How to Fight the Sebelius Nomination

If the GOP members of the Finance Committee let Sebelius sail through, they are risking huge fallout.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Inside Catholic) - In an hour I will be getting a call from a reporter at a major weekly news magazine. He emailed me last night asking if he could ask some questions about why the GOP leadership had said so little against the nomination of a pro-abortion Catholic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, to head the Department of Health and Human Resources.

A very good question! After all, isn't it the Republican Party that has a right-to-life plank? Isn't it the Republican Party that sells itself under a "pro-life, pro-family" banner?

With the exception of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Sen. Jim De Mint (R-SC) there has been no perceptible outrage.

Of course, the reaction from the Catholic bishops hasn't exactly been deafening either -- although Sebelius's ordinary, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, published a very strong statement of concern.

To those who want to fight the Sebelius nomination, I would recommend the following:

1) Ask the president of the USCCB, Francis Cardinal George, to express officially, the view of all the U. S. Catholic bishops that Gov. Sebelius should not present herself for communion at any Catholic parish, even in Washington, DC. This would demonstrate the bishops' solidarity with Archbishop Naumann who has already warned Sebelius not to seek communion in the Kansas City, KS archdiocese.

2. The new chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, a pro-life Catholic, should forget about Rush Limbaugh and actually be the Republican leader of the opposition to the Sebelius nomination. If Steele wants to demonstrate the GOP's commitment to the pro-life plank of the platform then he should get out in front on this issue. The failure to exert his leadership at a moment like this will not only further diminish his leadership -- after the Limbaugh stumble -- but further convince religious conservatives that they really don't have a permanent home in the Republican Party.

3. Contact members of the Senate Finance Committee which will hold the hearings on the Sebelius nomination. If someone on that committee can be convinced to ask hard questions about Sebelius's relationship with the late-term abortionist, Dr. George Tiller, it may create enough public disgust to make the nomination an embarrassment for Obama. All the Democratic members of the committee have a 100% pro-abortion rating from NARAL with the exception of Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) who has been in the 70% range over the past few years. Among Republicans, I would expect Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to ask good question -- he has the reputation of being tough but fair. But, if the GOP members of the Finance Committee let Sebelius sail through, they are risking huge fallout from the social and religious conservative Republican base.

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I don't think the GOP yet realizes this is quickly becoming a signal moment in its relationship with conservative Christian voters. We will soon see if its leadership learned any lessons from the 2008 presidential campaign, and particularly its treatment of Gov. Sarah Palin.

TO SIGN A PETITION DECLARING YOUR OPPOSITION TO THE SEBELIUS NOMINATION, PLEASE GO TO http://www.catholicsagainstsebelius.org/.

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