Why Catholics Must Not Vote for Obama

As everyone is well aware, we have an election tomorrow.  For weeks I have wanted to post about the election, but the right words just never seen to come.  Many of my most cherished beliefs have been under attack by the Obama Administration—my religious liberty, the lives of unborn babies, and the sanctity of marriage.  Such big issues, I just didn’t know where to start.

But I feel a duty to speak the truth.  So here it goes.  It’s pretty simple really.  No Catholic, and really no person of faith, can in good conscience vote for Obama.  You may vote for Romney, and you may vote 3^rd party, but you cannot vote for Barack Obama.  Now allow me to explain.

Obviously, there are many issues at play in this election—the economy, unemployment, the debt crisis, and health care, to name a few.  How we balance the budget, create jobs, and care for those experiencing hard times are all points of legitimate political debate.  Good Catholics can have very different ideas about the best way to serve the common good.  One may think that a larger federal government is needed to create a social safety net for our poorest citizens.  Another may think this an unwise approach, and instead prefer stronger state governments or more Church-based activism.  Good and holy people may differ.

But none of these issues can be the basis for our vote on Tuesday.  Perhaps if we had two candidates that respected our religious liberty, the right to life of all human beings, and marriage, we could afford to base our vote on the best way to solve our debt crisis or serve those out-of-work in our community.  Sadly, this is not the case.

In this election we have one candidate who respects none of these values.  Instead, President Obama has openly attacked them.

1. Liberty

Thanks to Obamacare and the HHS mandate, starting in January, Catholic organizations will be forced to pay for insurance coverage of contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs for their employees, or face a steep fine.  No longer is the President just asking the Church to stay out of people’s bedrooms.  He’s now requiring the Church to pay for the supplies and the consequences of what happens there, even if doing so violates their teachings, and even if it requires them to support an act (abortion) that they deem to be murder.

And if you think Obama offered the Church a compromise, think again.  There’s a reason that Notre Dame, who so eagerly welcomed Obama to its commencement in 2009, is now suing the Administration.  And Notre Dame is not alone—there’s around 60 plaintiffs now suing over the HHS Mandate.  And not all of them are Catholic.  This is about allowing religious organizations to be who they are.

Joe Biden recently explained during the vice-presidential debate that, while he believes as a Catholic that abortion is wrong, he can’t force a pregnant woman to oppose abortion.  Well here’s the irony, Joe: While you’re hiding behind your “personally opposed” rhetoric, your boss is now forcing pro-lifers to support abortion.

2. Life

Speaking of abortion, could Obama be any worse?  How extreme can you get?  He supports legalized abortion in all circumstances.  Six months, full-term, born alive, he believes every woman has the right to a dead baby.  This is a man who refused to sign the Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act!    And the extremism is not diminishing—rather, it’s just picking up steam.  You can’t watch TV these days without seeing a commercial touting Obama’s commitment to reproductive rights.  Do you remember Bill Clinton making his commitment to abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign?

Here’s Princeton professor Robert George:

President Obama is by far the greatest friend the abortion lobby and the movement for legal abortion and its public funding ever had in the White House.  If you don’t believe me, just ask them.  He’s their man.  Obama fervently believes, and has consistently acted on the belief, that children in utero have no rights that others must respect.  He opposes any meaningful legal protections for unborn babies.  Under the regime of law he supports, they may be killed at any time for any reason; and he has vowed to make sure things stay that way.  He has even opposed the prohibition of sex-selection abortions.  For the full litany of the President’s offenses against sanctity of life principles, just visit the websites of major pro-life organizations such as the National Right to Life Committee, Americans United for Life, and the Susan B. Anthony List.  Or, if you prefer, you can get the information from the websites of major pro-abortion groups, such as Planned Parenthood or NARAL.  It doesn’t matter which side you go to for the info.  Obama and his supporters do not try to hide his abortion extremism.  They celebrate and praise him for it.  (They just don’t call it extremism.  They call it support for “reproductive health.”)

And don’t fall into the trap of thinking abortion is just one of many issues.  In the U.S., over one million babies die each year by abortion.  If you think that cuts to Medicare or funding for soup kitchens are of an equivalent value, you’ve lost all sense of proportion.

3. Marriage

And finally, we have Obama’s recent flip-flop on same-sex marriage, providing Catholics yet another reason to find him an unacceptable candidate.  This issue has also provided yet another example of Obama pandering to the socially liberal wing of his party.  When it comes to issues of sexual morality, you can always count on Obama to be on the wrong side.

So there you have it.  Three issues: religious liberty, the right to life, and the sanctity of marriage.  Issues of foundational importance to any society.  Issues where the President has chosen to take the side of intrinsic evil, and on a major scale.  Obama is simply an unacceptable candidate.