“I’m here as a Catholic Christian and an American citizen -- in that order. Both of these identities are important. They don’t need to conflict. They are not, however, the same thing. ... No nation, not even the one I love, has a right to my allegiance, or my silence, in matters that belong to God or that undermine the dignity of the human persons He created.”-Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
Anyone who has ever met me knows that one of my deep passions in life is politics. In fact every time I hear someone say that you should never talk politics or religion with people that you love, I cringe. What else would I talk about? Sometimes I feel that without these two topics, I would become the most boring woman in the world. As we are well into an election year, one of the things that is striking me more profoundly than ever is that there is significant debates going on in Catholic circles regarding who is the “most Catholic” politician running for President.
Every election cycle, I am blown away by the fact that our one, unified, Catholic (universal) Church can have so many faithful people that COMPLETELY disagree on the role of government in society. Which made me even more excited to discover that one of my favorite publications, Relevant Magazine, wrote a series of articles discussing exactly that- how do Christians vote, and why. So I thought to myself, instead of demonizing other positions, or talking over each other, let’s open up the dialogue and try to see where each other are coming from.
I want to emphasize that each of the people that I asked to write the following articles are FAITHFUL, orthodox Catholics. Please do not write them off based on their politics. These are men and women who are passionately in love with Christ and His Church. That said, here is our first Article- on the Ron Paul Revolution! Kim is a dear friend and household sister of mine. She is the MOST passionate person I have ever met about Ron Paul, so I asked her to write why she is voting for him during this upcoming election. So, here it is (Edited by Jorge Hauman & me)… J
The Ron Paul Revolution
By: Kimberly Lenggiere
“Freedom is not defined by safety. Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal, because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives. Liberty has meaning only if we still believe in it when terrible things happen and a false government security blanket beckons.” ― Ron Paul
My name is Kimberly. I am a faithful Catholic and a proud American. I am pro-life from conception to natural death. I look to the Bishops and the teachings of the Church to form my conscience. Because of my strong Catholic beliefs and my love of what our country was founded to be, I am voting for Ron Paul for president. Let’s begin with a brief overview of Congressman Paul’s record:
* He has never voted to raise taxes.
* He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
* He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
* He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
* He has never taken a government-paid junket.
* He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
* He voted against the Patriot Act.
* He voted against regulating the Internet.
* He voted against the Iraq war.
* He voted against the bailouts.
* He voted against raising the debt ceiling.
* He introduced a popular bipartisan bill to audit the Federal Reserve.
* He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
* He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
Our man Ron is known as “Dr. No” on Capitol Hill. Why? Because the good doctor has never voted for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the constitution. The constitution is the important document our country was founded on that politicians these days seem to believe is irrelevant and not worth following, but I’m sure I’ll mention that later. Let’s focus now on his medical degree.
As a Catholic, I am very concerned that my president is pro-life. In fact, many Catholics become single-issue voters, focusing only on the issue of protecting life. Well my brothers and sisters in Christ, Ron Paul is a pro-life champion. He is an OB/GYN who has delivered more than 4,000 babies, and whose experience in science and medicine only reinforced his belief that life begins at conception. Dr. Paul also believes that life at all stages must be respected and protected –that a baby in the womb at any stage has a God given right to live that we cannot take away. As a physician, Ron Paul consistently put his beliefs into practice and saved lives by helping women seek options other than abortion, including adoption. Ron Paul promises as president that he will continue to fight for the same pro-life solutions he has upheld in Congress, including:
· Immediately saving lives by effectively repealing Roe v. Wade and preventing activist judges from interfering with state decisions on life by removing abortion from federal court jurisdiction through legislation modeled after his “We the People Act.”
· Defining life as beginning at conception by passing a “Sanctity of Life Act.”
Ron Paul is the only candidate in the race with a medical degree. Consider the overreaching policies and mandates of ObamaCare. I, for one, think it would be a good idea to have a man in office that understands how the healthcare industry works, and at the same time is willing to protect our religious liberties. Am I right or am I right? There is also an issue of the unconstitutionality of ObamaCare. Dr. Paul has a deep understanding of the Constitution.
This brings me to another point –his consistency. Ron Paul makes his promises and resolutions like every other politician, but there is a HUGE difference between Ron Paul’s word and the word of Gingrich, Romney, Santorum, Obama, or any other inconsistent and flip-flopping politician. Ron Paul has been saying the same thing for 30 years. He has the most consistent voting record of any politician in Congress. He is a man whose word we can count on, as opposed to a politician who is trying to win votes.
At Ron Paul’s website, you can find an executive summary of his plan to restore America. Check it out here. There are a LOT of issues to look at –bringing our troops home, stopping big government spending, protecting our liberties, protecting the right to life, restoring our economy, and so on and so on, but I am a bit worried that this article is running super long and going to lose your interest (although let’s be real, who could lose interest in Doctor Paul!?!?) so I am going to try to wind it down.
If we do not want Obama in the office, why would we vote for candidates with so many of the same campaign contributors? If Goldman Sachs is going to fund both Obama and Romney, it’s because they have a dog in the fight and need a president who will clean up the messes they make no matter how it affects the people of our nation.
So who is it that is donating to the Ron Paul campaign? Only the army, the air force, the navy… oh right, the men who actually defend our country. Military donors prefer Ron Paul –he has received more funding from our armed forces than any of the other candidates (Obama included) COMBINED. It isn’t just because he is the only veteran among the candidates, but because he understands why the rest of the world seems to hate America and what we need to do to restore our leadership and reputation. Don’t like Ron Paul’s foreign policy? Well, our armed forces and CIA leaders do, like Michael Scheuer (former head of the CIA’s Osama bin Laden Unit).
One more point for now: Obama. I am assuming most people are looking for any other candidate at this point. At least if you are reading up on Republican candidates, I would imagine it has something to do with finding an alternative. So can Santorum, Gingrich, Romney, or anyone else beat Obama? Probably not. Since campaigning began, polls have shown that Paul and Romney are the only real contenders against Obama, but we can be honest: Democrats would rather have 4 more years of this crap than vote for a Republican who isn’t going to do much better. However, the most recent Rasmussen poll shows a 2 point favoring of Paul over Obama. Fake conservatives like Santorum and Gingrich will lose to Obama because voters are tired of politicians who sell out their principles for party loyalty. We also know that “Paul-bots” will only vote for Paul in this coming election regardless of if he is running as a republican, constitutionalist, libertarian, or write-in, while close to every registered republican will vote for him if he is on the republican ticket.
No other candidate brings out so many diverse voters the way Paul does –he has won the youth vote in every state so far. He also draws out independents and even the Democrats who are unhappy with Obama’s “change.” I, for one, made the painful decision to become a republican only for the purpose of being able to vote in California’s primary.
Ron Paul also believes in the just war theory, which is incredibly important to us pro-life Catholics. Before the U.S House of Representatives in 2005, Ron Paul spoke with the intention of honoring JPII’s pro-life legacy. Dr. Paul stated, “I am pleased to pay tribute to Pope John Paul II. I would encourage those who wish to honor his memory to reflect on his teachings regarding war and the sanctity of life, and consider the inconsistencies in claiming to be pro-life but supporting the senseless killing of innocent people that inevitably accompanies militarism, or in claiming to be pro-peace and pro-compassion but supporting the legal killing of the unborn.”
Dr. Ron Paul is a 12 term Congressman (which, let’s be honest, disproves the whole, “unelectable” theory). He understands the importance of upholding the constitution and preserving our liberties (the bigger our government the smaller our liberties, and our government is a freaking GOLIATH right now). He is pro-life, pro-freedom, and pro-America. He is the last true patriot. He is a doctor, a veteran, a politician, and a brilliant economist. Ron Paul knows history (which we are doomed to repeat if we do not learn from it). He knows we need a smaller government, less spending, and that we need to bring our troops home. He draws support from every walk of life. I can’t think of a very eloquent way to wrap this up, but check out his campaign site – www.RonPaul2012.com. Check out his stances on the issues. Watch his videos. Understand his beliefs. If you are trying to vote as close to a Catholic conscience as possible, Ron Paul is the only choice.
