The Response. Or whatever.

I'm sure that Governor Rick Perry is sincere in his religious beliefs. They are, from what I've heard, longstanding beliefs, beliefs on which he acts and by which he lives. Good for him.

But about this event - The Response? The hope is that they'll fill the 71,000 seats of Reliant Stadium with people to pray for whatever they think needs praying for. Again, good for them.

The issue I have is with Rev. John Hagee. Rev. Hagee is a co-sponsor of the event. I am Catholic. Rev. Hagee is anti-Catholic. I know, he has apologized for his public remarks. Really and truly he hasn't apologized for the remarks. He apologized if any Catholic's feelings were hurt by the remarks. He says he recants, and doesn't hold those anti-Catholic views. Well. The problem is that you can't, as hard as you may try, unring the bell. You can't unscramble the egg. I'm thinking he was fully aware of what he was saying and of the impact it would have. Public people making public statements are usually very well aware of what they are saying. Besides, many of his strongest anti-Catholic statements were made in books he wrote and published. Publishing any book involves writing, countless reviews and rewriting. He knew - and he only "recanted" when things got a little - warm? - for Hagee's favorite presidential candidate. Yes, John McCain did have his Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

So you've recanted?

Horsepuckey.

This was a showcase for Gov. Perry's evangelical base. His fundamentalist base, anyway (don't confuse "evangelical" with "fundamentalist". They're not exactly the same thing.) Fundamentalist; conservative; Christian; straight. You'd be hard-pressed to find more than a token presence of anyone who didn't fit that description at this event. (And, since this is now in retrospect - I started writing this on Saturday morning, and am now writing on Sunday night - I can report they didn't get anywhere near 71,000.)

So, could Jews pray for their country? Well, sure; the old cover-up: "Everyone's invited!" was given. But, no Jewish presence among the speakers or pray-ers.

Any Catholics on the dais? Well, no. In fact - well, see the above remarks about one of the co-sponsors, the Good Rev. Hagee.

A word to the wise, Gov. Perry (or Rep. Bachmann, or Gov. Romney or Huntsman): do not disregard the Catholic electorate. We are about 25% of the U.S. populace, and about 27% of the electorate. No other religious voting block comes close to our numbers. And don't think, just because we are firmly anti-abortion and you follow us in that regard, that you have us in your pocket.

Do not disrepect us. If Gov. Perry really wants to make a run at the Oval Office, he should run, not walk, away from the Rev. Hagee, as John McCain had the sense to do.

Do not assume that, because we agree on abortion, we will vote Republican. To wit:

THE DEATH PENALTY. At least the last two Popes have been opposed to it. This is also a pro-life issue and to be a Catholic pro-life person you must respect life from conception to natural death. Meaning: no abortion, no death penalty, no euthanasia. The American bishops, as a group, have called for the end of capital punishment. So where are you, my fundamentalist friends?

IMMIGRATION. The worldwide church, the Pope and numerous American bishops have called for more humane treatment and a more helpful attitude toward immigrants. Funny thing: most of those who are the most virulent anti-immigrants are those whose own ancestors could not have gotten into the country under current law. So, where are you, my fundamentalist friends?

A huge wave of immigration occurred in the nineteenth century. A great number of Irish came over. Many of them were welcomed, and told to go right over there and see that nice Army man. See, we've got this little Civil War thing going on. So the Irish would go to see the soldier, and go to fight in a war that wasn't really his. Then, they would go to their new homes and see signs like, "No Irish need apply"; "No dogs or Irishmen." Poles and Italians ran into much the same sort of bigotry. One thing they all had in common: Poles, Irish and Italians were and are almost all Catholic.

Some felt so threatened by these Catholic immigrants that they formed anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic groups. You may have heard of one such: the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK was largely motivated by an anti-black animus, but they were also anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish. Anti-everything except WASP.

Part of the reason the Catholics built such an extensive school system was that, in many parts of the country, the good Protestant parents didn't want their kids contaminated with that Papist stuff. So Catholic kids couldn't get into the public schools.

And now you see the conservatives in their attitudes toward immigration from Mexico, and you can almost see the white robes and hoods coming out. Truth is, those robes and hoods never went away. The immigrants - then white, now brown; then, as now, almost exclusively Catholic - are still seen as a threat. Didn't want to allow those Irish, Polish and Italian kids into school then? You don't want to allow the Mexican kids in now.

And that's what Gov. Perry wants to associate with? Even be in the forefront of?

Oh, yeah, a third issue: THE ECONOMY. Catholic social teaching has never allowed for furthe enrichment of the already-wealthy at the cost of leaving behind the poor, the less fortunate. Rep. John Boehner is a Catholic, and in the recent budget debates his own bishop sent him a letter to remind Rep. Boehner of this. The late pope John Paul II saw that a common thread between the Communist systems and Capitalist systems was that both, rather than enhancing the value of the individual, sought to lessen that value - to grind up the value of the individual. Reread Ayn Rand. Don't pay attention to what she says about her novels' heroes. Pay attention to what she says about everyone else.

Don't take the Catholic vote for granted. To play to your base and to ignore us could be a huge mistake.

Thanks for hanging out for a few. As always, would love your res;ponses.