{"id":101176,"date":"2013-12-26T10:03:17","date_gmt":"2013-12-26T10:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/pope-economic-ideas-rattle-gop\/"},"modified":"2013-12-26T10:03:17","modified_gmt":"2013-12-26T10:03:17","slug":"pope-economic-ideas-rattle-gop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/pope-economic-ideas-rattle-gop\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope economic ideas rattle GOP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

He draws crowds like a rock star, was named \u00c5\u201cPerson of the Year\u201d by Time and drew the ire of Rush Limbaugh for his criticism of \u00c5\u201ctrickle-down\u201d economics. Pope Francis has dramatically shifted the message and tone of the Vatican in the last nine months, and he\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s forcing Republicans in Washington to reassess their relationship with the Catholic church.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For years, Catholic leaders\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 staunch and very public opposition to abortion, gay marriage and the contraception-related provisions of Obamacare made them natural allies for the GOP. But Francis has scrambled the equation by de-emphasizing hot-button social issues, warning against unchecked capitalism and pushing a populist message at odds with the core of the anti-spending, anti-big government Republican Party.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s unclear whether Francis\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s proclamations will fray the ties between the right and the Vatican, but already some conservatives have sharply criticized his economic ideas. At the same time, some on the right have expressed admiration for the 77-year-old pope\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s more inclusive approach. Their praise comes as the GOP itself grapples with growing disenchantment among young people and other demographics for its strident tone on social issues.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201cHis economic perspective I\u00e2\u201e\u00a2m not particularly enamored with, but his advocacy for the poor, his lifestyle example, his more modern outlook on social issues \u201d I\u00e2\u201e\u00a2ve been very impressed,\u201d said Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican.<\/p>\n

Last month, Francis blasted \u00c5\u201ctrickle-down\u201d economics as an \u00c5\u201copinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, [that] expresses a crude and na\u00c3\u00afve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power.\u201d He also criticized the \u00c5\u201cidolatry of money\u201d and unbridled capitalism as \u00c5\u201ca new tyranny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative radio host Limbaugh slammed the comments as \u00c5\u201cpure Marxism\u201d and other commentators on the right also vehemently disagreed with the pope\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s message. One derided Francis as the \u00c5\u201cCatholic Church\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Obama.\u201d Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a tea party darling, said Francis had made \u00c5\u201csome statements that to me sound kind of liberal,\u201d though she later walked back that assessment.<\/p>\n

In an interview with an Italian outlet, Francis replied to his critics: \u00c5\u201cThe Marxist ideology is wrong,\u201d he said. \u00c5\u201cBut I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t feel offended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who grew up attending Catholic school and graduated from the University of Notre Dame\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s law school, told POLITICO that he disagreed with the pope\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s economic message. He considers the phrase \u00c5\u201ctrickle-down\u201d to be a \u00c5\u201cpejorative\u201d term, \u00c5\u201clike some liberal speechwriter stuck it in.\u201d But he also argued that the pope\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s message should be considered in a broader context.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201cI genuinely believe\u2026supply-side economics does more to help people come out of poverty, move up in the world \u2026 but on the other hand, we shouldn\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t be dwelling on wealth,\u201d King said. \u00c5\u201cThe guidance I\u00e2\u201e\u00a2d take from this is, when I support conservative economics, I should do it in a way that helps the most people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Observers said Francis\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s understated approach to polarizing social issues represents a sharp break with his predecessors, including Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, though the newest pontiff hasn\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t altered church doctrine on those issues.<\/p>\n

His inclusive outlook may have played a role in his decision to remove Cardinal Raymond Burke from the Congregation for Bishops, an influential Vatican organization. Burke, an outspoken conservative, in 2004 signaled he would deny communion to John Kerry, a Catholic running for president at the time, because of his support for abortion rights.<\/p>\n

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who is Catholic, downplayed the furor in some conservative circles over Francis, who was elected pope in March.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201cHe\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s entitled to his opinion, but I think we should look carefully at what he\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s saying,\u201d Toomey said. \u00c5\u201cIt\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s easy to draw I think what could be mistaken, superficial conclusions from some of the things that he said. I think he\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s a wonderful leader for the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a Catholic who is considered a possible presidential contender in 2016, noted that the pope\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s background isn\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t in American capitalism. \u00c5\u201cThe guy is from Argentina, they haven\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t had real capitalism in Argentina,\u201d Ryan said. \u00c5\u201cThey have crony capitalism in Argentina. They don\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t have a true free enterprise system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan added: \u00c5\u201cWhat I love about the pope is he is triggering the exact kind of dialogue we ought to be having.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Democrats, Francis has been a gift. Just as the liberal base and President Barack Obama have begun talking more about income inequality, along comes the pope to boost their cause.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201cI love this pope,\u201d said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). \u00c5\u201cJesus focused so much on helping the poor and the downtrodden and the least among us. And I think his refocusing on that, to me, has been a breath of fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania said Francis is a \u00c5\u201cgame-changer\u201d for \u00c5\u201csocial justice Democrats.\u201d He sees opportunities for the pope\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s message to play out during budget battles and fights over unemployment benefits and other social programs.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201cA lot of Catholic Democrats like myself have made it our life\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s mission to give voice to those who go without, and those who are the least among us \u201d the folks who rely on food stamps and public education,\u201d Murphy said. \u00c5\u201cKnowing he\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s in our corner gives us a lot of confidence that we\u00e2\u201e\u00a2re doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama even gave a nod to the pontiff during a recent high-profile speech on economic mobility.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201c[This] trend toward growing inequality is not unique to America\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s market economy,\u201d Obama said earlier this month. \u00c5\u201cAcross the developed world, inequality has increased. Some of you may have seen just last week, the pope himself spoke about this at eloquent length. \u00cb\u0153How can it be,\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 he wrote, \u00cb\u0153that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?\u00e2\u201e\u00a2\u201d<\/p>\n

Chester Gillis, a theology professor and a dean at Georgetown University, said that while the pope may be deeply inspiring to millions, he is also likely to weigh in on a slew of issues over the long haul, and not all of his opinions will unite American Catholics, much less lawmakers.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201cI love this pope, but I would not exaggerate the influence he\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s going to have on American political discourse,\u201d Gillis said. \u00c5\u201cI don\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t think it\u00e2\u201e\u00a2ll be heavily influential.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US church has come a long way since John F. Kennedy, who would become America\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s first Catholic president, had to make assurances that he wouldn\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t take orders from the Vatican.<\/p>\n

More than 50 years later, American Catholic bishops are influential voices in the political debate. They were especially visible in clashes over elements of the Affordable Care Act. Some expressed concern \u201d and have pursued lawsuits \u201d over the mandates for coverage of contraception, which they argued would force their institutions to violate their religious beliefs. At the same time, Obama won the Catholic vote twice, fueled in part last year by strong support among Hispanic Catholics.<\/p>\n

Gillis said he doesn\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t expect Francis to encourage bishops to weigh in as vocally as they have in the past on sensitive social issues, though he noted they will still likely speak out.<\/p>\n

For some lawmakers, the pope\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s influence has gone beyond policy and politics and into the personal. McCaskill, for instance, said some of her children are now considering going back to the church.<\/p>\n

\u00c5\u201cThey were raised in the Catholic Church. They had basically kind of walked away, because a lot of the really very conservative hierarchy in this country \u201d they didn\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t feel as welcome,\u201d she said. \u00c5\u201cNow, I think they feel more welcome. At this time of year, I don\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t know if you get any better than that: Your kids feel better about the church.\u201d <\/p>\n

AHT\/ARA<\/p>\n

Source: Press TV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He draws crowds like a rock star, was named \u00c5\u201cPerson of the Year\u201d by Time and drew the ire of Rush Limbaugh for his criticism of \u00c5\u201ctrickle-down\u201d economics. Pope Francis has dramatically shifted the message and tone of the Vatican in the last nine months, and he\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s forcing Republicans in Washington to reassess their relationship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1213,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-101176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-breaking-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}