Catholic Democrats Endorses
Warren Tolman for Massachusetts Attorney General
Cites Track Record of Leadership & Broader Vision for AG Role
as the ‘People’s Advocate’
Focus on Gun Safety Important to Massachusetts and the Nation
BOSTON, MA – “Today, Catholic Democrats is endorsing Warren Tolman for Attorney General,” said Steve Krueger, president of Catholic Democrats. “The Democratic Party and the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are blessed to have two worthy and capable candidates for the office of Attorney General. We are endorsing Mr. Tolman for several reasons, including his distinguished record of service and leadership to his state and community for almost a quarter of a century. As a public servant, Mr. Tolman demonstrated both the imagination and faith to envision a better future for the citizens of Massachusetts. At the same time, he brought both his courage and reason to make those visions a reality, often in the face of daunting challenges that included bucking the establishment in both the private and public sectors, exemplified in his hard fought victory over Big Tobacco and his work on ethics reform. And as someone who knows how to listen and build consensus, he did so in a way that won people’s respect.”
“Mr. Tolman’s leadership qualities in the Massachusetts General Court foreshadowed his vision for the office of Attorney General (AG). He has articulated a vision for the role of AG, calling the office the ‘People’s Advocate.’ Rather than seeing the role of the AG’s office as an ‘either/or’ choice of focus, Mr. Tolman sees the office as a ‘both/and’ opportunity that will expand the impact of the AG’s office beyond the courtroom to best serve the people of this great Commonwealth, including women and children, the elderly and immigrants, working families and the most vulnerable among us, and the environment in which we live. We believe that his vision, personal attributes, and exemplary record are needed in the AG’s office and are good indicators of what he can accomplish as the ‘People’s Advocate’ to serve the common good for the citizens of Massachusetts.”
“Mr. Tolman’s role as the ‘People’s Advocate’ is illustrated in his proposal to implement hand-gun safety regulations using biometric technology. The landscape for gun safety reform has been bleak across our nation, in spite of recurring tragedy, because of a lack of political will and the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Mr. Tolman’s proposal for hand-gun safety will not only make our citizens – particularly children and law enforcement officials – safer, but also serve to provide leadership for our nation, when leadership is sorely needed. He has a proven track record for taking on powerful interests and overcoming great challenges, as he did when he took on Big Tobacco, and we believe that he is uniquely qualified to take on the NRA.”
“Here in Massachusetts, we are used to being the first in the nation, and the implementation of Mr. Tolman’s gun safety proposal would make Massachusetts the first to implement such regulations. This distinction would accompany Mr. Tolman’s care and actions to protect our physical well being, our constitutional rights, our financial welfare, and our environment. As an organization whose mission is to advance the Catholic Social Justice Tradition in the public square, we believe that he is the person to best ensure justice and serve the common good as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ next Attorney General.”
About Catholic Democrats
Catholic Democrats represents a Catholic voice within the Democratic Party, and advances a public understanding of the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and its potential to help solve the broad range of problems confronting all Americans. For more information about Catholic Democrats please go to www.catholicdemocrats.org.
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The head of the group is but supports Obama and Democrats nonetheless. Their issues page reprints church position, the party position, an excerpt from an Obama speech. They’ve taken bishops to task for “politicizing the faith” and collected thousands of signatures asking Anna Maria College to revisit its decision to dis-invite Vicki Kennedy.
More to the point: does it matter? Warren Tolman’s been a longtime defender of women’s reproductive rights and if they’re anti-choice, they’re endorsing him in spite of his stance on those issues and not because of it.
… and found I didn’t really get an answer, so I asked.
To your point, it would not affect Tolman’s long, excellent record on this issue. But, not having heard of this group, I am curious about what drives them, and why they’re endorsing.
Talking about glossing over issues. Typically if you’re an issues group you put your views out there, not stick up a whole paragraph and then parallel it with considerably more verbiage from two other groups.
Though the fault lies not with you, but with the bishops of the Church, the Knights of Columbus, the AOH, and many other Catholic organizations that have become entirely politicized over the years into enforcing a litmus test that focuses exclusively on abortion and gay marriage to the detriment of other issues. I believe, with a mixture of both hope and evidence, that Cardinal Bernadin’s “seamless garment of life” along with the kind of Catholic social teaching advanced by Dorothy Day, Caesar Chavez, Oscar Romero, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope John XXIII is being revived by our current Pope and visibly trickling down to the bishops.’
The new Crux publication of the Boston Globe had a three part interview of Cardinal Dolan, one of those culture warrior bishops who embraced the neoconservative tenants of the Acton Institute and Paul Ryan, even he is now preaching about income inequality, praising the humble church, and downplaying opposition to gay marriage.
I think the next Synod of the family could be a game changer in terms of opening the door to some recognition of gay relationships, common sense approaches to contraception and divorce, and a few other potentially big shifts. And Catholic Democrats has consistently been part of that, it doesn’t have a social agenda other than social justice pursued via economic and political equality for all and I appreciate their updates and good work. Faith was never, is never, and will never be the exclusive providence of the reactionary right.
Many Mass. Democrats I know are, at least in part, motivated by morality they learned in Catholic upbringing.
But, JC, as you know — organized groups bear greater scrutiny. I am still left to wonder why this group needs to exist. I concede that I might be cynical.
To make sure that there is a voice for Catholic Democrats and their faith/values within the Democratic Party, which too often (for the reasons I outlined above) assume anti-gay, anti-woman when they see ‘Catholic’ prominently in a group or an individuals identity. Second, to make sure there is a voice within the Church for the kind of commitment to social and economic justice that once was and is starting to again be the main focus of the Church and it’s relations to policy.
We were the first church to back immigration reform, way back in the 1800s. The first church to make social security, universal healthcare, and the right to organize labor unions in the 1880s. The first church to actually recognize evolution is compatible with scripture and reason alike, long before our Protestant brothers and sisters. We can recover that legacy, and keep our party and our faith a big tent.