Why Catholics Can’t be Democrats

I seldom comment on US party politics, but I'm making an exception for this hard hitting essay which makes a powerful argument.

From Complete Christianity

Suppose this were 1930 Germany, and we were listening to some Catholics tell us that while they disagreed with the racial policies of the Nazi Party, they favored the party’s stand on social safety nets and feeding the poor. So that made membership in the Nazi Party okay, right? Or suppose this were 1920 Russia, and we were listening to Orthodox Christians tell us that while they disagreed with the totalitarian atheism of the Communist Party, they agreed with the party’s stand on wealth redistribution, free healthcare, free education and guaranteed housing. So that made membership in the Communist Party okay, right? These are the exact same arguments being employed by Catholics today in 21st-century America in regards to the Democrat Party. As Catholics, they disagree with the party’s position on abortion-on-demand, all the way up to the moment before birth, but they agree with the party’s stand for universal healthcare, affordable education, and green energy. So it’s okay for a Catholic to be a member of the Democrat Party and vote for Democrat politicians, right? Sure it is! So long as you agree that it was okay for Catholics to be members of the Nazi Party in 1930 and for Orthodox to be members of the Communist Party in 1920. If that’s what you’re saying, then yes, it’s perfectly consistent for Catholics to be members of the Democrat Party in the United States in the 21st century.

Obviously, I disagree with that, and I am convinced that the Democrat Party has moved so far away from moral decency that it’s impossible for any Catholic to make the case, in a reasonable way, for why it’s okay for him/her to remain a Democrat, and vote for Democrat politicians. It seems to be the epitome of hypocrisy and contradiction. How could any Catholic be supportive of a party, and politicians, who advocate and facilitate the wholesale slaughter of innocent human life? Could the argument be made that this is worse than what the Nazis and Communists did? I suppose it could. For as horrible as the Nazis and Communists were, one could say that at least some of their victims (perhaps a tiny fraction) were corrupt and wicked people. If just 1% of the Nazi and Communist victims, or even 0.1% of them, were bad apples, then we can honestly say that what the Democrats are doing is worse than the Nazis and Communists. Why? Because 100% of the victims, the Democrats advocate and facilitate the murder of, are completely innocent of all evil. Nobody can say a pre-born infant is guilty of a crime. Nobody can say a pre-born infant is guilty of immorality. Nobody can say a pre-born infant is even guilty of a single bad word or thought. A pre-born infant is the pristine example of innocence, and yet these are the people the Democrat Party works so hard to insure that they are exterminated from the face of the earth. So yes, in my estimation, just on a moral level, what the Democrats are doing is worse than what the Nazis and Communists did.

Then there’s the body count. It is estimated the Nazis systematically murdered approximately 10 to 12 million people, of which 6 million were Jews, which as I said above, not all of them were totally innocent. It is estimated that Communist Russia systematically murdered at least 20 million people, which as I said above, not all of them were totally innocent. While the United States, under the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, has systematically murdered approximately 54 million people, and all of them were 100% innocent. This was done with the full support of the Democrat Party, which has defended the act consistently in every way imaginable, even to the point of demonizing those who oppose it. Is the Democrat Party worse than the Nazi Party and Communist Party? Just in terms of murdering innocent people and body count alone, most certainly, YES!

So how is it that Catholics can justify remaining members of this murderous organization? We could talk about the tyranny of moral relativism, which has metastasized in our society like a cancer. We could talk about the endless propaganda of the Democrat Party and the mainstream news media. We could talk about the influence of labor unions and the tendency of people to vote the way their parents did. All of these factors surely play a role. However, I think the greatest blame lays at the feet of the US Catholic bishops, who for decades have allowed Catholics to believe that it’s okay to support a political party that advocates and facilitates the wholesale slaughter of innocent human life.

What would we say of Catholic bishops in 1930 who said that supporting the Nazi Party was okay? What would we say of Orthodox bishops in 1920 who said that supporting the Communist Party was okay? History would not be kind to them. Nor will history be kind to the US Catholic bishops of our time. History will record that when the greatest human slaughter in North American history was underway, the US Catholic bishops spoke only in terms of vague generalities, and allowed Catholics to believe they could politically support those who advocated and facilitated this violence against innocence. History will record that the vast majority of US Catholic bishops allowed Democrat politicians to remain in the Church, and even receive communion, in spite of their support of this unspeakable evil. No, history may not be kind to the US Catholic bishops of our time, but that’s something we’re just going to have to wait for history to sort out.

In the mean time, you don’t have to be a part of this evil anymore. If you’re a Catholic who is a member of the Democrat Party, or you tend to vote for Democrat politicians, the way to disassociate yourself from it, the way to get your name off it, is to leave the Democrat Party and stop voting for Democrat politicians.

I want to make this very clear, I’m not telling you to join the Republican Party, nor am I telling you to vote for Republicans. I’m saying nothing of the sort. What I’m saying is that if you call yourself a Catholic, you just can’t be a member of the Democrat Party, nor can you vote for Democrat politicians. What you do beyond that is your business and your business alone. You can vote for independent candidates, you can join a third party, or you can refuse to join any party at all. There is no law in these United States that says you must be a member of a political party. You can vote in any general election as an independent and nobody will ask your party affiliation.

On a personal level, and this is just my personal opinion, I believe that Catholics should not be members of any political parties at all. I’m of the personal opinion that Catholics should remain independent voters, and not give our allegiance to any political party or group of politicians. I believe Catholics should be America’s “mystery vote,” that neither party can rely on, so that it forces them to work for our support, rather than take it for granted. That’s just what I think, and I live by it. I’m an independent Catholic voter. I have no party affiliation anymore. Up until this year, my home State of Missouri was an open primary state, which means we could vote in any party we wanted. All we had to do is ask for a certain party ballot when we showed up for the primary. This kind of system was perfect for independent voters like me, who could switch back and forth between parties. It appears that the Republicans in the state legislature are now trying to end this system. If they are successful, I will simply not register under any party. I will officially, on paper, be an independent voter, and I will no longer participate in the state primaries. I think that’s the way Catholic voters should be. It keeps us free and clear of partisan rancor, and it prevents our loyalties from being split between Church teaching and party line. I sincerely hope that other Catholics will do the same. I truly believe it’s the Catholic thing to do.