(Crossposted from My Left Nutmeg.)
The good nuns and the even better Jesuits taught me that when Satan really wanted to mess with your mind he'd appear in saintly garb. Enter Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League and the kind of Irish Catholic who makes Irish Catholics like me try to pass themselves off as Hindus.
Donohue, in a brilliant display of religious hypocrisy, has ripped into bloggers hired by the John Edwards campaign.
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, demanded that Edwards fire Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan.
''John Edwards is a decent man who has had his campaign tarnished by two anti-Catholic, vulgar, trash-talking bigots,'' Donohue wrote in a statement. ''He has no choice but to fire them immediately.''
The Edwards campaign declined to comment. McEwan and Marcotte did not respond to e-mails requesting a response.
Donohue cited posts that the women made on blogs in the past several months in which they criticized the pope and the church for its opposition to homosexuality, abortion and contraception, sometimes using profanity.
Donohue, who obviously thinks that when Jesus instructed us to turn the other cheek it was so we could blow it out our ass, is being devilishly clever here. In our culture, you see, it is perfectly alright to espouse your religious view that Jews and Presbyterians, homosexuals and jazz musicians, and indeed all who do not profess their faith in the One True Church will spend eternity in hell while having sulphurous demons shove red hot pokers up their butts. But heaven forfend that one should take a position contrary to the Holy See and use strong language in so doing. That would be offensive!
This is all posturing bullshit, of course, but it puts Edwards in a tricky position. Any guesses on what he will do?
In the meantime, it would behoove Edwards to get right with Jesus and to that end I offer up this hymn. (Fair warning: Don't let impressionable children -- or your boss -- hear this!)
[Note: To avoid running afoul of DK posting rules, I am referring you to the original post.]