The Judge Report

I read an article recently that proclaimed that Catholics will be the key to the coming presidential election.  “They” almost always back the winner in recent decades. (I’d cite the source, but I’ve laid off all of research assistants and I’m too lazy to look it up).

Personally I find the whole concept a bit hilarious as Catholics are split almost exactly along the national fault lines.  It is rather remarkable, when you think about it, that the most organized, structured, anchored ecclesial body in the country has no more homogeneous political thought than a group of a thousand random citizens, notwithstanding the ability to communicate directly with millions of the flock on a weekly basis.

On the other hand, the decidedly loosely structured religious groups that we tend to lump together with the term “Evangelicals” have the most fantastic underground communication system imaginable and tend to roll together in giant waves unseen by the movers, shakers, plotters and pundits among us.

Hence Pat Robertson, 1988,  Iowa.  Hence Huckabee, virtually unknown outside his own state.  Hence Jimmy Carter, 1976.

I have many friends and a few relatives who are evangelicals and God is the center of their universe and they tend to think of themselves as in the world but not of it.  I tend to feel that way myself, sometimes, and certainly understand and applaud their disdain for the popular culture. 

For good reason they don’t trust a lot of politicians. Neither do I.   And they certainly get turned off by people who do lip service to their various causes and then do nothing at all when they take office.

So, in a “them against us mindset” their natural inclination is to give full support to someone they know to be one of them. 

They carry a lot of clout in elections, and have been voting overwhelmingly with the Republicans.  But individually they are not all conservatives in relation to the broad spectrum of political issues.  Over the years many have been suckers to populist clap-trap.  The rush to Huckabee is frankly a little scary, as the man possesses no obvious attributes that would make you ordinarily think he is qualified for the highest office in the secular world.

Being on God’s side is good. Having Him on your side is good, too.  I tend to view God as a Conservative-Republican Pro-Lfe Catholic Red Sox Fanatic, myself.   I think we believers all like to think of Him as one of us.

But really, that doesn’t mean any one of us is ready to be PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.