Different views on the Car seat veto. And a little Catholic bigotry thrown in to boot.
Two newspapers had different views on the car seat veto this past week.
The Watertown Public Opinion noted:
"We see the common sense in the Governor's take on this issue. It's still a basic safety issue, and it is good advice which doesn't necessarily make good legislation.
And then there was the opposing view from the Mitchell Daily Republic:
Good gosh, why don't they discuss being Irish with legislation on public intoxication, or insert your other favorite racial/xenophobic stereotypes. It's even worse when they use it in such a way to intimate that it's affecting how an elected official is viewing the legislation.
The Catholic League notes on their website that
Mitchell Daily Republic - shame on you.
The Watertown Public Opinion noted:
"We see the common sense in the Governor's take on this issue. It's still a basic safety issue, and it is good advice which doesn't necessarily make good legislation.
And then there was the opposing view from the Mitchell Daily Republic:
Gov. Mike Rounds makes a good point in vetoing the bill that would require booster seats for children aged 5-8.Rounds, in rejecting the legislation, said the law would be difficult to enforce and “unworkable” for large families.Say what? Aside from the fact that their position on the Car Seat bill is patronizing at best, did they actually say "Rounds, in rejecting the legislation, said the law would be difficult to enforce and “unworkable” for large families. Though Rounds is Roman Catholic, you don’t have to be of that faith to appreciate the special challenges that booster seats present.
Though Rounds is Roman Catholic, you don’t have to be of that faith to appreciate the special challenges that booster seats present....
and...
In the end, we would favor the bill, despite the enforcement difficulties that the governor outlines. We would do so for this reason: If adults must buckle up, and infants must be strapped in, why would we place a lesser value on children ages 5-8?
Lawmakers should override the governor’s veto.
Good gosh, why don't they discuss being Irish with legislation on public intoxication, or insert your other favorite racial/xenophobic stereotypes. It's even worse when they use it in such a way to intimate that it's affecting how an elected official is viewing the legislation.
The Catholic League notes on their website that
...today’s brand of anti-Catholicism is more virulent and more pervasive than ever before in American history.Read that here. And I guess those stereotypes in the form of snide comments translate over into the editorial views of one of our state's daily newspapers.
and...
Quite simply, Catholic bashing has become a staple of American society.
Mitchell Daily Republic - shame on you.
Comments
I hope a few SDWC readers in Mitchell will take the time to let the folks at their local newspaper know that such remarks are not insightful or funny. Got to love newspaper editorials, the original anonymous post.
To paraphrase comedian Ron White, the First Amendment can't fix stupid.
I agree, the MDR's comment was stupid and insensitive at best, hateful at worst. I don't see what Gov. Rounds' religion has to do with vetoing the car seat bill.
Perhaps the MDR was thinking about the stereotype of Catholics having big families. Some do, some don't. And I suppose Unitarians have no kids?
Kind of like when Doug Williams was asked, "And how long have you been a black quarterback?"
It's hard to image such a statement in this day and age from a "major" newspaper. The MDR owes Gov. Rounds, Catholics, and all its readers an apology for inappropriately injecting one's religious affiliation into a story.
As a liberal, a Democrat, a Methodist, and someone who is not a fan of Gov. Rounds, I think the MDR was completely out of line.
Todd Epp
Senior Religion and Politics Editor
S.D. Watch
http://thunewatch.squarespace.com
Religion divides america today now more than ever. It is appropriate for the media to write about this divide and its impact on politics.
The author's choice of wording is questionable. But i think the point is valid.
That being said, if it was a racial slur or sexual preference slur, there would be ____ to pay and lawsuits started. But religion is fair game these days.
Large Catholic families is not a "stereoptype", it's a demographic fact.
What a pair of wussies.
Maybe I'm a wussie. But what the MDR did was wrong. If they were going to make a point that Rounds' faith played a role in his veto of the child seat law, then they need to say so and back it up with some evidence. They didn't do that, they made a bald assertion without any context.
While it is one thing for politicians and their operatives to attack their opponents on religion, which I also think should be verboten most of time, the issue here is a MSM newspaper making such a statement. I think that is a big distinction.
As a former journalist, TV producer, and executive producer, I would like to think I would not have allowed such a comment to creep into my reporting or the repoter of those I supervised.
If that makes me a wussie, guilty as charged.
I would not want someone reporting I did something simply because I was a Methodist or Buddhist without some sort of context or objective fact. I think Rounds deserves the same respect by the MSM.
What bloggers may do, well, that's a different story. And I still don't think that makes it right either.
Todd Epp
David Newquist Chair in Journalistic Ethics
S.D. Watch
http://thunewatch.squarespace.com
How many of you here would heap praise on agnostics or athiests?
Where is this mythical bigotry against Catholics?
I see nothing but pro-choice bigotry, Muslim bigotry, Gay bigotry, Immigrant bigotry a lot coming from Catholics themselves.
Politicians of all religions and their supporters love to have their cake and eat it too.
We take these principled positions because of our God (See Joe Lieberman for primary model) but anybody who criticizes our position or use is a bigot of some kind.
Allowing superstition to top information, science, statistics, and logic is not what we want from our politicians.
As far as Catholic bashing becoming more frequent, could that be because some people of that faith are trying to push their anti-abortion beliefs onto others through legislation? Or maybe it could be because they call pro-choice people baby killers? Those aren't exactly words of tolerance.
Bigotry should never exist, but when it does it often cuts both ways.
Second try - link didn't seem to come through.
Well, go to house blog ( here: http://house.typepad.com/ ). He has an interesting note on this "controversy"