is Rick Santorum more or less objectionable because he is a Roman Catholic?

[ingemann]

The Catholic church is the largest denomination in America yet still is the only one with clergy shortage issues.

We have standards.

I'm afraid recent events in America, Ireland and elsewhere show that that isn't the case.

The standards doesn't cower that.


To get back to the whole Santorum debate. I find Santorum being Catholic less objectionable, simply because the enjoyment I get from seeing Catholics trying to wring themselves out from that "he´s really not Catholic" yes he is, deal with it.

As for BRTD, I thank the almighty that he has left the Lutheran Church behind, we really don't need his brand of bigotry.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The Catholic church is the largest denomination in America yet still is the only one with clergy shortage issues.

We have standards.

I'm afraid recent events in America, Ireland and elsewhere show that that isn't the case.

The standards doesn't cower that.


To get back to the whole Santorum debate. I find Santorum being Catholic less objectionable, simply because the enjoyment I get from seeing Catholics trying to wring themselves out from that "he´s really not Catholic" yes he is, deal with it.

As for BRTD, I thank the almighty that he has left the Lutheran Church behind, we really don't need his brand of bigotry.

Huh? I've voted for Catholics. My point is actually pretty similar to what you said above with the "he's not really Catholic" stuff and that people associating with Catholicism without following is just not very common where I live.

[TJ in Oregon]

BRTD I think you're on to something with the German ancestry idea. Being German American is a bit different than being Italian American or Irish American or Lithuanian American in that those groups have a large number of ethnic customs that were maintained over the years that really define them whereas being German American isn't much different than being American period. For instance if you go to Cleveland and ask where the Italian ethnic neighborhoods (Little Italy,Gordon Square) or Polish ethnic neighborhoods (Slavic Village, Parma) or Irish ethnic neighborhoods (West Park) are, you'll be able to find them. There is no German ethnic neighborhood and hasn't been one since about 1850.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There are definitely heavily German heritage influenced areas in the Midwest, though these are rural. The town of New Ulm, MN is the perfect example. Also the area surrounding St. Cloud (basically the whole western half of Michele Bachmann's district), though this is kind of fading thanks to St. Cloud + exurban sprawl, and most of the rural areas surrounding my hometown in North Dakota which is named after Otto von Bismarck. And of course that area in central Texas.

However as I noted, people in these areas are just as likely to be Lutheran as Catholic (well here at least. I understand it's different in that Texas region where immigration was mostly from Bavaria.), so it's not much of a cultural identifier.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Something that recently came to me while perusing Oldiesfreak posts: Most people love to mock him for the special logic he uses in arguing against the Democrats, but how is this really much different than the "OMG CULTURE TRADITION!" justifications used to stay in the Catholic Church when you have virtually nothing in common with it discussed here?

Serious question, not really a snark. Because as I noted before I may just think in a totally different way on this stuff.