No, this is not about Chappaquidick where, in 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy abandoned a young woman to drown in his car as he cowardly, but true to type, fled the scene by swimming away and staying out of contact with police for some hours. Nor is it about Kennedy's ability, after 20 plus years of marriage and several children, to purchase (from his friendly, family Boston Cardinal) an annulment from his marriage to first wife, Joan. No, it's more about Kennedy's Catholicism or lack of it and his perpetual hypocrisy about his popular political positions such as abortion and homosexuality. Nor is he alone among democratic politicos who happen to be Catholic. He just happens to be the best known.

Catholic doctrine is quite clear: the act of abortion and the acts of homosexuality are sins of the highest magnitude, each sufficient unto itself to send the Senator straight to Hell where he could doubtless join in a family touch football game. Those acts are deadly to the life of one's immortal soul. Nevertheless, Kennedy, and other Catholic hypocrites, such as Mario Cuomo and Daniel Moynihan swear that while abortion is personally abhorrent to them, they will uphold a woman's "right" to impose the death sentence on an unborn child. Further, these politicos support the homosexual's "right" to choose sodomy over abstinence. Such "rights" are codified; they are law. And, again, these Catholic celebrities supported their president's "right" to oral satisfaction over fidelity to his faithful wife, his office or the law.

Excuse me but isn't this how Kennedy and the other liberal loud-mouths confront conservative nominees? How, went their rant against John Ashcroft, could you have such strong personal beliefs about abortion and homosexuality yet still declare you would uphold laws directly contrary to your beliefs. How indeed.
Then there was the recent example of President Bush's nomination of Priscilla Owen to the federal bench. Her nomination was defeated in committee, principally on the ruse of being anti-abortion.

But aren't those perfectly good questions to pose to any Catholic politician like Kennedy, either Cuomo and the rest? After all, they are in office; they wrote those laws; they vote to expand those laws and, to a one, each accepts money and support from people and groups who are the leaders in the promotion of abortion and homosexual conduct, those twin evils of their Faith.

Come to think of it, where were these luminaries during the months of the sexual abuse scandals which rocked their Church in America? Nowhere to be heard. One wonders where the Catholic clergy is in all this? (In bed with the Kennedy family Cardinal perhaps, giving new meaning to the old phrase "beating the bishop"?)

Few, if any, priests thunder from their bully pulpit about the hypocrisy of Catholic politicians. You could go to Mass three times a day and not hear one, single priest advising against supporting the Kennedy - Cuomo crowd. Other Catholics with national reputations, such as John Sweeney, the no relation president of the AFL-CIO, regularly feted by his friends in collars, is quick to lie down with the NOW gang and the rest of the anti-life crowd. No worries though; no official Catholic voices are raised against the anti-Catholic positions of Catholic politicians.

But let the shoe fit the other foot and what we have is: Ye Olde Liberal Double non-Standard: that which is perfectly reasonable for us liberals is perfectly awful for you conservatives.

Hypocrites.

The reasons, of course, are power and money or money and power. Senators are powerful in the political spectrum. Power means the ability to shower tax dollars into the charities, foundations and other such groups favoring those politicians. Politicians found and sustain their power from the votes of groups dedicated to single issues. After election, single issue groups go to their icons for financial support. It's an eternal cycle for them all: elect the hypocrite who votes someone else's money to fund our cause.

You are the someone else.