'Catholics for Harris-Walz' event cancelled without explanation
The press has bandied about claims that Kamala Harris has a sizable fan base among Catholic voters.
That's not supported by recent trends suggesting that Catholic voters who go to church are moving away from Democrats, but that's not stopping them.
Now there's news of this, from the often-leftist National Catholic Register:
A virtual campaign event focused on organizing Catholic support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign was canceled at the last minute Thursday but may be rescheduled for a later date.
The event, dubbed “Catholics for Harris-Walz National Organizing Call” was originally scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15, from 8 to 9 p.m. but was canceled earlier that morning. A website advertising the event called “Catholics4Kamala” also went offline on Thursday. Visitors to the site are met with a message that the website is undergoing maintenance.
John White, who serves on the leadership committee for one of the event organizers — Catholics Vote Common Good — told CNA that he believes the event will be rescheduled for some time after the Democratic National Convention, which takes place from Aug. 19 through Aug. 22.
Catholic comedian Stephen Colbert, the host of “The Late Show” on CBS, was originally listed as one of the speakers for the event. CNA reached out to a media contact for the show but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Organizers did not publicly state why the event was canceled. CNA reached out to a person in the Harris campaign who is focused on Catholic outreach but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
That's pretty miserable organizing, particularly because with the celebrity draw of Colbert on the roster. And maybe that's because Harris is so openly hostile to Catholics.
Was it low registrations? That's one good guess. Harris offers absolutely nothing of value to faithful Catholics, let alone more leftish pick-and-choose Catholics, who are less interested in the tenets of their own religion and more interested in progressive politics and social justice warriorship.
There are plenty of reasons to see why Catholics would stay away from her.
As California's attorney-general, in 2016:
... Harris’ office launched a raid on pro-life activist David Daleiden’s home.
The raid was in response to Daleiden’s undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood, which showed organization officials discussing costs for fetal tissue and body parts. It is illegal to sell fetal tissue and body parts.
Harris claimed that Daleiden broke several laws when obtaining videos of Planned Parenthood officials. He was charged with 15 felonies related to allegations of falsification of identity and invasion of privacy. He pleaded not guilty, but the case is still ongoing.
As attorney general, she never launched an investigation into the allegations against Planned Parenthood. She received thousands of dollars in campaign funds from Planned Parenthood.
That should disgust anyone, certainly Catholics among them.
Harris has also stated that anyone who belongs to a Catholic service organization like the Knights of Columbus, should never be allowed to serve as a federal judge, based on the group's opposition to abortion. That's a violation of Article VI of the Constitution prohibiting 'religion tests,' as well as about as bigoted as anything the "Know-Nothings" would have endorsed. As a practical matter, the Knights of Columbus is mainly a men's club that in most parishes serves church suppers to support their parishes. She later tried to gaslight that she wasn't Catholic-hostile, but it's pretty clear she isn't tolerant of other religious views.
She even attempted to micromanage how Catholics were allowed to interpret their faith for them, playing pope:
In 2022, the vice president claimed that religious Americans can support abortion without abandoning their faith.
She's also gone after pro-life organizations, which many Catholics belong, to compell their speech as well:
As California’s attorney general, Harris co-sponsored and promoted the Reproductive FACT Act, which required pro-life pregnancy centers to post notices that provided information on where to obtain abortions.
Pro-life pregnancy centers sued the attorney general’s office, arguing that the law violated their First Amendment rights. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law violated the right to free speech because it compelled speech.
She likes Catholics all right, but only when they do as she says. Like the Soviets of old, she likes the churches still around, but only as hollowed out husks with the priests dead, and no community of believers to speak of.
In addition, on the Biden-Harris administration's watch, Catholic Latin Mass goers were illegally placed under surveillance as terrorists by the FBI. When the operation was made public by a whistleblower and very negative publicity followed, the FBI disavowed it, though nobody knows if they have stopped it. We also know that nobody's been punished for it, let alone criticized by the White House. That gives the flavor of attractions to come under a Harris White House.
As President Trump said last month:
Former president Donald Trump has accused Democrats of “[going] after Catholics” and sharply criticized his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for her aggressive questioning of judicial nominees who are members of the Knights of Columbus.
In a July 26 speech at Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit, Trump alleged that “somebody doesn’t like Catholics in that administration,” adding that “I don’t think it’s [President Joe] Biden because I don’t think he has any idea what the hell he’s doing.”
“I don’t know how a Catholic can vote for the Democrats because they’re after the Catholics almost as much as they’re after me,” the former president said. “... How does a Catholic person vote for a Democrat with what they’re doing to Catholics? I just don’t get it.”
There must be Catholics out there who are saying the same thing. And fortunately for the country, they're a pretty large voting bloc.
The Kamunists now say they will re-schedule the event, but it won't be the same, given that they can gaslight that whoever signs on next time is Catholic and nobody will be the wiser.
I think we have heard them the first time, and one can only hope that President Trump, who has been a very Catholic-friendly president, as well as friendly to people of all faiths, runs with it.
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