Distinctly Catholic

Over at InsideCatholic, they have an article that rails against what they call “Fake Catholic Groups.” By this, the author means groups that do not agree with her politics, not groups that somehow deny a line of the Creed or question the authority of the Pope and bishops to teach on faith and morals. The term “fake Catholic” evidences a judgmentalism that puts me in mind of the man in the synagogue who sat up front and prayed, “I thank thee, Lord, that I am not like other men.”

UPDATE (10/26): When I first wrote about this race in September, Real Clear Politics rated it as a "Toss-up" but the Cook Political report still rated it as "Lean Dem." No more. Cook moved it to the toss-up column at the beginning of October. There have not been any public polls in this race, so Cook's decision is doubtlessly based on the fact that Arizona is looking very red this year. The federal government's decision to sue the state has not helped with white working class voters who already had plenty of anxiety about Washington on account of the unemployment rate and concerns about the health care reforms. Even four-term Congressman Raul Grijalva in the neighboring Seventh District has seen his race go into the Toss-up column after a late September poll showed him leading by only 2 points. The GOP wave begins in Arizona this year, and it may well overwhelm incumbent congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

With all eyes on the upcoming beatification of John Henry Newman, Q & A asked a group of Newman scholars what the cardinal might have to say to the 21st century Church.

Oscar Wilde once said he could resist everything except temptation.

According to The Weekly Standard, Sen. Jim DeMint, who is the spiritual and financial godfather of the Tea Party movement, has announced his intention to raise $174,000 for Christine O'Donnell's campaign by next week. The amount equals what she could have received from the Republican National Election committees which have vowed to cut her loose.

DeMint's money will help bring O'Donnell to prominence. I am so tempted to send in a check!

UPDATE: "I am not a witch" is no way to start a political ad, but there was the inimitable Christine O'Donnell starting her first television ad with just those words. The ad was a Saturday Night Live skit waiting to happen, which of course happened the next weekend. O'Donnell went on to express her conviction that the First Amendment does not dictate the separation of Church and State. Not only has O'Donnell handed the Democrats an easy win in Delaware, but her ads on Philadelphia television have taken a toll on Pennsylvania's GOP Senate candidate Pat Toomey.
Voters may want a change, but they also value sanity. What is especially interesting about O'Donnell is that she is so obviously a flake, I don't see why the Tea Party crowd, which is nothing if not earnest, backed her. Coons has opened up a 17 percent lead in the RCP poll average. The day after the election, Ms. O'Donnell will become a footnote in political history, a hilarious footnote.