A Review of Douglas Kmiec Book On If A Catholic Can Support Obama

Pro -Ecclesia has the link at Deacon Fournier: "Doug Kmiec’s ‘Can a Catholic Support Him?’ Asks the Wrong Question" .

That review hit is right on and punches through the mirage that Prof Kmiec's book. Prof Kmiec if he wishes to be a partisan hack needs to be upfront about it. It is ok to be a partisian hack but please quit dressing up some of these arguments as some great Catholicism. As has been noted the lasted through weeks on this blog and others his arguments as they get more desperate get more misleading.

Here is an excerpt:

Doug maintains that Senator McCain’s position in favor of the overturning of Roe v Wade is simply a "Federalist position" and not a truly Pro-life stance. He argues (contrary to his own past claims) that the reversal of Roe v Wade will not really affect the state of the current law protecting abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy as a “right”.

Exactly. It is amazing to me that Prof Kmiec does not recognize that so many people will not notice this 180 degree change in position. Of course his peers and those that keep up with his work will notice it but he is betting that the average person reading his columns will not. Which I guess is a pretty safe bet as to those folks.

Prof Kmiec plays a big song and dance that tries to make the "Federalist" position of getting this back to the States some dirty thing and "un Catholic" Of course many Federalist that are pro-life have no problem with a Human Right amendment that goes through the Const. process. Prof Kmiec knows this. He also knows that getting this back into the states where it can debated and moved on makes a Human Life Amendment more likely!!!

In his response to Prog Kmiec we have more hackery.

Given the length of time Mr. McCain has exercised the levers of legislative power, is it not the least bit disturbing that during that entire almost 30 year period Senator McCain did not offer and actively champion a Human Life Amendment? .

First off does Prof Kmiec think we do not believe in Political reality? I have no illusions that we have in a Human Life amendment passsed by the states in like 4 years. This is a step by step process and Kmiec knows that. Lets get the Judges on the Court to dilute Roe V Wade as much as we can and to eventually overturn it. That is one of the keys in the mostly liekly path to a Human Life amendment. Then Kmiec pulls the Declaration fo Independence Natural Law Card as he often does

Quite honestly, I do not “vacillate.” To the contrary, I state unequivocally, “The humanity of the unborn child to me and every geneticist on the face of the planet is patent. It is the natural law from which no human being can or should want to escape. Try escaping from your nature, it’s uncomfortable, and downright, dangerous. Think you can fly without a para-glider or similar device from the top of the Santa Monica Mountains along the Pacific; think again. Arm-flapping will be your last aerobic exercise. “Can it be said that natural law is an obligatory part of the American Constitution? You bet, except that, with the possible exception of Justice Thomas, there is not a single Justice prepared to say so. Natural law is not Catholic law; it is universal; it is timeless; and it is what Thomas Jefferson anchored the new American Republic upon in the Declaration of Independence – self evident truths derived from the ‘Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.’ Only one problem: not everyone sees the truth of the unborn child the same way, and in the American democracy, majority rules.”

I am really amazed that Kmiec is allowed to get away with this. First there is the problem of how many people think that the Declaration of Independence has any legal standing!!! Not many I have to tell you that.

Kmiec while holding Republicans to absurd standards (McCain never brought forth legislation for a Human Right Amendment!!!) gives us no clue why he has the faintest idea that Obama would appoint Judges that would apply this natural law concept. Is Kmiec really saying that Obama would appoint Judges that have a Justice CLARENCE THOMAS view of Natural Law (it is not clear to me that Thomas even holds that Natural Law View) if Obama is elected. PLEASEEEEEEEEE. Can we live in reality for a second? Can we live in the real world and not in the world that Kmiec is making up.

Kmiec is making a argument to a jury and putting in a ton of red herrings. That is cool. Trial Lawyers do that and that is their job. However I am afraid the standard is a tad higher when we are considering Const Law and the RIGHT TO LIFE.

So while I have no doubt that Prof Kmiec could make a good argument why 30,000 dollars of Chiropractor bills are not excessive in a soft tissue injury car wreck case , I find his arguments as to the one of the ultimate Catholic Social Justice Issues of all time very lacking.