Saturday, January 5, 2008

Huckabee Talking Catholic Principles of Govt in NH

Oh how the political nerd in me wishes I lived in Iowa or New Hampshire. It is pretty amazing if you are half involved that there is a good chance during a 2 year period that the next leader of the Free World might stop by to chat with you in your living room.

Anyway today Mike was in New Hampshire. The not to Mike Friendly Corner Blog of National Review had this very good entry.

Huck and Chuck [Rich Lowry]
I only could stay for Huckabee's 15-minute opening remarks at a packed—I mean packed—event at a gym in a Londonberry middle school this morning, but it was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. It was one of the most stirring and persuasive defenses of self-government and limited governmentincluding the doctrine of subsidiarity—that I have heard in a long time. This guy is very good, and very shrewd—after playing the evangelical card in Iowa, today he was saying how America is all about "live free or die." If McCain beats Romney here, you have to favor McCain for the nomination, but you can't totally discount the possibility that Huckabee wins it, if it turns out that McCain still has limited appeal to bedrock Republicans despite a win here (and perhaps Michigan too) and if Huckabee can broaden out from evangelicals.
01/05 06:16 PM

Now ignore the negative "playing the evangelical card:" comment. In my neck of the words it is called understanding and being able to talk to your audience. Reagan did it and it was brilliant. Huckabee does it and it's playing a "card". Ohh politics!!!! However I do appreciate him giving a nice insighful view of this event. Keep it coming

However what caught my attention is what I bolded in the above Lowery entry. That is the doctrine of Subsidiarity. Bush uses this term a lot especially in front of Catholic audiences. Let's hope it is making the big time now again in a serious way.

What Huckabee is doing is talking about the Catholic Principles of Governing. We see in the Catechism:
1883 Socialization also presents dangers. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. The teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which "a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co- ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good."7
1884 God has not willed to reserve to himself all exercise of power. He entrusts to every creature the functions it is capable of performing, according to the capacities of its own nature. This mode of governance ought to be followed in social life. The way God acts in governing the world, which bears witness to such great regard for human freedom, should inspire the wisdom of those who govern human communities. They should behave as ministers of divine providence.
1885 The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention. It aims at harmonizing the relationships between individuals and societies. It tends toward the establishment of true international order.

Now this was made quite explicit and developed by Pope Pope Leo XIII in May 15, 1891 in Rerum Novarum and is one the foundations of Catholic Social thought. It was further developed The principle was further developed in Pope Pius XI encyclical Quadragesimo Ann of 1931.

So Mike is wowing them with Catholic thought and talk of limited Govt. What will the press that wants to say he is just somebody that is only in tuned to evangelicals and want big govt going to say. I guess the Club for Lies I mean Growth better spend another 750,000 dollars so it can make more TV ads lying about Mike's record in Arkansas.

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