Sebelius to speak at Harvard commencement as more abortion ties exposed

Just as Harvard rolls out the red carpet, Sebelius is discovered to be awash in more "blood" money:

As Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kans.) works to regain the trust of the Senate Finance Committee after she failed to disclose $23,000 in contributions from late-term abortionist George Tiller and his abortion clinic, there was another revelation this week showing there was even more "blood" money that helped her secure the Governor's Mansion.

FRC obtained a copy of a 2002 fundraising letter from George Tiller, in which he claims that he personally contributed $200,000 to ProKanDo, a political action committee (PAC) dedicated to defeating Gov. Sebelius's pro-life opponent. By-the-way, ProKanDo spent over $271,000 aiding Sebelius's bid for governor, making it the largest PAC in Kansas. This new information shows--not just a casual acquaintance with the darkest side of the abortion industry (as Gov. Sebelius would like Senators to believe)--but a deep alliance with Tiller. (Family Research Council)

Our new Health and Human Services director has had her pockets deeply lined by the radical pro-abortion machine. Shouldn't this at least merit some public scrutiny?

Not while the right to abortion-on-demand remains the liberal orthodoxy of the land.

Is Sebelius banned from receiving communion in DC?

So is Sebelius banned from Communion in DC, or not?

Her hometown Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City has already said last year that she should refrain from presenting herself for Communion.

Julia Duin in the Washington Times on Tuesday the 24th: "A spokesman for Archbishop Wuerl said church officials in Washington would act in accordance with the admonition from Kansas City. A church official in Washington said the admonition does not prohibit priests from serving Mrs. Sebelius if she does present herself, but declined to speculate on what would happen in that event."

Deal Hudson mentions: "Joelle Santolla, spokeswoman for the Arlington Diocese, announced that Bishop Paul Loverde would expect the same while she was in Northern Virginia." Hudson adds:

"The ramifications are enormous: For example, if Sean Cardinal O'Malley of Boston stated publicly that Sen. John Kerry was in violation of Canon 915, he would not have been able to receive communion at Pope Benedict XVI's Mass in Washington, D.C., a year ago. Rep. Nancy Pelosi would not have been able to celebrate her elevation to speaker of the House with a special Mass at Trinity College, if Archbishop Neiderhauer had found her wanting according to the standard of Canon 915."

Meanwhile reports continue to circulate like this one:

Two Washington, D.C.-area Catholic bishops have instructed Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, D-Kan., President Barack Obama’s pick to Be Secretary Of Health and Human Services, to refrain from receiving Holy Communion on account of her stances on human-life issues such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

With a nod to David Gibson, who says the reality of this decision "seems to be a good deal less than is being advertised", here is what I think is safe to say:

• Kathleen Sebelius was told last year by her home Archbishop to cease presenting herself for Communion (to my knowledge, she has not done so since in her home archdiocese)
• Archbishop Wuerl of DC and Bishop Loverde of Arlington have made it clear that she ought not to present herself for Communion in their(arch) dioceses either (we don't know if this was done through a personal communication, or simply by going on the public record)

Two primary questions remain:

• If Sebelius does present herself, what ought the (extra- or ordinary) minister do in that situation, if he or she is aware that Sebelius has been told not to present herself?
• Will Archbishop Wuerl (and Bishop Loverde) honor the public declarations of other home bishops when it comes to the suitability of politicians approaching the Eucharist in DC/VA?

For now, I think that is where we are at. Barring unforeseen circumstance, Kathleen Sebellius will soon be approved as the new Head of U.S. Health and Human Services, which means her moving to the region.

Today: Sebelius in the hot seat

And not just because, like almost every Obama nominee (it seems) - she owes back taxes.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony list, has some tougher questions for Sebelius:

Earlier this week, Sebelius faced questioning by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Unfortunately, during Tuesday’s hearing, Sebelius was not pressed for detailed answers about her ties to the abortion industry.

Sebelius has a long record as Kansas governor, and she should be held to account for it. Now is the time to ask the tough questions about whether her record of support for the abortion industry will continue in earnest at the Department of Health and Human Services. Seblius should be required to answer the following questions in tomorrow’s Senate Finance Committee hearing.

[Read them here.]

From an inside source, Republicans do intend to ask Sebelius questions about her abortion record.

I'll post an update as soon as I hear how it goes down.

update: "Gov. Sebelius May Not Pay Her Own Taxes, but Has no Qualms about Using Tax Dollars to Pay for Others’ Abortions"

update 2: the early word I'm hearing is that Sebelius got a complete pass on her abortion record during today's hearing. How deeply disappointing. update 3:

“This is why Americans lose faith in their elected officials. They elect candidates who share and articulate well their ‘deeply held’ beliefs. Then when the candidate becomes an incumbent, he or she fails to effectively act upon those beliefs when given a chance to do so.”

“Fortunately, pro-life Senators have one last chance. They can raise the issue of Governor Sebelius’ blind eye toward women’s health tonight when her nomination comes to the Senate floor for her final confirmation vote. I remind these Senators, millions of pro-life Americans are watching and waiting, and they strongly urge you to fulfill your duty to thorough public debate over the Sebelius nomination.”

Catholics Against Sebelius website launched

And they have a short petition for you to sign.

The background explained in this Dan Gilgoff interview.

More on Sebelius

If you want the short take: "She's just bad news."

If you want the sordid details.... let's start with more words from Abp. Naumann:

“I think if Governor Sebelius was going to be appointed a cabinet post, from my point of view, this is the worst possible one that she could have been appointed to.”

That’s the assessment of Archbishop Joseph {fixed} Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, who in May 2008 requested that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius not present herself for reception of Communion because of the public scandal caused by her support for legal abortion. (NCRegister)

[Abp. Naumann also gave an interview to OSV yesterday.]

Kansans for Life has been tracking Sebelius' record for a long time and has reams of information.

As for Brownback's support (blogged about yesterday here) Daniel at GOP3 says Brownback shouldn't sweat it. I would say Brownback should sweat one thing: he caused pro-lifers a grief he could have spared them by more tactfully handling the situation. I hope a lesson is learned here about solidarity. We need that virtue these days.

Related:

• CNA: Obama’s pro-life backers risk usurping bishops by redefining Catholic life
• Dan Gilgoff: Kathleen Sebelius Explains Being a Pro-Choice Pro-Lifer

Breaking: Abp. Naumann responds to Sebelius appointment/Brownback endorsement

John Norton at Our Sunday Visitor has an excellent, timely interview with Abp. Naumann on Kathleen Sebelius and Senator Brownback, etc. Some pull quotes follow.

On Sebelius' claims of a "pro-life" record:

Archbishop Naumann: I think that’s very, very dishonest and not at all accurate. It’s true that abortion dropped during her term as governor but I don’t think she really had anything to do with it, although she likes to take credit for it. And in fact, during that time she vetoed measures that could have helped prevent abortion.

On Obama's choice to pick Sebelius, and Sen Brownback's going along with it:

I personally find it offensive that he would choose a pro-legalized-abortion Catholic to head this office. I think, as I interpret Sen. [Sam ] Brownback’s and Sen. [Pat] Roberts’ support of sorts for the nomination — it’s simply saying we elected President Obama with the positions he took. We can’t expect that he’s going to appoint someone to these cabinet positions that do not share his views. And in a sense I can understand that. When there is a pro-life president, we resent if there is an effort to try to prevent the president from appointing people who share his vision. So, I can understand why they might acquiesce, I guess, is the best way to put it, to her appointment.

Finally, as a bonus, what he thinks of the organization Catholics United:

Archbishop Naumann: I don’t think they have much impact and I don’t pay much attention to them personally. And I think from what you just read, they’re either not very honest or they’re not very competent in the research that they do.

Actually, they're both: competent and dishonest. They know what they are doing.

Also, on a related note, Matt Bowman has an excellent article in the American Spectator today:

But the most intriguing component of Sebelius's nomination is her Catholicism. Not that Catholic abortion supporters are rare -- see Obama's failed nominee to HHS, Tom Daschle. But Sebelius is significant as an attempt by Obama to foment a civil war within Catholicism to neutralize its pro-life efforts.

Like a shrewd general, Obama is using Catholics themselves as his ground troops.
Two dozen prominent Obama supporters quickly launched a letter supporting Sebelius, and claiming that they are Catholic and pro-life. The letter's signers are the same liberal Obama Pro-Lifers from his presidential campaign, led by Professor Doug Kmiec and the Soros-funded group "Catholics United."

The first step to responding to these sorts of attacks is to realize that one is being attacked. Kmiec, Sebelius, et al. are making a concerted effort to destroy the connection between being Catholic and pro-life.

The Curious Case of Kathleen Sebelius

That Kathleen Sebelius has been appointed as Department of Health and Human Services secretary by Barack Obama is no surprise.

(Sebelius' pro-abortion record is clear. Tony Perkins at the Family Research Council says she is "arguably the most pro-abortion governor in the nation." Austin Ruse has said that she "never met an abortion she didn't support including partial birth abortions.")

That many "identity-Catholics" should support Sebelius' appointment is little surprise to me. These "id-Catholics" include the likes of Doug Kmiec, Nicholas Cafardi and Lisa Sowle Cahill, representing Catholic universities such as Boston College, CUA, Georgetown, etc. And shame on them all, they might have chosen to remain silent and thereby retained a bit more integrity than Catholics United, which has perfected the art of twisting and abusing the name "Catholic" for political gain.

(The American Life League has a petition up to stop Sebelius' appointment, by the way, if you are looking for a way to register your complaint with Obama's choice to nominate an abortion extremist.)

That pro-life figures such as Senator Sam Brownback should also support her appointment, however, has been a great surprise to many, for instance, pro-life blogger/activist Jill Stanek. It wouldn't be unfair to describe the reaction of the pro-life community as "stunned."

So what's going on here? Politics.

Brownback and Sebelius are home-state rivals from Kansas: she the pro-abortion governor, he one of their two pro-life senators. Speculation has been going for months that in 2010 Sebellius and Brownback could well collide for an elected office: either Sebellius challenging Brownback for his senate seat or Brownback trying to become Kansas governor.

Brownback, therefore, can be personally relieved that it appears Sebelius will be "kicked upstairs" by this HHS nomination (presuming that all goes well). It saves him two worries.

Unfortunately, Brownback's decision to support the Sebelius nomination, from the outside, reads like this editorial:

Maybe Brownback, who is running for governor of Kansas in 2010, calculated the odds and saw he will gain more by earning respect from the state's moderates than by staying in the good graces of the single-issue anti-abortion groups who are so riled up about Sebelius's nomination.

Now, I don't quite agree with this assessment. I'd say Brownback is trying to think outside the box by recognizing common ground in someone he doesn't have the possibility of defeating directly. These are tough times for the pro-life movement, and even if Sebelius were defeated during the nomination process, her replacement could easily be just as bad.

That said, he didn't have to say anything. I think he weighed his options and made his choice. Now he has to deal with the justified anger of his pro-life collaborators over the choice he made.

update: this added wrinkle makes Brownback's choice more clear (underlining added):

“Sebelius is term limited and can't run for governor again and Brownback is honoring his term limits pledge in the Senate, so there is no Brownback versus Sebelius fight to avoid. Brownback does however ensure his Senate seat stays red and pro-life if Sebelius is in Washington. {from "KS" in the comment box.}

Brownback is doing a very simple thing it seems to me: if Sebelius had stayed in KS she could have come after his senate seat when he had to leave it (having promised to term-limit himself). At the same time, her governor's chair would be coming free and he can now run for it, perhaps with the added appearance of "bipartisanship" provided by his support for her HHS nomination.

Politics.

update 2: it's also my understanding that, contrary to this report, Sen. Brownback has not decided at this point whether he will vote for Sebelius during the confirmation process.

update 3: scratch update 2....

[Brwonback] wavered yesterday, at first saying through a spokesman that he wasn't going to say whether he favored or opposed her.

Then, at 6 p.m., his spokesman called and said Brownback would back her after all. That came after learning from me that political opponents were starting to take shots at Brownback. (source.)

Wow.

White House Officials Admit Abortion/Tiller Holding Up Kathleen Sebelius Pick

LifeNews:

White House officials have acknowledged that abortion and the controversy surrounding embattled late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller are holding up President Barack Obama's potential selection of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to become the next Health Secretary.

... Now, White House officials tell CBN News that abortion and the Tiller-Sebelius connection are causing pause when considering Sebelius for the Cabinet post.

CBN News White House correspondent David Brody indicates that a senior Obama administration official confirmed that "concerns voiced by pro-life groups about potential HHS Secretary Nominee Kathleen Sebelius have come up in high level White House discussions but it has not disqualified her from the job."

The official also admitted that "Tiller’s name has come up in discussions and acknowledges that if she’s picked there will be people gunning for her, but that ultimately the Kansas Governor is getting a bum rap on the abortion issue."

"The discussion inside the White House centers on whether Sebelius's stellar record as public servant trumps the controversy that could arise over Tiller," Brody indicates.

Hmm, I just realized my tag for Kathleen Sebelius reveals a dyslexia I didn't know I had. I type too fast.

Fact-checking Catholics United's Sebelius claims

Catholics United, a partisan Democrat front organization, is claiming, among other things (underlining mine):

"Had Mr. Donohue been interested in presenting a full accounting of the facts, he would have mentioned Gov. Sebelius's tireless support for children's health care and education, and her efforts to provide public financing for adoption and pregnancy support centers – all components of an effective pro-life agenda that can find broad support among the American people. Had Mr. Donohue been interested in presenting a full accounting of the facts, he would have mentioned that the number of abortions in Kansas declined by 12.6% from 2001 to 2007, due in part to Gov. Sebelius's advocacy for pregnant women and struggling families.”

“Like Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann – who often seems more interested in scoring political points against Gov. Sebelius than crafting effective abortion policy within the reality of politics – Mr. Donohue is doing a disservice to those Americans who will benefit from Gov. Sebelius's leadership as Health and Human Services Secretary. We remind U.S. Catholics and other observers that the Catholic League is part of a right-wing political movement at the margins of the Catholic community, and urge them to view Mr. Donohue and his comments in this context.”

I don't have the time, but if someone else wants to examine these underlined claims - it would be useful, going in, to know what Sebelius' actual record on life issues is. In what context did she fund adoption and pregnancy support centers, and what's the context for the decrease in the number of abortions, etc? Thanks so much.

update: thank you to the readers who have left comments and emailed me. Steven Ertelt of LifeNews:

Catholics United also claims abortions have declined under Sebelius, even though they actually went up 6.5 percent in 2006 thanks in part to Sebelius failing to support any abortion limits.

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment report, there were 11,221 abortions in Kansas in 2006, up from 10,543 abortions in 2005.

Pro-life groups say the increase has to do with a lack of enforcement of laws limiting late-term abortions and a court's decision to drop 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller, who has been accused of doing the abortions without a legitimate medical reason.

Picture: Meet your new Catholic pro-abort Health Secretary

Sure seems that way:

"While House officials say President Barack Obama will name pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has been criticized for refusing to limit late-term abortions, as the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department.

Once official, her selection would add to Obama's growing pro-abortion record as president.

Obama advisors notified the media late Wednesday that the president has settled on Sebelius as his top choice for the position, though her has not made his decision official." (LifeNews)

Kathleen "I'm-so-incredibly-pro-abortion-my-own-archbishop-came-out-and-told-me-to-quit-receiving-Communion" Sebelius.

Kathleen "I-took-almost-$40,000-in-political-funding-from-criminally-charged-late-term-abortion-provider-George-Tiller" Sebelius.

I'm not looking forward to the next nickname.

After Daschle's defeat, pro-abort Sebelius floats to the top

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

After nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Daschle (a Catholic) was forced to withdraw his name because he failed to pay his taxes, Obama's second choice is even-more-radically-pro-abortion Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius (also Catholic).

Sebelius' home bishop - Archbishop Joseph Naumann - has already said Sebelius should not recieve Communion because of her support for abortion (as I reported last May).

More information from LifeNews and the Associated Press.

Kathleen Sebelius waiting to pounce?

Rocco reports that extreme pro-abortion advocate (and Catholic) Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas (previous AmP mentions here) ... is being considered to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees such things as abortion, and who would be tasked with shepherding FOCA through Congress.

Even if she is not picked to lead that department, it is highly likely she will be offered some prominent position in Obama's cabinet. She was, after all, one of his early, vocal supporters, and has tirelessly supported him since.

A local columnist isn't happy about this development, saying "[Sebelius] appears poised to skip out of the job she was elected to do in Kansas. If that happens, she won't be around to deal with Kansas' huge and looming budget challenges in 2009."

Good thinking, Kathleen, have someone else deal with the mess.

When asked about the rumors, she responded, "I'm always flattered to have my name in circulation".

... Such humility.

[photo credit: flickr user jbenson2]