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Editorials
Monday, March 27, 2000Anti-Catholic charges
haunt RepublicansPOPE John Paul II's visit to the Holy Land has touched millions and bolstered the image of the Roman Catholic Church among non-Catholics. Meanwhile Republicans, through their own clumsiness, have opened themselves up to charges of prejudice against Catholics.The issue: George W. Bush's visit to Bob Jones University and a controversy over the selection of the House chaplain have prompted charges of prejudice against Catholics.
It started before the South Carolina primary election with George W. Bush's visit to Bob Jones University, an evangelical school whose leaders have made anti-Catholic statements. The visit was exploited in the subsequent Michigan primary campaign to insinuate that Bush was anti-Catholic. He has been strenuously denying that claim -- which seems baseless -- ever since.
Meanwhile the Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has been embroiled in a controversy over the House chaplain. In an attempt to put an end to the dispute, Speaker Dennis Hastert took to the House floor on Thursday and appointed a Catholic priest who had not been in contention for the job -- the Rev. Daniel Coughlin, a vicar of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The House has never had a Catholic chaplain.
Hastert defended his initial decision to select a Protestant minister over a Catholic priest and accused Democrats of conducting a cynical campaign portraying him and other Republicans as anti-Catholic.
The problem began last year when a bipartisan committee shortened a long list of candidates to three, with a Roman Catholic priest, Father Timothy O'Brien, receiving the most votes. The list was forwarded to Hastert, Majority Leader Dick Armey and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, without a vote tally and in alphabetical order.
After a round of interviews, Hastert chose the Protestant Rev. Charles Wright, with the support of Armey and eventually Gephardt. Republicans said that other House leaders had played no role in the choice of Wright.
But Democrats on the committee complained, saying they did not understand why the committee's first choice was not selected. They also charged that O'Brien had been asked in interviews inappropriate questions about his clerical collar and his ability to counsel married couples.
Last week Wright withdrew from consideration for the chaplaincy. That cleared the way for Hastert to appoint Coughlin, who had been recommended by the archbishop of Chicago.
Hastert had been under pressure from Roman Catholic Republicans, and Republicans from predominantly Catholic districts, to resolve the conflict. Now he has, but not before damage -- largely self-inflicted -- was done to the GOP.
Republicans will now have to work to dispel suspicion of anti-Catholic prejudice that should never have been an issue. This is not what the election campaign was supposed to be about.
Gore’s problems
AL Gore has been plagued by association with 1996 campaign finance violations. A federal jury's recent conviction of Gore's friend, Maria Hsia, for arranging more than $100,000 in illegal donations during that campaign resurrected the issue, including the vice president's questionable attendance at a Buddhist temple fund-raiser.
Now Gore's campaign chairman, Tony Coelho, has become a problem. A former congressman from California who left the House in 1989 amid questions about his personal financial dealings, Coehlo is under a criminal investigation being handled jointly by the Justice Department's Public Integrity section and the State Department inspector general.
Coelho's lawyer said he is being investigated for financial transactions he made while serving as head of the U.S. exhibition at the Expo 98 world's fair in Portugal. With a $300,000 personal loan, Coelho built a Portuguese-American memorial wall sculpture. He formed the Luso-American Wave Foundation to help repay the loan.
A State Department inspector general's report said taxpayers could be responsible for any unpaid bills and cited mismanagement of the pavilion by Coelho and his staff.
Gore could also be embarrassed by an investigation of White House computer breakdowns. Court papers have disclosed that the Justice Department is conducting a criminal inquiry into computer breakdowns that made it impossible to search thousands of incoming emails in response to law enforcement and congressional subpoenas.
The investigation will focus on missing 1996-99 emails and allegations that White House officials threatened contract employees with retaliation if they revealed the problem.
Even if the investigation determines that the explanation for the omissions was innocent, the probe itself reinforces the suspicion that the Clinton administration was trying to conceal incriminating facts.
All this of course is welcome ammunition for Gore's probable Republican opponent, George W. Bush. He commented, "The best way to make sure we get rid of all these investigations is to change administrations." As noted above, Bush has his own problems with claims that he is anti-Catholic.
Associates of Coelho said he had no immediate plans to leave the campaign. Gore spoke in his support, saying Coelho "is doing a terrific job day after day."
But if the pressure intensifies, Coelho may be forced out. When the presidency is at stake, campaign aides are expendable.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
