Why it’s hard to find a good Catholic in American politics

Yes, there are moderate pro-lifers who favor unions and such, but I’d have to ask what that union support entails. As far as I can tell, almost all unions are strongly on the left, and that means as well that the same unions are going to be supporting pro-abortion politicians and causes. Never mind that the pro-union politician is really saying “I favor confiscating workers’ wages for leftist positions as a condition of employment.” Even if unions were to amazingly become conservative in the future, that’s not just.

So really, what we have here is that a good portion of those who object to abortion need to be helped to understand a more consistent moral position, IMO.

This was a strange read to me. I agree with Bert that unions tend to support leftist causes like abortion and transgenderism, etc.; so he is right in that being pro-union and being pro-life do not mesh well, at least in the current configuration. I am not myself anti-union, however. They have done a lot in our country to moderate an extreme work ethic (I know stories of what happens on church boards when a workaholic rises to prominence; some churches need unions for their pastors!). Unfortunately, they have not adjusted to the times, and occupations that could use some sanity (like some salaried positions — e.g., investors on wall street, etc.) are not covered by unions. In other instances, unions have set ridiculous and wasteful rules that hurt enterprise. But that’s another story.

The concept of solidarity is interesting. I have seen the lack of solidarity come into play during the Pandemic. People who know better said things like, “The COVID is simply thinning the herd of its weakest members, the elderly and sickly.” Talk about ignoring the dignity of human life. The author may have a point about many Republicans (from whom I have heard such statements) might be pro-life, but they are not pro-human-dignity.

The truth is that most Catholics in politics are politicians first. We could say the same thing about protestants, except that liberal Protestantism is good with abortion, gay marriage, and all that leftist stuff. There is a consistency there at least. Some individual evangelicals might be guilty of violating the dignity of others unlike them, as the article claims, but hopefully not many.

This article had some points to ponder, but it was still weird.

Not opposed to unions—they have a valid purpose to help workers stand up to abusive management in places where there isn’t a lot of flexibility in employment—but I do object to measures the left is taking to replace open elections for unions with “card check” and excessive “closed shop” provisions. Card check is particularly obnoxious, and it’s banned in a lot of states because it too often boiled down to “hey, nice house and nice family ya got there….would be a shame if something happened….here’s the union card to sign.”

And to balance things, what you do is make sure that there is indeed flexibility in employment. I remember reading, with a shudder, a statement by General Motors from the 1930s saying that in ideal future communities, each town would have only one major employer. Having seen a degree of chicanery from executives, no thank you.

Here’s mine. When I was a grade school boy, my father obtained a bid from a non-union painter from another town to paint the exterior of our large, wooden, 1900’s style mid-western house. A union boss told him that if he hired a non-union company, we could expect the house to be splattered with red paint when the job was completed. Not being able to afford the exceedingly higher price charged by our local union painters, my Father took his entire two week’s vacation for that year, to paint the house himself. I’ve never forgotten that episode in our family history.