Simon donates heavily to conservative Catholic church causes

San Jose Mercury News ^ | Mar. 10, 2002 | JIM WASSERMAN

[nickcarraway]

SACRAMENTO - California's Republican candidate for governor, Bill Simon, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, foundation reports reveal, to boost an activist and often-conservative wing of his family's Roman Catholic faith, while also pushing to move religion to the forefront of American life.

[nickcarraway]

ping

[uncbob]

Well I think most of the Hispanics in CA are Catholic

Naturally all these oranizations are EXTREME CONSERVATIVE AND RIGHT WING.
Surprised they didn't add BORDERING ON NAZISM

[Redcloak]

Indeed, Simon deflects Davis' charges that he opposes abortion rights by saying such issues are secondary to pumping up the California economy and fixing its neglected infrastructure.

The Simon camp needs to hammer this home. Davis will try to turn the campaign into everything but Davis' pathetic performance. Simon needs to sound like a broken record ticking off Davis' deficiencies. Any time a reporter asks questions like these, the response has to be "What does this have to do with Governor Davis wrecking the State's economy? With his mishandling of the energy crisis? Or with any other issue that matters to the People of this State?". (And then stare at the reporter as though you really expect an answer!) Answer any question about these diversionary topics with a screed about Davis' mismanagement. STAY ON MESSAGE!

[grumpster-dumpster]

Let's see... a conservative candidate donates money to charitable causes which reflect his viewpoint and the author of this subtile "hit-piece" finds this offensive.

Notice how the author makes subtile accusations:

"Simon's charitable giving before he became a candidate, detailed on federal tax forms for private foundations, reveals a wealthy, religious activist eager to fund and promote a generally conservative brand of Christianity.He and his wife, Cynthia, also show interest in scholarships and physical fitness for inner-city students, hospitals, the homeless, Catholic broadcasting and Christian content in movies and films."

And this..

Kissling worried, though, about conservative church members tilting public policy on family planning and abortion rights. Reflecting the conflict between various strains of thought inside the Catholic Church, Kissling said, ``In that context, it's reasonable for people to ask candidates where they come down on those issues.''

Or am I just misreading or making too big a deal about this?

[reformed_democrat]

Let me guess -- The San Jose Mercury News thinks this is a bad thing.

[nickcarraway]

It's kind of ridiculous, if not offensive, that they quote Kissling, considering who she is.

[tubebender]

Let's see... a conservative candidate donates money to charitable causes which reflect his viewpoint and the author of this subtile "hit-piece" finds this offensive.

I'll bet the real author of this piece resides in Sacremento and his name is G. Doofus.

[Pyro7480]

Your statement makes absolutely no sense. Catholic organizations bordering on Nazism? What kind of point are you trying to make by jumping from the fact that most Hispanics are Catholic, to that absolutely fanatical statement?

Many of the conservative leaders since the dawning of modern American conservatism in the 1950's have been Catholic. It isn't a surprise that Simon is seeking their support.

[Argus]

Bill Simon is a Knight of Malta - legendary defenders of the faith, crusaders and the scourge of the Muslim indifel.

I like this guy more and more all the time.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The media, in their quest to find dirt on Simon, will have to run headlines like 'Simon practices what he preaches', 'Simon is financially successful', 'Simon is not a hypocrite', 'Simon donates to runaway children', and *gasp* 'Simon encourages physical fitness'!!!! Finally, 'Do you want this man as your next governor'???

Yes. Yes, I do.

[steenkeenbadges]

"Simon's charitable giving before he became a candidate, detailed on federal tax forms for private foundations, reveals a wealthy, religious activist eager to fund and promote a generally conservative brand of Christianity. He and his wife, Cynthia, also show interest in scholarships and physical fitness for inner-city students, hospitals, the homeless, Catholic broadcasting and Christian content in movies and films. "

The callous, disreputable cads!

[Dumb_Ox]

What I can't stand is that the aricle sources Catholics for a Free Choice as though they were a mainstream group; in fact, they're about as radical on abortion as you can get. Good journalism should not be about simply rewriting other people's press releases.

[Impeach98]

BUMP!