It looks like U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) is in a bit of a bind. In an attempt to embarrass his bishop last fall — His Excellency Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island — to cover himself for his shameless advocacy of abortion-on-demand despite his professed Catholicism, he has seen his poll numbers drop. According to one cited on a cable news show last night, it’s down to 37 percent.
Mr. Kennedy has become so weak that the normally deep, deep blue Congressional district he represents is now competitive. Republican State Rep. John Loughlin (EastBayRI.com) now is on the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee’s “watch list” (Providence Journal Blog) as a possible target race. Not only that, but Representative Kennedy seems to have invited primary opposition (Los Angeles Times) as well.
It’s too early to tell, but maybe Mr. Kennedy will learn a bit of a lesson: Keep private conversations private and learn your Catechism before you do spout off. Perhaps most importantly, despite assertions to the contrary, it’s the Left that uses the Church for political gain; so now, perhaps, he and others will learn the pitfalls of such cynical ploys that attempt to belittle and demean others and their reputations.
