NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    BOSTON (CWNews.com) - A Catholic journalist and pro-life activist announced on Thursday that he would engage in a dark-horse third-party bid for the US Senate seat of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Massachusetts.

    Philip Lawler, editor-in-chief of Catholic World News and editor of the Catholic World Report magazine, said in the announcement of his candidacy that he knows that his chances of winning are slim, but that "someone must present the people of Massachusetts with a reasoned and reasonable alternative to the policies and programs which Senator Kennedy advances."

    Kennedy, a Catholic who has held his Senate seat for 37 years, has been criticized by social conservatives and many Catholics for advocating programs contrary to the Church's moral teachings, including abortion. The 48-year-old Harvard graduate added that he was also motivated, not just by Kennedy's views on social issues, but also by the bloated federal government that Kennedy represents.

    "For 37 years he has promoted, supported, and defended government programs and policies that have burdened American households through taxation," Lawler said, "choked American enterprise through regulation, eroded American sovereignty through entangling international treaties and alliances, and endangered American family life through meddlesome social engineering."

    Lawler also criticized the Republican Party in Massachusetts for failing to provide voters with an alternative. Calling himself a lifelong Republican, he said he was seeking the seat under the banner of the conservative Constitution Party because the Massachusetts GOP was "marked by cronyism, elitism, ineptitude, and the complete absence of discernible moral principles" by abandoning the party's foundation of fiscal and social conservatism.

    So far, no Republican has stepped forward for the difficult task of challenging Kennedy in November 2000. Asked if he would drain conservative votes away from the Republican candidate, Lawler said, "I'm no longer a Republican so I'm not in the business of worrying about whether I hurt the Republican Party."

Articles provided through Catholic World News and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and International Dossiers, Daily Dispatches and Features at ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.