Michael Steele, RNC Chief, Says Abortion "is An Individual Choice," Will Unnerve GOP Establishment

For once I agree with something Republican National Committee leader Michael Steele has said. In an interview with GQ’s Lisa DePaulo, he stated that abortion is an “individual choice. The problem for him is that isn’t likely to go over very well with the GOP. Of course, Steele is on the verge of a no-confidence vote, so some may wave it off as further ignorance on his part of his new role.

The key passage:

L: How much of your pro-life stance, for you, is informed not just by your catholic faith, but by the fact that you were adopted?

M: Oh, a lot. Absolutely. I see the power of life in that. I mean, and the power of choice! The thing to keep in mind about it, uh, you know, I think as a country we get off on these misguided conversations that throw around terms that really misrepresent truth.

L: Explain that.

M: The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or the other.

L: Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?

M: Yeah. I mean, again, I think that’s an individual choice.

L: You do?

M: Yeah. Absolutely.

L: Are you saying you don’t want to overturn Roe v. Wade?

M: I think Roe v. Wade–as a legal matter, Roe v. Wade was a wrongly decided matter.

L: Okay, but if you overturn Roe v. Wade, how do women have the choice you just said they should have?

M: The states should make that choice: that’s what the choice is. The individual choice rests in the states. Let them decide.

Hmmm. I have one question, since he considers abortion an “individual choice,” specifically who counts as an individual in his mind? Goodness, you thought President Bush could mince words or completely befuddle one with his sentences. Eureka, we have found a the heir apparent to Bushisms — Michael Steele. I believe abortion is a personal issue that the government has no business trying to legislate. Though I share some views of the Republican Party on the matter, it is an individual choice and should be treated by all as such.

Filed under: Abortion, GOP, Individual Choice, Michael Steele, Republican National Committe, Roe vs. Wade

Rev. Jay Scott Newman, S.C. Priest Tells Parishioners Who Voted for Barack Obama, Not to Take Communion

Rev. Jay Scott Newman, a South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has reportedly told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because he supports abortion. He said that supporting him “constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil.” Wow, so Barack Obama is the scourge of the Catholic Church. What a bunch of hypocrites. It’s okay to sweep the numerous incidents of child molestation under a rug, but it is okay to vilify Obama for his views.

The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.

“Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president,” Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name of Hussein.

“Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ’s Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation.” Source: Breitbart

This really crazy. During the 2008 presidential campaign, many bishops spoke out on abortion more boldly than four years earlier, telling Catholic politicians and voters that the issue should be the most important consideration in setting policy and deciding which candidate to back. A few church leaders said parishioners risked their immortal soul by voting for candidates who support abortion rights.

According to national exit polls, 54 percent of Catholics chose Obama, who is Protestant. In South Carolina, which McCain carried, voters in Greenville County—traditionally seen as among the state’s most conservative areas—went 61 percent for the Republican, and 37 percent for Obama.

“It was not an attempt to make a partisan point,” Newman said in a telephone interview Thursday. “In fact, in this election, for the sake of argument, if the Republican candidate had been pro-abortion, and the Democratic candidate had been pro-life, everything that I wrote would have been exactly the same.”Source: Breitbart.

This priest is way off base. Let me remind the religious fanatics of the fact that God chooses the people he wants to lead. For example, wasn’t Moses a murderer? David, an adulterer? Mary Magdalene, a prostitute? I could go on and on. This priest is way off base and acting beyond his authority. His actions are selfish and will be of great cost to those parishioners who supported Mr. Obama, a right they are afforded under the Constitution. President Bush is a devout Christian, but he went into war in Iraq on a lie. I don’t hear any religious people being vocal about that. Father Jay Scott Newman, stick to your job of winning souls for Christ, not turning people away.

Filed under: Abortion, Barack Obama, Christianity, President George W. Bush, Rev. Jay Scott Newman, Roman Catholics