Nuns Whack Paul Ryan's Hand With Ruler

 

Synopsis: A group of Catholic Sisters are on a nine-state bus tour that will protest the Ryan budget. I have some thoughts on whether this is a case of religion crossing the line into political action.

I can’t stop thinking about this. The visualization of a group of nuns traveling through nine states and making 30-odd stops to spread their view of how the Ryan budget will decimate the poor, just makes me smile. Part of it is that I still picture nuns in their traditional habits as they go about scolding people and politicians in a manner fit for a church school. Not that it is accurate, but the visual image persists. Another is that there is legitimate concern the safety net for the poor and near-poor is at risk of being eliminated in the guise of deficit reduction and somebody is trying to do something about it. Deficits are not good, but to all but eliminate financial aid to the poor is something that should be fought without a good fight. In this light, the Paul Ryan budget raises the white flag. Lastly, is the irony; Paul Ryan and John Boehner are Catholics and they claim this bill falls in line with the ideals of their faith, a notion scoffed at by the good Sisters.

On another level, this road show makes me a little uneasy also. The fact that this trip is going through nine states, many of which are battleground states that could swing the result of the election, it is hard to ignore that this has all the elements of a political rally. This is clearly a religious group and they are spreading a message that has one party happy as the LA Kings winning the Stanley Cup and the other party muttering under their collective breaths.

I was never a fan of the clergy using their pulpit in churches across the USA as a method to spread a particular viewpoint. It seemed to be an unfair use of the influence they had garnered over the years by trusting congregations, only to squander the influence on political muscle designed to get an edge for their religious doctrines. It was usually partisan and self-serving. Fortunately, it had been slowed by threats of removing the church tax-exempt status if their messages strayed too much from the church’s creed.

Can the same be said for the Nuns On The Bus tour? Maybe. First of all, the nun tour is sanctioned by the Network Lobby, an organization championing social justice. There is just enough independence to suggest that other than a connection between Catholics and social justice, it is not a religious organization. Why do I have the feeling it is a hair-splitting detail? 

Second, it is truly a commentary on a particular bill submitted in the Congressional House for consideration. The only facet suggesting this is a political protest against one party or the other is how lopsided the indications are should there be a vote. There will be few crossovers as the GOP vote for it and Democrats vote against it. If it was a bi-partisan bill, would it have been equally political?

Third, it isn’t really a election issue at this point. Yes, Mitt Romney did say that he supports the Ryan bill and Obama has been against it, but there hasn’t been a clash – yet. As long as it is pointed at the bill and why it should be voted down, this tour shouldn’t be considered political election material until one side or the other starts lobbing shots between the two camps. As the election approaches, this will become a livelier political football as talk about the deficit heats up, trying to decide what can be eliminated and what can be saved.

I’m giving a pass to the nuns. It would have been easier to do so if the trip didn’t entail passing through a lot of purple states, but their goal isn’t greater attention to the Catholic faith as much as it is to save many of the poor additional anguish on an already difficult period.

Meanwhile, watch and listen to the nuns-on-wheels. They offer a viewpoint that is worthwhile. On one of the cable news shows, Sister Simone Campbell summed up the problem quite nicely: “We have to take care of our debt situation in our nation, but that is not because of social services, that’s because we went to war and slashed taxes.” You go Girl!