Christian and/or Catholic arguments against Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, actually against the whole Republican Party, are relatively simple. The Greatest Two Commandments, mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 22:35-40 (and elsewhere in the Bible), is to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. One question might loom for both the Republican candidates and all of their current colleagues: Why are your hearts, your souls and your minds focused on helping only the rich and abandoning the less well-to-do?

Of course, their justification is that wealth will filter down or that there will always be the poor. If you use any logic – and look at the empirical evidence of all Republican administrations — the first statement has been proven totally false and the second, throughout most history, is partially true. Though efforts to reduce the ranks of the poor have had success during the “Great Society,” in fact, the whole American experiment and its large middle class – being reduced now through Republican efforts – is testimony to past fairness and opportunity helping to greatly reduce the ranks of the poor.

Now most of Jesus’ comments, in the New Testament, especially, center on helping the poor and even speak of separating church and state by saying: “Render to Caesar (Roman Emperor at his time, representing government) those things that are Caesar’s and to God those things that are God’s.” Certainly Republicans, more than Democrats, have not only made religion a principle issue but have also used it to do their own bidding.

For example, George W. Bush made a crusade out of the Iraqi War, which was based on his administration’s lies and launched for political advantage. In fact, Bush stated that God wanted him to run for president.

Even the emphasis upon the Ayn-Rand-inspired goodness of greed and the Republican fawning of the rich would give pause to Jesus in the New Testament: Matthew 19:24, “And again I say unto you. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

However you feel about a host of issues, Republicans have proven themselves misanthropes regarding the welfare of the overwhelming majority of Americans.

Just consider a few Romney-Ryan promises if they win: 1. Taking health care away from some 40 million Americans; 2. Cutting food stamps; 3. Taking away education opportunities; 4. Drastically cutting Medicaid. The following results would make Jesus as angry at Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan  as He was toward the merchants at the temple:

1. Food Insecurity – Without adequate nutrition children suffer from illness, developmental delays and learning disabilities.
2. Unsafe Living Conditions – homelessness and instability lead to illness, injury, and emotional distress.
3. Inadequate Health Care – No early disease prevention, missing school and a devastating disease leading to bankruptcy and homelessness.
4. Academic Hardship – Lack of books, extracurricular classes, no preschool, violence at schools and no college, all imposing an impossible disadvantage for the poor.

All of the above add up to no future and no opportunity. Romney-Ryan empathy for the poor is totally lacking. Both had privilege from birth.

The Republicans plan is to privatize social security, education, public services, security, the military, and health care. In all cases the goal is to raise profits for rich corporations and force citizens to pay more for everything. The goal is not better health, better education, better air to breath and water to drink. It is not a more comfortable retirement or better-paying jobs for the middle class. The result of their plan: more poor added to the ranks of over 46 million now.

Based on all empirical evidence displayed by this crop of Republicans, if the Republicans had been around during the time of Jesus, they would have forced him out of his job as Redeemer and outsourced his job to a private corporation, perhaps like Halliburton, which would have hired a temp without benefits, who was forced to make a profit for them.

Of course, the job description would have changed from Redeemer to something like Marketeer or Expeditor.

Would Jesus’ Father have allowed this?

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