The Tea Party vs. the Catholic Church

Battle royale

WingnutsApril 2011 • Views: 22,810

Tonight in a special cage match, it’s the Tea Party vs. the Catholic Church: GOP Rep to target Catholic Church tax status.

Republican State Rep. and Tea Party leader Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) told the Catholic League he will be filing legislation in the New Hampshire House to strip the Roman Catholic Church of its tax exempt status because Bishop John McCormack spoke against proposed budget cuts at a recent State House rally, according to Bill Donohue, the President of the Catholic League.

“I am now considering a bill to remove the Church’s tax exempt status in New Hampshire, for you have clearly shown that you no longer want it,” Manuse says in the e-mail. …

“Never in the nearly 18 years I have spent as president of the Catholic League have I seen more totally irresponsible statements issued by the lawmakers in any one state,” said Donohue in a statement. “Why doesn’t Manuse go right ahead with his bill to remove the Church’s tax-exempt status? We’d love to present his e-mail in court.”

This might seem bizarre, but it makes more sense when you realize that Teabaggers are generally much more fundamentalist than Catholics are. They’re more in line with extreme Pentecostalism, and those kinds of fanatics really despise the Catholic Church.

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55 comments

jamesfirecat Tue, Apr 5, 2011 7:57:29pm

"to strip the Roman Catholic Church of its tax exempt status"

Does the Tea Party also plan to take on the Church of Scientology any time soon?

Because that really would be a match that we were bound to win regardless of who lost....

ProGunLiberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 7:59:07pm

re: #1 jamesfirecat

I wouldn't be surprised if Scientologists broke Republican. Don't forget Sonny Bono.

Dancing along the light of day Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:01:54pm

What a fun cage match! Who can be more fundamentalist than the other.
Green Jello, anyone?

Kragar Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:02:15pm

How long before Bryan Fischer comes out and says Catholics have no First Amendment rights?

jaunte Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:02:20pm

Manuse can't break himself of his habit of touching legislative junk.

Dark_Falcon Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:02:45pm

Andrew Manuse's ego just wrote a check his power won't be able to cash. The Catholic League is quite strong within the Republican Party and a number of prominent Republicans are Catholic, with new Senator Marco Rubio heading the list. My guess: Manuse's bill dies in the New Hampshire House and he's forced to take.

Lidane Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:03:27pm

Going after the Catholic Church? Oh, this should be fun.

engineer cat Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:04:42pm

The Tea Party vs. the Catholic Church

joe mccarthy goes after the u.s. army

elizajane Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:04:45pm

This comes as no surprise. It's only the very young or those who grew up in more liberal places that really think of Catholics as normal Christians. Remember, WASP is about Protestants. They are the people who are supposed to hold the power.

I remember when the first Catholic family was allowed to join the Country Club in my home town. That would have been in around 1980, and it was a big deal. Given that the Tea Party wants to turn the clocks back to well before 1980, obviously they would want the Catholics out of the club again.

(BTW, it took a lot longer before Jews were allowed into those clubs, and I'm sure they'll be out again as soon as it's socially acceptable.)

Kragar Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:06:11pm

Oh man, I just looked at what Bryan's been up to and its a doozy;

Welfare has destroyed the African-American family by telling young black women that husbands and fathers are unnecessary and obsolete. Welfare has subsidized illegitimacy by offering financial rewards to women who have more children out of wedlock. We have incentivized fornication rather than marriage, and it’s no wonder we are now awash in the disastrous social consequences of people who rut like rabbits.

jamesfirecat Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:06:27pm

re: #4 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

How long before Bryan Fischer comes out and says Catholics have no First Amendment rights?

We'll give some lands to the ni**ers and the ch**ks but we don't want the Irish!

Stanghazi Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:08:30pm

Oh slippery slope teatards!

Dark_Falcon Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:09:26pm

re: #10 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Oh man, I just looked at what Bryan's been up to and its a doozy;

If he'd had stopped with the first two sentences, he would have had a defensible* argument. But, OH NO! He kept on going and that third sentence is clearly Bryan Fischer tooting on the dog whistle.

Amory Blaine Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:09:46pm

Jeff Stone just conceded.

Killgore Trout Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:10:10pm

Republican State Rep. and Tea Party leader Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) told the Catholic League he will be filing legislation in the New Hampshire House to strip the Roman Catholic Church of its tax exempt status because Bishop John McCormack spoke against proposed budget cuts at a recent State House rally, according to Bill Donohue, the President of the Catholic League.

Fiscal responsibility!

jamesfirecat Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:11:42pm

re: #15 Killgore Trout

Fiscal responsibility!

///Hey if nothing else, its Republicans trying to increase tax revenue, how often do you see that?

Killgore Trout Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:11:51pm

re: #14 Amory Blaine

Jeff Stone just conceded.

Kloppenburg and Prossner are still neck and neck.

engineer cat Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:11:54pm

re: #15 Killgore Trout

Fiscal responsibility!

worked well for henry VIII

Simply Sarah Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:12:42pm

I'd really like to see him try. I'm pretty sure such a law would be seen as a bill of attainder and, as such, would be unconstitutional. Failing that, I doubt it would stand up to First or Fourteenth Amendment challenges. What a joke.

The Yankee Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:12:55pm

Actually I think that a lot of churches need to loose their tax except status. Most of them venture way too far into politics and have no respect for that law. The Mormon church and many black inner cities churches are well known for this sin followed by many Evangelicals.

Killgore Trout Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:14:28pm

re: #16 jamesfirecat

///Hey if nothing else, its Republicans trying to increase tax revenue, how often do you see that?

Heavenly Bank Account

Youtube Video

Tax the churches.

Kragar Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:14:40pm

re: #13 Dark_Falcon

If he'd had stopped with the first two sentences, he would have had a defensible* argument. But, OH NO! He kept on going and that third sentence is clearly Bryan Fischer tooting on the dog whistle.

So for the record, some people are bad because they rut like animals and have too many kids, but if they use birth control or seek abortions, then they're bad because they're against God's plan.

What a cocksucker.

Dark_Falcon Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:15:20pm

re: #13 Dark_Falcon

If he'd had stopped with the first two sentences, he would have had a defensible* argument. But, OH NO! He kept on going and that third sentence is clearly Bryan Fischer tooting on the dog whistle.

*= "Defensible" means the argument can be defended by a sane person without lying. It does not mean "I agree with the argument".

moderatelyradicalliberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:15:38pm

re: #13 Dark_Falcon

If he'd had stopped with the first two sentences, he would have had a defensible* argument. But, OH NO! He kept on going and that third sentence is clearly Bryan Fischer tooting on the dog whistle.

Actually unless he wants to talk about the War on ~~young black men~~ Drugs, he still wouldn't have had a defensible argument. If you have approximately 1/3 of any groups male population in the correctional/prison industrial complex in some sort of way at some point in their lives, that's going to lead to an awful lot of that groups women having a hard time finding husbands even if they want one. But nobody wants to discuss that. It's a lot easier to compare them to animals and leave out the fact how many of them are literally in cages.

b_sharp Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:15:58pm

Anybody taken a look at this latest exposé of Bachmann's lies?

Amory Blaine Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:15:58pm

re: #10 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Oh man, I just looked at what Bryan's been up to and its a doozy;

I would love to see a well done last supper with Newt and the gang standing in.

recusancy Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:16:24pm

re: #14 Amory Blaine

Jeff Stone just conceded.

Walker's vacant seat goes Dem in a landslide.

moderatelyradicalliberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:16:31pm

re: #14 Amory Blaine

Jeff Stone just conceded.

In Wisconsin?

Amory Blaine Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:17:07pm

re: #28 moderatelyradicalliberal

In Wisconsin?

Yes for Milwaukee County Executive. Walkers old job.

ProGunLiberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:17:43pm

re: #28 moderatelyradicalliberal

TPM shows Kloppenburg with a small 3969 vote lead with 58% reporting as of now. Expect to gloat viciously if Kloppenburg wins.

Stanghazi Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:17:44pm

re: #24 moderatelyradicalliberal

Actually unless he wants to talk about the War on ~~young black men~~ Drugs, he still wouldn't have had a defensible argument. If you have approximately 1/3 of any groups male population in the correctional/prison industrial complex in some sort of way at some point in their lives, that's going to lead to an awful lot of that groups women having a hard time finding husbands even if they want one. But nobody wants to discuss that. It's a lot easier to compare them to animals and leave out the fact how many of them are literally in cages.

moderatelyradicalliberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:18:01pm

re: #29 Amory Blaine

Yes for Milwaukee County Executive. Walkers old job.

Yeah. The judicial race is a nail bitter though.

freetoken Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:18:38pm

re: #9 elizajane

In the good ol' days of the Protestant ~~revolution~~ Reformation the battle cry was that the Pope == the Antichrist. The Catholic theologians fought back and pushed an eschatology where all the events of the NT "apocalypse" were about the future (as opposed to a major school of thinking that ascribed most of the book of Revelations to the period of the Roman empire), thus proving that the Pope couldn't be the Antichrist because the Papacy has been here since at least the 3rd century.

Anyway, oversimplified as that may be of history, it does show how the current American Christian obsession with "end times" is a fruit of centuries of Protestant and Catholic fighting. Otherwise, most Christians would be amillennialists and lunacy such as the LaHaye's books etc. wouldn't be around.

I've become more convinced over time that what the US is suffering today is a social eruption of religious existential angst, as the old ways and beliefs are clearly failing in the light of modernity.

Stanghazi Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:19:30pm

re: #31 Stanley Sea

Where's my comment?

Basicially it was Q f t

RogueOne Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:19:33pm

re: #30 ProLifeLiberal

TPM shows Kloppenburg with a small 3969 vote lead with 58% reporting as of now. Expect to gloat viciously if Kloppenburg wins.

10k with 59%. You're going to have to hang on for a bit

moderatelyradicalliberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:21:52pm

Back on topic, the some of these TPGOPers seem determined to offend the shit out of everyone. Going after the Catholic Church because one priest spoke out against their policies on his own time? I guess he thinks that clergy has no business speaking out against abortion or marching during the Civil Rights Movement as well? Should MLKs church have lost it's tax exempt status?

moderatelyradicalliberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:24:04pm

re: #35 RogueOne

10k with 59%. You're going to have to hang on for a bit

I'm waiting until all votes are in. It's a judicial race after all. But I'm glad about the other race. We could have a split tonight.

goddamnedfrank Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:25:05pm

re: #30 ProLifeLiberal

TPM shows Kloppenburg with a small 3969 vote lead with 58% reporting as of now. Expect to gloat viciously if Kloppenburg wins.

I've found live footage of the election:

Youtube Video

Dark_Falcon Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:28:11pm

re: #30 ProLifeLiberal

TPM shows Kloppenburg with a small 3969 vote lead with 58% reporting as of now. Expect to gloat viciously if Kloppenburg wins.

Results from the AP have him up less than 2000 with 65% of the vote counted. This is very close.

moderatelyradicalliberal Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:31:15pm

re: #39 Dark_Falcon

Results from the AP have him up less than 2000 with 65% of the vote counted. This is very close.

There will probably be a recount.

Dark_Falcon Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:34:17pm

re: #40 moderatelyradicalliberal

There will probably be a recount.

That is true.

ElCapitanAmerica Tue, Apr 5, 2011 8:34:56pm

This might seem bizarre, but it makes more sense when you realize that Teabaggers are generally much more fundamentalist than Catholics are.

"generally much more fundamentalist than Catholics"?

The Catholic Church is not fundamentalist at all. Actually most mainstream churches are NOT fundamentalist, the problem is in the US Christianity is viewed by the American created variants; evangelicals ("non-denominational churches, etc). The Catholic Church, like the Protestant Church, don't promote Creationism. Heck, it was a Jesuit Priest that first proposed the idea of the Big Bang.

By fundamentalist here I'm going by one of the key aspects to determine that in the Christian tradition, which is Bible literalism.

I'm totally not surprised by this move, I think it's great. Aside from abortion and gay marriage, the Catholic Church is definitely not in touch with Tea Party dogma (ex: Immigration, help for the poor, etc)

SanFranciscoZionist Tue, Apr 5, 2011 9:21:16pm

re: #7 Lidane

Going after the Catholic Church? Oh, this should be fun.

This is one time when I will be happy to see all of the organizational power of the Church wielded like a club.

SanFranciscoZionist Tue, Apr 5, 2011 9:23:57pm

re: #36 moderatelyradicalliberal

Back on topic, the some of these TPGOPers seem determined to offend the shit out of everyone. Going after the Catholic Church because one priest spoke out against their policies on his own time? I guess he thinks that clergy has no business speaking out against abortion or marching during the Civil Rights Movement as well? Should MLKs church have lost it's tax exempt status?

However, I'm quite sure that he would be horrified at the thought of going after the Catholic Church or the LDS Church for pouring time and money into blocking gay marriage.

This is a man who doesn't give a shit about any principle except getting his own way.

Michael Orion Powell Wed, Apr 6, 2011 12:18:14am

re: #9 elizajane

This comes as no surprise. It's only the very young or those who grew up in more liberal places that really think of Catholics as normal Christians. Remember, WASP is about Protestants. They are the people who are supposed to hold the power.

I remember when the first Catholic family was allowed to join the Country Club in my home town. That would have been in around 1980, and it was a big deal. Given that the Tea Party wants to turn the clocks back to well before 1980, obviously they would want the Catholics out of the club again.

(BTW, it took a lot longer before Jews were allowed into those clubs, and I'm sure they'll be out again as soon as it's socially acceptable.)

That actually clarifies distinctly why Catholic churches are so predominant in urban areas, a question I always asked and got weird answers to. Catholics also tend to be immigrants from historically poorer countries in Europe - Ireland, Poland, Romania, etc.

Sol Berdinowitz Wed, Apr 6, 2011 2:03:07am

re: #42 ElCapitanAmerica

You make a good point: other than ooposing abortion and supporting a strong family, there is not much overlap between Catholics and Evangelical Christians on social issues.

theheat Wed, Apr 6, 2011 4:07:58am

How many churches have been stripped of their tax-exempt status for getting all political? Seems like a big stick that gets waved but never used. Hence, the threat is pretty much empty.

SidewaysQuark Wed, Apr 6, 2011 4:53:56am

Obviously forgetting the words of their own mythos: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

JEA62 Wed, Apr 6, 2011 5:43:30am

AMEN!

The Catholic Church - amongst many churches like the Baptists - has had no problem interfering in politics all the time (lest we forget how many times a Democratic political candidate has been threatened by some bishop with denial of communion for publicly supporting abortion rights: John Kerry, Mario Cuomo, etc.).

No churches should enjoy tax exempt status if they want to interfere in politics.

S'latch Wed, Apr 6, 2011 5:48:52am

So, a church group is exercising its right of free speech in speaking against some proposed budget cuts and the legislative branch of the state is threatening to retaliate by passing a law to remove the church's tax exempt status.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech . . .."

It gives me a headache thinking about this.

ContinentalOp Wed, Apr 6, 2011 8:06:46am

The Catholic Church is generally liberal on issues that have nothing to do with sex.

JRCMYP Wed, Apr 6, 2011 8:57:23am

Well, you know, the Catholic Church is all about social justice. And that just won't do in today's Republican party. Tea or otherwise.

JRCMYP Wed, Apr 6, 2011 8:59:18am

re: #42 ElCapitanAmerica

You are absolutely correct about the fundamentalism aspect.

Ming Wed, Apr 6, 2011 9:15:19am

I always like to say: if organized religion wants to get involved in politics, they can always start by paying taxes.

gummitch Wed, Apr 6, 2011 2:18:39pm

The heading is very misleading. This isn't tea potty v Catholic Church but tea potty v Bill Donohue, noted jerkwad and head of the Catholic League. From Media Matters:

William A. Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, has made 23 guest appearances on TV news programs in 2004. Donohue uses his appearances primarily to attack gays and progressives. He has referred to the "gay death style," remarked, "God forbid we'd run out of little gay kids," claimed that Senator John Kerry "never found an abortion he couldn't justify," and claimed that "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular ... Hollywood likes anal sex."

That Bill Donohue. I say we lock them both in a closet and let them duke it out.

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