From climate change to immigration, nearly every GOP policy position goes against the pope’s teachings and it seems like Republicans are purposefully picking a fight this week. Republican Congressman Paul Gosar plans to boycott Pope Francis’s address, comparing the Catholic leader to “a leftist politician” who “is free and clear to be criticized like the rest of us.” At the same time, Ben Carson made sure every other GOP candidate will be asked whether they’d support a Muslim candidate for the White House. If these headlines are any indication, Republicans should be worried about more than just their commutes as Pope Francis’s D.C. visit draws closer.
New York Times: Republicans’ Comments Put Them on Other Side of Pope’s Message
Washington Post: The Daily 202: Pope Francis visit puts Republicans on the defensive
The Hill: GOP braces for Pope Francis
Newsweek: Why Pope Francis Makes Republicans Squirm
But it’s not just the Republicans in Congress who are attacking the pope. Their billionaire backers, the Koch brothers, have fired up their Pope-Hate-And-Outrage Machine because his teachings threaten their bottom line. Last week, the Koch-backed Heartland Institute compared the pope’s teachings on climate change to paganism and today the National Catholic Reporter reveals that other arms of the Koch network are on the attack against Pope Francis:
“There is something that unites all these attacks on the pope, in addition to their hostility and misunderstanding of Catholic social doctrine. They are all related to the Koch brothers. The NILRR and Acton are part of the Koch network, drawing money from the extraction industries and, consequently, casting aspersions on anyone who worries about the consequences of unrestricted fossil fuel use. The Heartland Institute is nothing but a front group for industry and Koch ideology….So wedded to, and blinded by, their ideology, the Koch brothers and their allies will tear into and try to tear down anyone who obstructs their ambition. And, they have a ton of money with which to pursue their libertarian, pro-fossil fuel agenda.”
Published: Sep 21, 2015