Interviewing Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of th
e liberal Catholic group NETWORK [1],
on her Thursday MSNBC show host Andrea Mitchell touted the
organization's effort "to rally opposition to Paul Ryan's proposed
health care cuts" with a nationwide "Nuns on the Bus" tour. In part, Campbell ranted that they wanted to make sure "our nation's soul is not corrupted further by the House Ryan budget."
Campbell began by touting Catholic bishops "who also say that the
House-passed Ryan budget is actually immoral," and proclaimed that she
and her left-wing colleagues, "know how terribly important it is that
the American public understand the problems, the huge problems in the
House-passed budget and that we need to educate the American people."
Mitchell
praised Campbell's efforts: "...you really are raising all sorts of
issues, and issues that really do affect women, primarily, women and
children, and those, as you say, at the margins of our society
economically." Campbell admitted: "Our process is really a political
process. Lifting up our faith to push back, to use it for mission so
that...the people that were cared about by Jesus, the poor, or the least
and the last, as we sometimes say, that they are lifted up and the
focus is on them and their needs."
Wrapping up the segment, Mitchell promised: "We will follow the Nuns on
the Bus, your tour next week." Campbell enthusiastically replied: "Oh,
do follow us, it's going to be a great trip."
On Wednesday, Campbell also appeared on MSNBC's Politics Nations,
where host Al Sharpton declared: "There's a war being waged in this
country. It's a war against the most vulnerable in our society. For
months now, the GOP has relentlessly targeted programs that help the
poor....sadly, villainizing the poor has become a rallying cry for the
other side."
Introducing Campbell, Sharpton announced: "This isn't American. This
isn't right. And it's why a group of Catholic sisters are organizing
nuns on the bus. A bus tour that will start in Iowa and then travel
through nine states to highlight the cruelty of this legislation." Campbell gushed that it was "an honor" to be Sharpton's guest.
Like with Mitchell, Campbell sounded like a Democratic Party hack:
...this budget that was passed by the House, proposed by Congressman Ryan, erodes the very core of who we are as a nation. Because what it does is it says we no longer believe in community. We no longer believe in caring for each other. We only believe in shifting money to the top. More money to those who are the richest. And giving even more money than the military wants to the military. People don't know these facts. And we need to make it clear.
Here is a portion of Mitchell's June 14 exchange with Campbell on Andrea Mitchell Reports:
1:23PM ET
(...)
Joining me now, is Sister Simone Campbell, who is leading the Network,
which is a Catholic social justice lobby. Which starting Monday is going
to be on a bus tour, Nuns on a Bus they say, to rally opposition to
Paul Ryan's proposed health care cuts. Sister Simone, it's very good to
see you. Thank you very much for joining me. Tell me what – what
inspired you and your colleagues, your fellow nuns, to take on the
bishops, in some cases, and in fact the Vatican?
SISTER SIMONE CAMPBELL: Well, actually what's really interesting about
this is we're actually standing with our bishops, who also say that the
House-passed Ryan budget is actually immoral. And when the censure came
out from the Vatican and Catholic sisters were getting so much
attention, we said, well, we're not used to having attention on
ourselves. I mean, that's not what we're about. We're about using our
opportunities to serve the needs of people who live in poverty. Who live
at the margins of society. Who are falling through the cracks of our
rather fractured tenuous economy.
And so we came together and I invited help from our colleagues to say,
what can we do to lift this moment up? And we know how terribly
important it is that the American public understand the problems, the
huge problems in the House-passed budget and that we need to educate the
American people. And how to do it? Well, it struck us that going on a
bus and lifting up these issues might get information out beyond the
Beltway, beyond Washington, D.C.
MITCHELL: It's an unusually public role and I know that you waited
several months actually after the Vatican censure to decide how to
respond. You took your time and you did it in a very contemplative way,
but you really are raising all sorts of issues, and issues that really
do affect women, primarily, women and children, and those, as you say,
at the margins of our society economically.
CAMPBELL: Right. Right. Well, I think we need to make a distinction
between the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, who is really the
biggest focus of the Vatican criticism. And they have a direct tie to
Rome, in that they are like incorporated by Rome, so that their
existence depends on Rome's approval. Network, the organization I run,
was criticized in this same document as a troublemaker, a suspect
organization for LCWR, the women religious, to have a relationship with.
So our response has been a little more public, a little more quickly.
The Leadership Conference has had a board meeting, was in Rome earlier
this week. And in prayer and reflection we'll be having more meetings
this coming weekend and then over the summer in the regions. So that
process is going on. Our process is really a political process. Lifting
up our faith to push back, to use it for mission so that the people that
Jesus responded to in the Gospel, the people that were cared about by
Jesus, the poor, or the least and the last, as we sometimes say, that
they are lifted up and the focus is on them and their needs. And our
nation's soul is not corrupted further by the House Ryan budget.
(...)
Here is a portion of Sharpton's June 13 exchange with Campbell on Politics Nation:
6:50PM ET
(...)
SHARPTON: Welcome back to Politics Nation.
There's a war being waged in this country. It's a war against the most
vulnerable in our society. For months now, the GOP has relentlessly
targeted programs that help the poor. Today was the latest example.
Senator Ryan Paul offered up an amendment to the Senate for their farm
bill that would cut food stamp spending by 45 percent next year. Is that
really how we should be fixing this economy? By taking food out of the
mouths of hungry children? No, it`s not. But sadly, villainizing the
poor has become a rallying cry for the other side.
PAUL RYAN: We don't want to turn this – into a panic. That allows able-bodied people...
MITT ROMNEY: I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We need people working with jobs, not our saving food stamps.
MICHELE BACHMANN: Our nation needs to stop doing for people what they
can and should do for themselves. Self-reliance means if anyone will not
work, neither should he eat.
SHARPTON: Neither should he eat. That's outrageous. But it makes sense
coming from a party fully behind wrong way Ryan's budget. A budget where
62 percent of the cuts come from low income programs. This isn't
American. This isn't right. And it`s why a group of Catholic sisters are
organizing nuns on the bus. A bus tour that will start in Iowa and then
travel through nine states to highlight the cruelty of this
legislation.
Joining me now is Sister Simone Campbell. Executive director of
network, a national Catholic social justice lobby. She`s organizing the
nuns on the bus tour. Sister Campbell, thanks so much for joining me
this evening.
SISTER SIMONE CAMPBELL: It's an honor to be with you.
SHARPTON: Now, why is it so important to you that you and others are speaking against this budget?
CAMPBELL: Well, what we know is that out in the country, people don't
know the reality of the budget. They just hear the sound bites of
politicians saying, oh, this is wonderful, this is good, this is
responsible. And what we know is that this budget that was passed by the
house, proposed by Congressman Ryan erodes the very core of who we are
as a nation. Because what it does is it says we no longer believe in
community. We no longer believe in caring for each other. We only
believe in shifting money to the top. More money to those who are the
richest. And giving even more money than the military wants to the
military. People don`t know these facts. And we need to make it clear.
We stand with the people who have – our economy has pushed to the
margins.
(...)
-- Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. Click here [2] to follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.