Free Republic

"And God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." — Genesis 1:28 As Gov. Mike Leavitt's nomination Monday to head the Environmental Protection Agency ignited scrutiny of his past policymaking, what has yet to be publicly examined is the impact that his religious faith may have on his environmental views. His stand on issues that pit human development of natural resources such as oil, gas, timber and...

<p>It goes without saying that pouring lighter fluid on an already raging fire is a prescription for disaster. Yet that's just what state Conservative Party head Mike Long is doing with the always-incendiary issue of religion and politics.</p> <p>Long is not the only one raising the explosive accusation of anti-Catholic bigotry against Sen. Chuck Schumer, of course. Fortunately, though, he's done it so inartfully that maybe, in this case, the damage can be limited.</p>

If you live pretty much anywhere in the Western world these days, you'll notice a certain kind of news item cropping up with quiet regularity. The Irish Times had one last week. As Liam Reid reported, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties has warned Catholic bishops that distributing the Vatican's latest statement on homosexuality could lead to prosecution under the 1989 Incitement to Hatred Act, and a six-month jail term. "The document itself may not violate the Act, but if you were to use the document to say that gays are evil, it is likely to give rise to hatred,...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Ignorance or Malicious Intent?Phil BrennanWednesday, Aug. 6, 2003 No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. – Article VI of the U.S. Constitution When Sacramento bishop William K. Weigand called on Gov. Gray Davis to renounce his support of abortion or stop taking Holy Communion, one of Davis' aides, Russ Lopez, indignantly blasted the bishop for "telling the faithful how to practice their faith." Lopez was either displaying an appalling ignorance or engaging in sheer malice: He should be aware that a bishop is a...

Big media has been avoiding the new Democratic religion test, but the blogosphere has answered the bell. CHARLES CHAPUT, the Archbishop of Denver, issued a stinging rebuke to Catholic senator Richard Durbin and concluded that "a new kind of religious discrimination is very welcome at the Capitol, even among elected officials who claim to be Catholic," and the national news media barely took note. A single Washington Times story cited Chaput's column on the William Pryor nomination, and the sole mention in the Washington Post was contained in a letter to the editor from C. Boyden Gray, who is leading...

Sen. Orrin Hatch sent shock waves through the liberal culture when he said, "the left is trying to enforce an anti-religious litmus test" against judicial "nominees who openly adhere to Catholic and Baptist doctrines." How dare he accuse them of doing what they are doing? After all, correctly describing a deplorable Democratic tactic is tantamount to dirty campaigning, even McCarthyism. The New York Times, the Gray Matriarch of the Democratic propaganda machine, was outraged at the suggestion of anti-Christian prejudice. "This is a false, cynical and divisive charge," opined the Times, apparently oblivious to liberalism's currently raging war against Christianity....

Senator Orrin Hatch sent shock waves through the liberal culture when he said, "the left is trying to enforce an anti-religious litmus test" against judicial "nominees who openly adhere to Catholic and Baptist doctrines." How dare he accuse them of doing what they are doing? After all, correctly describing a deplorable Democratic tactic is tantamount to dirty campaigning, even McCarthyism. The New York Times, the Gray Matriarch of the Democratic propaganda machine, was outraged at the suggestion of anti-Christian prejudice. "This is a false, cynical and divisive charge," opined the Times, apparently oblivious to liberalism's currently raging war against Christianity....

The Catholic Test Two hudred years after the Framers renounced them, Senate Democrats have reinvented the Test Act. by Hugh Hewitt 08/05/2003 12:00:00 AM Hugh Hewitt, contributing writer THE ARCHBISHOP OF DENVER, Charles Chaput, has rebuked the Senate Democrats who have blocked the nomination of Alabama attorney general William Pryor in stark terms: "[A] new kind of religious discrimination is very welcome at the Capitol, even among elected officials who claim to be Catholic." Chaput's entire statement on the matter deserves to be read widely and quoted alongside every ringing denial of anti-Catholic bias issued by Patrick Leahy and other...

... Sen. Hatch was quoted in the New York Times saying that liberals are imposing "an anti-religious litmus test" against appellate court nominees "who openly adhere to Catholic and Baptist doctrines" on abortion. Is Hatch right?SEN. MARIA CANTWELL (D.-WASH.): Isn’t Hatch the one who brought up what the nominee’s religion was?In the hearing. Is Hatch right that anyone who openly adheres to Catholic and Baptist doctrines on abortion—is there a litmus test against such nominees?CANTWELL: Senator Hatch raised the question of the person’s religion. I think the Republicans are the people who are raising questions about people’s religion.But as far...

Two questions have rumbled through the commentariat over the last several weeks. They've been treated discretely, but a case can be made that they are linked. The first concerns gay marriage. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts appears poised to sanction such unions, which may require other states to honor these marriages under the "full faith and credit" clause of the Constitution. And while Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which permits states to withhold approval of gay marriages despite whatever Massachusetts and, say, the District of Columbia might do, there is reason...

THE ARCHBISHOP OF DENVER, Charles Chaput, has rebuked the Senate Democrats who have blocked the nomination of Alabama attorney general William Pryor in stark terms: "[A] new kind of religious discrimination is very welcome at the Capitol, even among elected officials who claim to be Catholic." Chaput's entire statement on the matter deserves to be read widely and quoted alongside every ringing denial of anti-Catholic bias issued by Patrick Leahy and other bigots caught in the act of denying federal judicial appointments to individuals professing belief in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The debate over Pryor in both the...

The Republicans' latest gambit in the judicial confirmation battles — accusing the Democrats of applying anti-Catholic litmus tests — has been politically productive, but also provocative. It has been criticized by such Democratic senators as Richard Durbin, by the liberal journalist Richard Cohen, and, closer to home, by my colleague Byron York, writing on NRO. York is the best conservative journalist on the judicial-confirmation beat. Actually, the "conservative" modifier in that sentence may be superfluous. It is no exaggeration to say that Republicans on the Hill and in the Bush administration have relied on York's reporting to know what's going...

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Senate Democrats continued their efforts Thursday to blame Republicans for introducing the topic of religion into the nomination of Alabama Attorney General William H. "Bill" Pryor to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Republicans counter that Democrats are the ones attacking Pryor's beliefs. "If you heard any of the debate, you heard many people say that Mr. Pryor was being discriminated against because of his Catholicism," Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) told reporters Thursday. "Well, nothing could be farther from the truth." Article VI, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution states: "no religious Test...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats angrily denied charges of religious bigotry on Thursday as they blocked the nomination of Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, an anti-abortion Catholic, to a federal appeals court. During a stormy debate on the Senate floor, Democrats said they oppose Pryor not because of his faith but because of what they described as his extreme right-wing record on matters from civil rights to women's rights. On a 53-44 vote, Pryor's Republican backers fell seven short of the needed 60 to clear the way for a Senate confirmation vote on President Bush (news - web sites)'s nomination...

THERE IS an advertisement making the rounds in some states with the headline “Catholics need not apply.” It was funded by the Catholic Ave Maria List, and it suggests that U.S. Senate Democrats have set a standard for the federal bench that would forbid Catholics from becoming federal judges. It has struck a chord. Democratic senators are opposing President Bush’s nomination of Alabama Attorney General William Pryor to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because of his “deeply held” belief that abortion is wrong. In opposing Pryor’s nomination on the grounds that he believes strongly that abortion is immoral,...

<p>Litmus tests "Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, the most recent Daniel to face the hungry lions, has made the 'mistake' of not distancing himself from his faith," Kay Daly writes in the Wall Street Journal. "In a recent confirmation hearing for Mr. Pryor, a nominee to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat, said plainly that Mr. Pryor's deeply held personal convictions as a pro-life Catholic simply would not be left at the courthouse door. In other words, being a Catholic is just fine if you are Sen. Leahy or Sen. Kennedy and selectively follow the doctrines of the faith. But if you actually practice Catholic teaching, you need not apply for a federal judgeship," said the writer, who is president of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary. "Senate Democrats, however, are not the only ones to express 'concern' over judicial nominees who have written or spoken out on their faith. According to my sources in the Senate, Republican female senators have voiced strong reservations over the nomination of Leon Holmes, President Bush's federal judicial nominee to the eastern district of Arkansas. "Although Mr. Holmes has the support of his two home state Democratic senators, and a stellar legal career with high marks from the American Bar Association, qualifications do not seem to matter to the Republican women. Instead they have swallowed Sen. Schumer's bait — that litmus tests on religious belief should determine whether one is qualified on the federal bench. "The heartburn in the Senate sorority over Mr. Holmes seems to stem from the fact that, as a practicing Catholic, he has written that he and his wife subscribe to the Old and New Testament teaching on marriage. In short, he said he believes that a husband and wife in a Christian marriage have unique roles in the family, both equally important, but with the husband serving as its spiritual head. Mr. Holmes apparently subscribes to the book of Ephesians by loving his wife 'as Christ does the Church.' "Shocking! From this belief Republican women in the Senate have reportedly concluded that Mr. Holmes is tiptoeing down Misogynist Lane, even though he stated his views in an article co-authored with his well-educated and accomplished wife." Party of the elite "The Democratic Party is a wishbone of proletarian sloganeering and plutocratic direction that, when snapped, always leaves one side disillusioned," Christopher Caldwell writes in the Weekly Standard. "Racial and lifestyle minorities provide the electoral ballast for the party, true. But outside of those categories, the Democrats are the party of America's creme de la creme — not just the 'cultural elite,' as Dan Quayle put it, but the elite, period," Mr. Caldwell said. "Overwhelming evidence for this came in the form of a June study by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. It found that Republicans out raise Democrats by 63 percent to 37 percent among penny-ante donors — those who give under $200. The GOP retains that advantage at all levels up to $100,000, although it steadily narrows as the dollar amount rises. "Once you hit $100,000, the Democrats really begin to clean up. They hold a fund-raising advantage that widens rapidly as the numbers gets more stratospheric. In contributions of over $1 million, they out raise Republicans by 92 percent to 8 percent." Richardson's role Democratic officials will nominate Bill Richardson, the Hispanic governor of New Mexico, to be chairman of the party's 2004 national convention, several Democrats said yesterday. Alice Huffman, California president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will be nominated to lead the convention committee, the Associated Press reports. The plan to nominate Mr. Richardson as convention chairman was mentioned in reports published yesterday. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe planned to announce the decision today in Boston. "Governor Richardson is honored to have been chosen," Richardson spokesman Billy Sparks said yesterday. "It's a positive sign for the future of the Democratic Party and a strong symbol of commitment to the West and to Hispanics." The choice of Mr. Richardson, the highest-ranking elected Hispanic official in the country, responds to demands from the Hispanic caucus of the Democratic National Committee, the AP said. Traditionally, the convention chairman would be named in the weeks before the convention, set for Boston in late July next year. And the party's nominee would have input on that decision. Kemp stays out Jack Kemp, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 1996, says he has retired from politics and will not be a candidate on the Oct. 7 ballot to recall California Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Mr. Kemp, who lives in Maryland but was born and reared in Los Angeles and graduated from Occidental College in that city, said in a statement Saturday that "running for governor might have been tempting to contemplate at another time, when I was younger, but I've truly retired from politics." He added, "There comes a point in one's life when he cannot, should not, attempt to go back." Mr. Kemp's name surfaced Thursday, hours after California officials certified that the Republican-led drive to oust Mr. Davis had collected enough signatures and set Oct. 7 as the date for the recall election, the Associated Press reports. Voters will decide whether to recall the governor and simultaneously choose from a list of candidates to replace him should the recall be approved. 'Deranged moderate' "Florida senator Bob Graham seems to be carving out a new niche for himself: that of the deranged moderate," National Review says in an editorial. "Graham is supposed to be a great asset to the Democrats. He has a moderate record, foreign policy experience, and popularity in a state rich with electoral votes. He has often been discussed as a vice presidential nominee. But he hasn't been getting much attention in the presidential primaries, and so he keeps turning up the volume," the magazine said. "In his latest eruption, he suggested that Bush's alleged deceptions in the run-up to the Iraq war warrant impeachment. (Graham, of course, voted against impeaching Clinton for breaking laws.) Graham's strategy does not appear to be working: The fire-breathers have settled on Howard Dean. What Graham may be doing is talking himself out of the number-two slot." Durbin and Graham Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, yesterday distanced himself from Florida Sen. Bob Graham's suggestion that President Bush's statement in the State of the Union Address in January — on British intelligence reports that Iraq had attempted to procure uranium from Africa — might warrant impeachment. "Well, I respect Bob Graham a lot, but I don't share that sentiment," Mr. Durbin said on CNN's "Late Edition." "I believe that what we need to do is to follow the evidence, bring in the White House staff, and find out how this process worked. And let's take it to its logical conclusion, whatever that happens to be. "But I'm not prepared to take Bob Graham's position at this point. The evidence doesn't support it." Kennedy and Arnold Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, interviewed for the latest issue of Time magazine, says he has not seen "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," the latest flick from Kennedy in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Massachusetts Democrat went on to express doubts that Mr. Schwarzenegger has a future in politics, even though he is being touted as a gubernatorial possibility in the upcoming California recall election. "I haven't seen Arnold's latest," Mr. Kennedy said. "He's a brilliant actor, but what makes Republicans think he could do well in politics? Of course, it's hard to argue with Arnold when you're hanging upside down by the ankles."</p>

He absolutely would appoint a homosexual judge to the Supreme Court, Rep. Dennis Kucinich said yesterday during a candidate forum hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group. He also would appoint "any lesbian, bisexual or transgender person" to the court, Kucinich says. "Just as long as they'd be willing to uphold Roe v. Wade." ... Yesterday was Gay Day in Dem Land. "I believe we're in such a gay moment in terms of history," declared Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, by way of introduction. With that, seven of the nine Democrats --...

<p>Abortion is at the center of the debate over President Bush's judicial nominations.</p> <p>Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and other Republicans decry "the new abortion litmus test" that they say has become the Democrats' most important factor in determining which nominations to filibuster.</p>

<p>The national Republican Party's drive to capture the Louisiana Senate seat now held by Democrat Mary L. Landrieu has hit another snag as conservatives question the pro-life credentials of the GOP-backed candidate.</p> <p>Louisiana Republicans claim candidate Susanne Haik Terrell, who has received financial backing from the National Republican Senatorial Committee over other Republican candidates, supported a pro-choice event in 1994 and switched her stance on abortion out of political expediency.</p>