....My name is Patrick. I am a Catholic. I call myself a conservative. I put my Church first and my party about 108th. I prefer small government because I believe it protects our God given liberties, including our religious liberties, best. I believe in the Constitution. Not because it is a document handed on from on high but because it was written by men who understood what dastardly deeds of which men with power are capable. Moreover, I support the Constitution because it is the arrangement to which we all agreed. Until that changes, it should still apply, no?
I believe in free enterprise, not because I hate poor people, but because I think that it offers the best chance at prosperity for the most people. Does it eliminate inequity? Surely not. However, all the other systems I have seen tried produce even more inequity or even worse. So free enterprise seems like the best idea.
I believe in a strong defense, but a strong defense that never subjugates the dignity of any individual to a greater good. No ifs, ands, or buts. No way. No how.
Related Mark Shea-authored threads:
Capitalism, Colossians and the Miller Brewing Company
The Perspicuity of Scripture and Other Creation Myths
The Semi-Permeable Membranes of the Various Protestantisms [2009 thread]
The Semi-Permeable Membranes of the Various Protestantisms [2010 repost]
Big Laws and Small Laws [Mark Shea on "Nanny Staters" vs the "Right Wing Noise Machine"]
Mark Shea is speaking to stereotypes in his own mind.
I know Catholics like him. They believe, first and foremost, but they really, really want to be Democrats. They know they can’t, because they do believe, but as a result, they spend their lives trying to show that conservatives are just as morally bankrupt as dems (or those that support abortion etc.)
It seems to me that Mark Shea resents the fact that he can’t be a dem, so he will demonize conservatives to make himself feel better.
From the article: "I sometimes grow weary of the broad brush and using combox kooks to prove your point. It really doesnt. Really." Well that's a truth worth sharing around here...
But best of all:
I dont watch Glenn Beck and I cant watch Bill OReilly for fear of throwing something at my television.
PREACH IT BROTHER!
I stopped reading Mark Shea about a year ago when he seemed to lose a nut and bolt over the issue of waterboarding. He simply can’t talk about anything else, and it’s in this quote. His comment about war crimes is referring to conservative Catholics who believe waterboarding is a legitimate means of interrogation. From that he is extrapolating to a whole host of other issues.
I think the comment below, about Mark wanting to be a Democrat, but not being able to because he does believe in the teachings of Christ, is spot on. I never could put into words what made me skeptical about him, but that’s it in a nutshell.