Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Posted on 11/10/2009 8:47:03 AM PST by Pyro7480
I expect political hardball on any legislation as important as the health care bill.
I just didn’t expect it from the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Who elected them to Congress?
The role the bishops played in the pushing the Stupak amendment, which unfairly restricts access for low-income women to insurance coverage for abortions, was more than mere advocacy.
They seemed to dictate the finer points of the amendment, and managed to bully members of Congress to vote for added restrictions on a perfectly legal surgical procedure.
And this political effort was subsidized by taxpayers, since the Council enjoys tax-exempt status....
The IRS is less restrictive about church involvement in efforts to influence legislation than it is about involvement in campaigns and elections.
Given the political behavior of USCCB in this case, maybe it shouldn’t be.
(Excerpt) Read more at dyn.politico.com ...
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Black churches are the only ones allowed to be political
And only when they espouse the left-wing position or let the leftist speak from their pulpit. If a black minister speaks out against let's say homosexual "marriage" (as they have done in DC), then it's ok to bash them.
Isn’t it a crime to threaten someone with the IRS audit for political reasons?
All Christians churches should give up the tax deduction hook. It is just too expensive.
And this political effort was subsidized by taxpayers, since the Council enjoys tax-exempt status....
The logic of liberals is just breathtaking. What they're essentially saying is that the IRS doesn't directly rob churches of their money so therefore the government is subsidizing them. Kind of like if I owned a beer distributorship in Al Capone's Chicago neighborhood and for whatever reason he didn't take his protection money , he's subsidizing my business.
This points out how the government , especially on the left, sees the American people as serfs. Maybe some years we get to keep more of our money , but in the end it's theirs first and they're only allowing us our share. Kind of a far cry from Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Oh, please Ms. Woolvesley, attack the Catholic Bishops. Go after them with all your secualr, atheistic, marxist might! While you’re at it, sic the IRS on other Christians — Protestant denominations, ministries, aid agencies and missions! GO FOR IT! This is the kind of carnage you NEED to pursue! You might want to be prepared for a bit of blowback, madam....
Otherwise, as USCCB President Cardinal Francis George noted, "[W]e bishops do not claim or present ourselves as experts on health care policy. We are not prepared to assess every provision of legislation as complex as this proposal. However, health care legislation, with all its political, technical and economic aspects, is about human beings and hence has serious moral dimensions."
In other words, the Church has authority to speak out on moral matters (don't kill babies) but not on "prudential" matters (what is the best way to help the sick and needy?)
Though some Catholic spokespeople have obfuscated this point, the USCCB has not endorsed HR 3962 per se (nor opposed it per se.)
Moreover, some 50 bishops at this point have come out criticizing the Bill as violating "subsidiarity": the principle that things should be done at the lowest and most local first, not at the level of “big government”.
I don’t blame you, any of you, for not knowing this. The level of communication has been abysmal; there is apparently a Battle Royal going on within the bishops' conference about the statements coming out of the USCCB office --- USCCB delenda est----and the bishops (e.g. Nienstedt of MN) who directly oppose the whole ball'o'crap Obama-Pelosi Bill have gotten practically zero publicity.
Is Woolsey upset that a lobby group wrote legislation? Or is it just this particular lobby group? Is she upset that a lobby group actually lobbied their representatives to vote in their interests? Or is it just this lobby group?
As for who elected whom to Congress, remember that Woolsey represents Marin County, CA. That was Barbara Boxer's seat until Boxer ran for the Senate.
-PJ
That would be the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Representative Scheisskopf.
My email to Rep. Woolsey
Lynn:
As an American Citizen and a Catholic - I was disgusted by your comment about the USCCB and their tax exemption status.
I congratulate our Catholic Bishops for standing up for life. Sounds like you were angry that the Bishops were so effective. What is more important to you Abortion Rights - or Healthcare? Just because Catholics are not politically correct doesn’t mean that we have to check our opinions and advocacy at the door of the congress!
Shame on you for your threat against the Catholic church’s tax status.
It’s comin’ folks.............it’s a comin’!!
Nonprofit 501c3 organizations are permitted to do a substantial amount of lobbying to influence legislation.
Liberals changed the law in the 70s, and now they dont like living with the fruits of their labor.
Threatening political participation by unleashing the IRS?
Wollsey is a FASCIST!!
I csan find NOTHING about what relgion she is....anyone know??? Progressive usuallu means ATHEIST....maybe Jewish, but probably ATHEIST.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.