Obama

[Mikaele]

I'm not even living or from the States. But I was wondering, is Catholicism compatible with some of the bad policies Obama supports?Can you be a Catholic in good standing and still support this man?

Edited September 27, 2010 by Mikaele

[CatherineM]

Short answer--no.

Long answer--absolutely not.

[Micah]

[quote name='CatherineM' timestamp='1285631749' post='2176322']
Short answer--no.

Long answer--absolutely not.
[/quote]

lawl [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/smile2.gif[/img]

[Lilllabettt]

The question is, what do you mean by "support". Vote for?
I know several serious, devout Catholics who held their noses and voted for Mr. Obama.
They all had their reasons. One I know decided that Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama both supported different kinds of abortion, but that Mr. Obama's social policies were more likely to reduce the number that actually happen. I feel that reasoning is rubbish, but my reasoning is my own.

Who to vote for in a given election is a prudential judgment. It is a weighty responsibility, but I have seen "real" Catholics come to different conclusions. In the end it's a matter of conscience, and we can't say if someone is a real Catholic just by their voting record.

If by support you mean go "rah-rah-rah, he's the bestest!" then absolutely no. I don't know of any politician a Catholic could say that about. Both major parties lend their support to intrinsic evil, and hardly deserve a ticker-tape parade.

[MithLuin]

[quote name='Mikaele' timestamp='1285629354' post='2176309']
I'm not even living or from the States. But I was wondering, is Catholicism compatible with some of the bad policies Obama supports?Can you be a Catholic in good standing and still support this man?
[/quote]

I think one would have to be rather naive or ignorant to support his policies and be a Catholic in good standing. His stance on abortion alone is appalling (and this was clear long before he was elected president).

However, when it comes down to elections, people often are stuck choosing the lesser of two evils (the US has only 2 major political parties, so there are only two choices in the presidential election, really). Because there are a wide variety of issues and not all voters are well-informed, I think it would be possible to be a Catholic who agrees with Church teaching and to have chosen Obama.

I didn't vote for the man, of course.

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='MithLuin' timestamp='1285637616' post='2176352']
However, when it comes down to elections, people often are stuck choosing the lesser of two evils[/quote]
[color="#FF0000"][b]False.[/b][/color] One may always abstain from voting.
[quote] (the US has only 2 major political parties, so there are only two choices in the presidential election, really). [/quote]
As long as the mindset remains like this, the system will never change. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when people say, "Well only a Republican or Democrat will ever win the presidential election, so I guess I have to vote for one of them." Yeah, no kidding only a Republican't or Democrook will win when the national mindset is that one can vote only for one of the two. If every Catholic voted Constitution Party, Alan Keyes would have won the election with ease.

Unless a truly decent candidate comes along for one of the two major parties in November 2013, I will be marking my X next to a minor party candidate - a candidate that I actually endorse, not the one I view as the least awful.

[Winchester]

I voted for Alan Keyes.

[Winchester]

Yes, you can be a real Catholic and vote for Obama. Being a moron doesn't make you a fake Catholic.

[MithLuin]

I understand that, [b]USAir[/b]. It's also true that if not enough people switch, you are throwing your vote away and helping to elect the candidate you'd least like. So, it's a matter of determining whether or not throwing oneself on one's sword is a valid reaction. It may well be...or you could look at it as helping to re-elect Obama. Either way. Ross Perot was the most serious third party candidate we've had in a long time...and he managed to win Clinton two terms by splitting the vote.


I generally avoid discussing politics (in real life and online) because I hate it. It's very difficult for me to respect [i]any[/i] of them. And I have no idea who Alan Keyes is.

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='MithLuin' timestamp='1285641809' post='2176376']
I understand that, [b]USAir[/b]. It's also true that if not enough people switch, you are throwing your vote away and helping to elect the candidate you'd least like.[/quote]
Nonsense. To vote not for the candidate that one endorses, but rather the one which is thought to have a good chance of winning is to waste a vote (and seems more fitting for the racetrack than the polls, too).[quote]It's very difficult for me to respect [i]any[/i] of them. And I have no idea who Alan Keyes is.
[/quote]
Maybe I'd think nothing of third parties as well if I hadn't done much research about them. The most dangerous voter is the uninformed one.

[sixpence]

i dunno.. i think you either need to abstain from voting as USAirways says... or choose how you want to kill people...directly through allowing abortion etc, or indirectly through poor environmental policy leading to scarce natural resources and severe natural disasters...

[dUSt]

[un.privileged]

Neither McCain nor Obama deserve any vote.

[Winchester]

[quote name='dUSt' timestamp='1285648342' post='2176396']

[/quote]
In Mother Russia, dead horse beats [i]you[/i]!

[Lilllabettt]

[quote name='Winchester' timestamp='1285676788' post='2176420']
In Mother Russia, dead horse beats [i]you[/i]!
[/quote]


Opulence, youze haz eat.