Kathleen Kennedy Townsend - A Portrait of Hypocrisy

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lt. Governor of Maryland and daughter of the late Robert Kennedy, is asking the question is Rick Perry as Christian as he says he is. Since Perry puts his faith out there in the fashion he does it will be a question that comes up. But I have to question the messenger here.


Mrs. Townsend is pro-choice, oh sorry pro-conscience:

As I've said before, I consider myself "pro-conscience." Women do not make the decision to have an abortion lightly, but it is absolutely critical that they have the means to make this decision and access to the care they need, no matter what their choice. Anything less would be turning the clock back on the progress we have made on advancing women's health.

She is a Catholic. There is nothing more fundamental to the Catholic church than life. It is the first brick in the foundation of the faith. She once wrote an OP-ED on how abortion should not derail healthcare for all. After all, the Catholic Church considers healthcare for all a human right according to her. I am not Catholic, so I can't speak for the veracity of this statement. I do know that there is a very strong progressive social justice movement within the Catholic Church, that perverts the Gospels. She also goes on to say that opposing tax payer funded abortions is joining the likes of The Tea Party (The horror)

As Catholics, she said, “are we so laser focused on the issue of abortion that we are willing to join tea partiers and the like to bring down the health care reform bill? And at the enormous expense of millions of Americans who suffer every day because they can’t afford to get checkups, because they must choose bankruptcy in order to save the life of their loved one? “Not this Catholic."

She obviously joins in with the social progressives that are trying to take over the Catholic faith.

I see a fundamental inconsistency between Perry's concerted opposition to government social programs and his promotion of himself as a Christian politician. When asked about the impact of Texas's low-tax, low-service policies on the poor, he suggested that people who wanted more government services could find them in New York or California.

Christ teaches us to feed the hungry and care for the sick, not to abandon them. Perhaps Gov. Perry hasn't read that part of the Bible where Christ admonishes us to care for "the least among us."

Mrs. Townsend please quote the passage that says the government must perform these duties? The bible is not about government and it's role in our lives. It is about the role we are to serve in world. It is about personal responsibility. Does Mrs. Townsend feel that Gov. Perry is not performing his role as Christian in his personal life? If so, that could be an opportunity for a charge of hypocrisy. I don't know that much about Perry's personal life, so I can't answer the question of what he does or does not do. As a Christian he should be personally trying to help the least among us. As a Christian you are asked to do this, on that there is no dispute. The dispute lies on what the governmental role is in it.


What I find the most hypocritical in her piece is this:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who just announced he's running for president, has taken a different tack. A week before announcing his candidacy, he led a prayer meeting for evangelical Christians in Houston. The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit trying to stop him from participating in this rally, arguing that he was violating the First Amendment by using his position, stationery, and website to promote the event. The court dismissed the complaint, saying that the plaintiff didn't show sufficient harm to merit the injunction.

I disagree with the court's ruling. I think the governor misused his office to promote a particular religion. That might have been clearer to the judge if Perry had organized a rally in support of Islam rather than Christianity. There's no difference as far as the First Amendment is concerned.

Doesn't she see that is saying on side of her mouth that government officials shouldn't be involved with prayer meetings in a public forum (A constitutional right as an American citizen, by the way) but that same government official should be collecting taxes to fund all kinds of welfare because it is a Christian duty? How the heck does that make sense? I also love how she thinks that Perry gives up his constitutional right to freely and openly express his religious views after taking an oath that says specifically he is to stand up and defend the constitution. The logic is mind-blowing. No one was forced to attend, no one was forced to convert. That is what the framers were trying to protect the people from. The framers did not want people to be mandated on how or who they worship, but to worship freely and openly. Just as Governor Perry did.