The party of inclusion.


Mia Love: black, conservative, Mormon, GOP House candidate from Utah.

Where will it end?

If we let one black, female, Mormon, conservative Republican become a member of the House of Representative, pretty soon we will have to let all black, female, Mormon, conservative become members of the House of Representatives.

Any convenient stick will do.

Canonist Ed Peters points to this outrage from the Republican Majority House Leader of New Hampshire:

With but a few keystrokes to his Facebook page, D. J. Bettencourt, Republican majority leader of the New Hampshire State House, has secured his forever-unerasable place in cyberhistory as a poster boy of irrational hatred of the Church.


Bettencourt’s Facebook post describing Manchester NH Bp. John McCormack as a “pedophile pimp who should have been led away from the State House in handcuffs” was hurled at the prelate, after the bishop voiced disagreement with, of all things, some proposed state spending cuts! Bettencourt’s jaw-droppingly false accusations show how instantaneously insults can, and probably will for the foreseeable future, be levied at any Catholic bishop who dares to exercise his civil right of free speech regarding public issues. But, that such overt intimidation of a citizen was practiced by an elected pubic figure—one sworn, I presume, to defend constitutional liberties—simply defies description. Is Bettencourt really the face of New Hampshire's Republican Party?

There is this follow-up article from the Union Leader:

New Hampshire House Majority Leader David J. Bettencourt said he regrets calling the Catholic bishop of Manchester a "pedophile pimp" and has asked for a meeting with the Catholic leader to personally apologize for his "inartful" words.


But Bettencourt, 28, a practicing Catholic in his fourth term as a state representative from Salem, said he still has "strong opinions" on Bishop John B. McCormack and his ability to lead New Hampshire's 290,000 Catholics because of his role in the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

Bettencourt, who is also a law student, said he has been receiving support from fellow Republican lawmakers and would not step down from his leadership post if asked to do so.

Many readers of UnionLeader.com also supported Bettencourt and told him not to apologize for anything. Patrick O'Malley of Nashua wrote: "Don't back down ... He's a disgrace."

But Bettencourt said the words fall below his standards, and he wants to "refocus" attention on the issues of the Legislature.

He said he's also shut down his Facebook page, where he had posted the comments.

28 years old with a Facebook page...never have so many people been provided so easy a way to make a fool of themselves so quickly.
Bettencourt offered this apology:

"Everybody needs to take a step back, calm down and humbly reflect," he told reporters at a meeting at the State House majority leader's office Monday.


"The terms I used were not appropriate for someone in my position and I take full responsibility for that," Bettencourt said. "A man of God should not be addressed in that fashion."

"Most regrettably, my comments were seen as an attack on the church and Catholics throughout New Hampshire. Nothing could have been further from my intentions. And to my fellow Catholics, I offer my sincere apology," he said. "I failed to ... separate the man from the church."

Call it a life lesson.