When I first read about the resignation of Amanda Marcottefrom the John Edwards presidential campaign, I breathed a sigh of relief and felt a sense of vindicaton. Marcotte's anti-Catholic postings on her personal blog, Pandagon, went well over the line for someone who had been hired to be a spokesperson/blogger for a major presidential candidate such as John Edwards. The resignation benefits Edwards, the Democratic party, Catholicism and the role of Catholics, and Marcotte herself.
Something like 76,000,000 Americans are Roman Catholic, about 26% of the U.S. population. 70 million Americans with different levels of devotion and adherence to doctrine, different levels of poltical involvement, and different locations on the ideological scale. Traditionally, the 'Catholic vote' has leaned Democratic, but now it has become a very much sought after swing vote.
The 'Catholic vote' is an important enough of a concept that certain sensitivities toward them should be understood - as it would be with any other group.
Catholicism, like any other religion or philosoply, has tenets within it that its followers consider sacred. And there are those who are Catholic, as I am, who may cherish the core beauty of their faith, yet still struggle with that same faith and disagree with some of its teachings. It can become part of one's inner being because of a cultural connection.
So it's my guess that many Catholics, regardless of their specific stances on political issues, would be offended by postings (apparently now removed from Pandagon) by Marcotte in which she equated the Holy Spirit with a human penis or called the religion "ancient mythology". An offense taken that would be perfectly understandable because that is exactly what it was meant to do.
Let's give a quick cut and paste as to what she wrote, shall we?
Q: What if Mary had taken Plan B after the Lord filled her with his hot, white, sticky Holy Spirit?
A: You’d have to justify your misogyny with another ancient mythology.
If it offended you that I repeated that then it should offend you that it was written in the first place.
Each religion has within it central teachings that are sacred. The Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Mary are obviously sacred to Catholicism. And that has nothing to do with abortion, gay rights, contraception, pedophile priests, or the American political scene in early 2007. Millions of Catholics treasure those beliefs or, at the very least, if they are somewhat non-religious, still have an inner bond with certain tenets. They may well be political liberals - pro-choice, for allowing gays to marry, against war, and for programs designed to help the poor. They all aren't like that buffoon on steroids, Bill Donohue.
And while I have no idea how Kos feels about this situation, I do know that one of his heroes is Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, a man who is quite worhy of that honor. A here of mine as well. If you don't know who he was, read here.
From the Catholic Herald: "Archbishop Romero was martyred even though he had taken neither side in the conflict, but had tried to maintain Christ’s own position of asking the warring parties to forgo violence and hatred, and to seek a reasonable compromise and reconciliation with one another. Like the Master, he was put to death for his teaching."
Maybe it's me, but it's my guess that the Archbishop would feel that Amanda's characterization of Catholicism is offensive. As I do. As would millions of those 76,000,000 Americans.
Now, I realize that some here felt that the mere mention of this situation in the political arena was cause for revenge. But it would seem to me if one feels as if Amanda's comments are potentially harmful because they are offensive to significant amounts of Catholics (you know, swing voters in swing states), then he or she should be more concerned about the offensivness of those remarks and the potential effect that they could have on voting patterns than they would be concerned about an offhanded remark by an employee of a 'rival campaign'. And if he or she thinks that the remarks themselves are not offensive and anyone who is thus offended is a right wing nut or a Christofacist or fanatical Catholic should perhaps take sensitivity training with Trent Lott...and Bill Donohue.
We all have a right to our own personal religious faith. We all have a right to our own personal political opinions. We all have a right to put those forth in the political arena. But we should be aware HOW we state our opinions on issues as personal as religion - especially in this vast public arena known as the blogosphere - can and will have rippling long term effects. Especially if you're a prominent blogger. Especially if you're working for a major presidential candidate in a communications capacity.
Equating the Catholic religion to an "ancient mythology" and the Holy Spirit to a human penis wouldn't have played well come voting day. That should be obvious. So, yeah, it's a good thing she resigned.