Doug Kmiec Responds to Deal Hudson: 'Advising Obama'

Deal Hudson opines that it would be "a stretch" for the Senator to reach Catholic voters on these terms. With respect, I disagree.

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - In a recent article published on this site, Mr. Deal Hudson gave Senator Obama advice on how to attract the Catholic vote.

The generosity of Mr. Hudson's commentary is notable since he himself does not wish the Senator success. Selfless contribution is rare in modern life and it is to be commended wherever found.

The special contribution of Mr. Hudson's unusual memorandum is his insight that Catholics are not "single issue voters uncaring about children after they are born."

This is a fine reminder of the instruction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that: "The Christian faith is an integral unity, and thus it is incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine. A political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church's social doctrine does not exhaust one's responsibility towards the common good."

This is of course why Senator Obama's call to address: the grievously wrongful killing taking place in the unjust, preemptive war in Iraq; the stewardship of the environment; the economic circumstances of the average family, including the provision of a family wage, and the reform of immigration system are all inextricably bound up with Catholic social teaching. Evaluating these matters is very much a Catholic concern.

Calling Catholic voters, "'single issue' voters," instructs Deal Hudson, "has never worked before and won't work now." "Catholic voters care about social justice issues," he writes.

In this regard, Mr. Hudson is right to give emphasis to subsidiarity. This doctrine coincides with the Senator's approach to encourage personal responsibility and on the issue of life especially to instill in young people "a reverence for sexual intimacy" that allows for an understanding of its significance in relationship to parenting and family.

Changing the hearts and minds of those individuals we come in contact with who accept abortion is the hard work, but necessary, calling of subsidiarity.

There is one overriding caution to all the candidates in the pursuit of the "Catholic vote." It is important to remember that Catholicism is not a social club or a political action committee. For those of us who embrace its teaching, it is the one true catholic and apostolic faith.

It is premised upon the life and death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose instruction to the rich young man is the same witness he gives to the poor and to us: keep my commandments, love God and love our neighbor.

Attracting Catholics to one's side requires an open mind and a good heart. Catholics aren't much interested in slogans or position papers. Our faith is not Democratic or Republican, as Deacon Keith Fournier has nicely written.

"As a Catholic Christian," writes the Deacon, "I know that you simply cannot 'fit' faithful Catholics . . .in the contemporary political categories of 'left' or 'right', 'liberal' or conservative.'" Instead, Deacon Fournier observes Catholics come together around what he calls four pillars of political, economic and social participation: "the dignity of life, but the primacy of family, authentic human freedom and solidarity with the poor."

Deal Hudson opines that it would be "a stretch" for the Senator to reach Catholic voters on these terms. With respect, I disagree. As I see it, the Senator lives the primacy of the family and urges us to get beyond the divisions of race and religion. He honors and understands the importance of faith for the proper exercise of freedom.

Unlike the current administration which has so woefully worsened the economic circumstance of the average family by structuring the economic system in a way that enriches the affluent, the Senator's solidarity with the poor is evidenced by, for example, his focus on helping individual families avoid foreclosure rather than bailing out profligate banking institutions.

The Catholic vote has largely been divided in the primaries and its ultimate destination in the general election is as uncertain as the Democratic nominee at the moment. As Deal Hudson suggests by his reference to Catholics not being pigeonholed as "a single issue voter," no party or candidate can assume it has the Catholic vote captive. It is a matter of conscience to be weighed by each individual voter in accordance with the moral goods presented.

It thus remains to be seen how each of the candidates, whether Obama, Clinton or McCain, come to terms with "the Christian faith as an integral unity." Senator Obama obviously has a serious head start in thinking about the question. And Mr. Hudson is surely right that Senator Obama's efforts are greatly advantaged by the prudent counsel of former Congressman Tim Roemer.

Tim Roemer is an accomplished young man. The Roemer family, Tim's mom and dad, were great friends to the Kmiec's during the 20 years I was privileged to serve on the law faculty at Notre Dame. And while Tim has his Ph.D. from that fine Congregation of the Holy Cross institution, his greatest advantage and the strongest insight he will be able to give the Senator I am confident will be drawn from the Catholic family that nurtured him and brought him to the faith.

A presidential candidate so well advised by such a fine a Catholic resource will be hard to beat - but we shall soon see.

Doug Kmiec is the chair and professor of constitutional law Pepperdine University; former Dean and St. Thomas More professor of law, the Catholic University of America

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