Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Wanderer's Response to Jim Hitchcock

In 2008, Jim Hitchcock attacked the Wanderer, and Christopher Manion, its columnist and contributing editor, several times in The Human Life Review. The editor graciously allowed us to respond, in an article here.

Hitchcock alleged that the Wanderer had abandoned its pro-life position because it had accused President Bush of abandoning **his** pro-life position. As Grover Norquist pointed out years ago, in Washington, you get only your first priority. The Wanderer's first priority in the moral order is Humanae Vitae, which teaches that not only abortion, but contraception and sterilization are grave and objective evils. We criticized President Bush for embracing the invasion and occupation of Iraq, rather than pro-life principles, as his first priority -- because he never got around to the second one (assuming that the life issues, and not tax cuts, were indeed his second priority).

Good Catholics can disagree about the Iraq War, and we did. But good Catholics cannot abandon the pro-life cause, and we did not. We criticized President Bush for shoving it to the back burner, a strategic decision which is clear to even the most ardent Bush supporter. That his decisions on the war led to the stunning defeats of 2006 and 2008, to the election of Obama and the adoption of ObamaCare, is now clear in hindsight. But even had his policies (which we opposed) led to peace and prosperity, all along shoving the life issues off the table, we would still condemn them for the crass opportunism they manifested, and for the cynical manipulation of the pro-life, pro-family movements that they represented -- because Bush 43 would never have been elected without the ardent support of those movements.

The point of the Rubble column entitled "Three Broken Legs" is simply this: Pro-lifers were betrayed during the Bush years and we should not allow ourselves ever again to ally ourselves with the Republican Party (or any party, for that matter: observe the disaster that has befallen the bishops for allying themselves with the Democrat Party for 100 years!).

Put not your faith in princes!

4 comments:

Lawrence R Rosano said...

Forget BUSH or other politicians: Our "priority" now is to defeat the Obama HHS mandate which is explained in a nutshell how to do so WITHOUT THE LEGISLATURE (Federal or State) at: http://nullify-HHS-mandate.blogspot.com
In Dec/2009, The Rubble exposed USCCB Bishop Murphy as an embarrassment to Roman Catholic Church for failing in Congress to oppose contraception. To the contrary, my above Prolife Strategy does so by opposing abortion as well contraception and sterilization, which I am on record opposing since 1979. See Rosano v. U.S., 9 Cl.Ct. 137 (1985). Feedback on my above blog is appreciated.

Peter the Sinner said...

Dear Chris,

Thanks for your column. I have missed Joe Sobran a lot, and you have done a fine job in his stead. May his soul rest in peace.

Regarding your last Wanderer column: where can I find out more info regarding the 1981 Helms Human Life Bill vs. Hatch Human Life Amendment? I am doing a law school paper on Article III, s. 2 powers (cabining SCOTUS' appellate jurisdiction), and would like to see how far Helms got.

In Christ through Mary,

MB

Lawrence R Rosano said...

Educate yourself and fellow Prolifers on how and why governmental coercion to fund abortion, contraception and sterilization is unconstitutional in fact by reading my blog at: http://nullify-hhs-mandate.blogspot.com Remember Jesus said this: "If you obey my teaching you are really my disciples, (32) you will know the truth, and he truth will make you free", John 8, meaning if you only read my blog, as a bona fide Prolife Christian, you’ll know if it’s the truth when you read it, and when you do, you’ll be free. Jesus said: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Time is of the essence. The more the delay, more babies die.

Lawrence R Rosano said...

Christopher Manion has is all WRONG:
Governmental funding for abortion, contraception and sterilization is not a legislative issue has you prolong the debate raising. But, TO THE CONTRARY, is a a constitutional issue which cuts away the legislative debate entirely. You have a think brain, Christopher. I handed you a few years ago my book at Joe Sobrna's Alexandria VA party. But you never read it (HOW ABORTION WILL BECOME UNCONSTITUTIONAL). Give me one half hour phone interview and you wil then be able to write about how the Catholic Church will overcome the HHS mandate, per se!