Opinion: The nuns on the bus have a new issue

This week, Republicans in the Senate blocked a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, a measure that would have fallen far short of the required two-thirds majority even if there had been a final vote. But fear not. The campaign against the undue influence of money in politics is being carried on by ... nuns on the bus.

Those are Catholic sisters who belong to the NETWORK, a “national Catholic social justice lobby.” In 2012, the nuns and their bus toured nine states to protest cuts in social spending proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a bete noire for liberal Catholics. As the Blues Brothers would put it, they were on a mission from God to smite Randian economics.

Soon the buses will be rolling in a different cause. To quote the NETWORK website: “This year, we’ll be driving so ‘We the People’ can stand up against big money in the 2014 midterm elections.”

The release says the nuns will be urging citizens to vote, to urge others to vote and to hold candidates responsible. If that happens, “politicians will: mend the wealth gap; enact a living wage; craft a faithful budget that benefits the 100%; secure healthcare for all; protect immigrants’ rights [and] promote nonviolent solutions to conflict.” (Nothing about repealing Citizens United.)

In other words, pretty much the standard liberal agenda, which liberal Catholics also believe is what Jesus would want. While Ryan might disagree, it’s at least plausible to link proposals for ameliorating poverty, guaranteeing health coverage and welcoming immigrants to things Jesus said (including “Blessed are the poor”). If registering voters is a means to those ends, the sisters can be said to be staying on their arguably religious message.

More problematic is the idea that there’s something particularly Catholic or Christian about get-out-the-vote drives, or democracy, for that matter. There’s a reason people laughed at George W. Bush when he named Jesus Christ as his favorite political philosopher. Jesus talked about the “kingdom of God” and said that we should “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” But beyond those pronouncements, it’s hard to discern a political program in his teaching. “We the People” is a quotation from the Constitution, not the Scriptures.

The nuns on the bus may be doing good work in registering voters and standing up to “big money,” but it’s not necessarily the Lord’s work.

Follow Michael McGough on Twitter @MichaelMcGough3