to a recent article from Catholic News Service quoting Sister Carol Keehan, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, who basically "corrects" the bishops on FOCA.
Sullivan ignores –but Salt & company should know- that the article has not moved the bishops one inch over their concern about FOCA, and instead has placed CNS in hot water with several of them.
The fact is that the bishops’ attention on FOCA is not going to wane, and they won’t be embarrassed into relaxing the pressure. They know that the bill is moribund, but they want to make sure it stays that way. Also chief among their concerns is that Catholics not grow complacent to the threat of the same anti-life measures being achieved through other legislative means, as witnessed to by the stimulus package.
Sullivan is, in other words, asking Catholics to give the current government, completely controlled by pro-abortion leaders, "a break" on the pro-life front. But the bishops have no reason to trust Barak Obama or Nancy Pelosi. Not when they know their respective records on life issues. If the issue is saving babies, the pressure must stay on. Sullivan and Salt will just have to get used to it.