We Must Help Catholics Vote Like Catholics in 2008!

From Karl Keating, Catholic Answers Action:

I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but I’m very concerned about the upcoming national election—and how our fellow Catholics are going to vote.

As you know, the majority of American Catholics have traditionally voted for political candidates who take the WRONG positions on the key moral issues of our day (what we call the “five non-negotiables”):

1. Abortion

2. Euthanasia

3. Embryonic Stem Cell Research

4. Human Cloning

5. Homosexual “Marriage”

Why?

Why do Catholics vote for the very things they’re bound in conscience to oppose?

The answer is simple . . .

They aren’t really aware of what they’re doing!

And the #1 reason for that is the bias, misinformation, and lack of information that comes from the mainstream news media.

Think about it . . .

* When was the last time the news media showed the truth about abortion? They never show the American people what abortion does to babies. They’ll show graphic pictures of all kinds of other violence, but they never show the truth about abortion.

* When Terri Schiavo was being put to death by starvation and dehydration, the news media went out of their way to convince the American people that she “deserved” to die because she was a “vegetable.” The majority of American people were thus in favor of Terri suffering a horrible death—even while her family wanted to take care of her.

* When stem cell research comes up, the news media never tell people about adult stem cells—and the tremendous progress being made with them. The media want the American people to think that we have to kill innocent human life in order to reap the benefits of science.

* When the topic turns to human cloning, the same thing is true. The news media never address the issue of the morality involved in creating cloned human life—and where our society will end up if we try to play God.

* And woe to you if you say one word against homosexuals wanting to get “married.” The news media immediately brand you as a “homophobe” and “extremist”—but they never explain the arguments against homosexual “marriage.” They act as if it’s a foregone conclusion that men should be allowed to marry men, and women should be allowed to marry women, and transgender people should be allowed to marry . . . who knows what.

Well, the five non-negotiables (as it turns out) are among the key moral issues in the coming presidential election. True to form, the mainstream news media are doing their best to obscure these issues in the minds of the American people.

What’s more, the media aren’t telling us exactly where each of the current candidates stand on the five non-negotiables.

As a result, many Catholics will be confused, bewildered, and befuddled when the time comes to step into the voting booth—especially during the primaries.

Why is 2008 so important?

History shows us that most of the bad candidates who have been elected never would have gotten into office were it not for the Catholic vote.

That changed somewhat in 2004. Thanks to the efforts, prayers, and sacrifices of tens of thousands of good Catholics like you, many of our fellow Catholics realized that they had a moral obligation to vote for candidates who upheld Catholic teaching.

The stakes are bigger this time. Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across the land, is hanging by a thread.

If just one more justice appointed to the Supreme Court recognizes what a travesty Roe is, that horrible decision could be overturned.

Besides abortion, there undoubtedly will be other key moral issues that will come up for review by the Supreme Court in the coming years: euthanasia, human cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and homosexual “marriage.”

That’s one of the main reasons why the 2008 presidential election is going to be so important to faithful Catholics:

The next President will almost surely appoint one, two, or even three new Supreme Court Justices, due to the ages and health of Justices Kennedy, Souter, and Ginsberg.

But here’s why I’m writing to you today: Even though the 2008 elections are more than a year away . . .

The Primaries are only six months away!

As you know, many candidates outspokenly support abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, human cloning, and homosexual “marriage.”

Sadly, this is true even for many of the Catholic candidates, including Joe Biden, Wesley Clark, Christopher Dodd, Rudy Giuliani, Dennis Kucinich, and Bill Richardson.

There are more unacceptable candidates than acceptable candidates in the primaries this year. With so many of them being Catholic, it’s very possible that our fellow Catholics again will be fooled into voting for a bad candidate just because he’s Catholic.

That’s why I need your help right now to start educating Catholic voters about where ALL the candidates stand on the five non-negotiables and why a Catholic’s duty is to vote according to the teachings of the Church.

I’m sure you’re familiar with our "Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics" — the booklet that concisely explains the Catholic Church’s teachings on the five non-negotiables and then explains a Catholic’s moral duties in the polling booth.

I’m sure you recall that in 2004 and 2006 we printed and distributed millions of copies of the guide—and we also ran it as a full-page ad in USA Today, where it was read by tens of millions of people all across the country.

Your sacrificial donations enabled us to do all that. You, yourself, may have distributed the guide to friends, family, co-workers, and fellow parishioners.

All of that activity—centered around the voter’s guide—definitely made a difference.

Well, now we have that same situation again—only this time, it’s in the primaries, which in a certain sense are even more important than the general election.

Therefore, we at Catholic Answers Action — the non-profit organization that we started last year—are gearing up for a massive new project whereby we will produce not only the powerful "Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics," but also the "Candidate Guide for Serious Catholics," a simple listing showing where the presidential candidates stand on the five non-negotiables.

This new guide will not be endorsing or opposing any particular candidates. We will just be showing people where they stand vis-a-vis Catholic moral teaching.

The rest will be up to the readers—millions of them, we hope.

Just as we did in the past, we will distribute this new guide all over the country and get it into the hands of as many Catholics as possible.

We know from experience how to do this and how much it costs.

We also know that we need to start now to achieve the greatest impact before the first crucial primaries, which will be held in February 2008.

It takes time to get this publication produced, printed, and distributed to our foot soldiers in parishes across the country. Then it takes time to get it into the hands of Catholic voters, to get them to sit up and take notice, to read it, to digest it, and to remember to act on it when they go to the polls.

The bottom line is: If you want to have a choice between good candidates in November, you have to see that the parties nominate good candidates in the primaries. You can’t ignore the primary season and expect to have good candidates running in the fall.

So we’re starting now — many months in advance — and we need your utmost help so we can cover the significant costs of running this project.

Specifically, it will require that we raise $300,000 to get the job done.

I know that’s a lot of money—and it’s much more than we have right now. But . . .

We simply must inform Catholics about the five non-negotiables—and where each candidate stands on them. This will naturally help them decide who deserves their party’s nomination—and who doesn’t.

$300,000 Needed Now!

To make a donation click here:

http://www.caaction.com/candidate_guide.html

We really need everyone’s help on this, and we need it now.

With the primaries just around the corner, we need to have this new project up and running soon.

I implore you to prayerfully consider a generous donation today.

The primaries are that important. And they’re worth your donation of $50 . . . $100 . . . $500 . . . even $1,000 or more.

We must start now. Are you with us?

Sincerely in Christ,
Karl Keating