San Antonio: Faithful Catholics Need Not Apply
Last Tuesday the County Commissioners for Bexar County, Tejas met to consider Judge John Longoria for a new position in the County Courts. Judge Longoria had every reason to expect that this would be a simple formality. Judge Longoria had served the San Antonio community since 1968. His impressive resume included serving as County Commissioner for Bexar County, serving in Commissioners Court for 9 years, serving multiple years as County Judge, and serving for 10 years as the State Representative of District 117 in San Antonio. One week before the interview which was this past Tuesday, he had heard back informally from four of the five commissioners that he had their support.
Then, just before the weekend the following e-mail kicked off a flurry of similar e-mails:
From: Tracy Joseph Bogert
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2009 04:41:56 -0700 (PDT)
To: <tadkisson@bexar.org>; <kwolff@bexar.org>; <mdflores@bexar.org>; <pjsmothers@aol.com>; <almallopez@hughes.net>; <amadeo2008@yahoo.com>; <arios3@sanantonio.gov>; <artahall@artah.com>; <barbaranellermoe@hotmail.com>; <carlos@carlosuresti.com>; <email@judgecathy.com>; <cmstone99@yahoo.com>; <dist1field@sanantonio.gov>; <chritian@thearchergroup.org>; <cwwalker99@hotmail.com>; <christina.bazaldua@sanantonio.gov>; <cyanas@aol.com>; <danpozza@yahoo.com>; <david.leibowitz@house.state.tx.us>; <plylar@cirodrodriguez.com>; <district6@sanantonio.gov>; <lukinforcongress@aol.com>; <drodriguez24@prodigy.net>; <district7@sanantonio.gov>; <erika@cirodrodriguez.com>; <gina@cirodrodriguez.com>; <gino12395@hotmail.com>; <glorys2u@aol.com>; <campaign@henrycuellar.com>; <hpaulcanales@juno.com>; <joaquincastro125@hotmail.com>; <jgfarias@sbcglobal.net>; <gabe@joefarias.com>; <jmenende@stewart.com>; <jose.menendez@house.state.tx.us>; <judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us>; <judy.peterson@house.state.tx.us>; <julian@castroformayor.com>; <justin@jrrlawoffice.com>; <kpozza@swbell.net>; <katie.floyd@radnofsky.com>; <lsalinas925@sbcglobal.net>; <lcantu8@yahoo.com>; <leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us>; <leticiavandeputte@hotmail.com>; <leticiavandeputte@sbcglobal.net>; <lcantu2@sanantonio.gov>; <district5@sanantonio.gov>; <lukintjr@worldnet.att.net>; <mario48n07@yahoo.com>; <mrobles2@sanantonio.gov>; <mapcisne@aol.com>; <maryroman@justice.com>; <mcastro@castro-killen.com>; <michael.villarreal@house.state.tx.us>; <mreyes9927@yahoo.com>; <nicmar78@hotmail.com>; <norma.Rivera@sanantonio.gov>; <norman.garza@carlosuresti.com>; <olivarrilaw@aol.com>; <pelizondo@co.bexar.tx.us>; <petersakai4judge@yahoo.com>; <meyerlaw@swbell.net>; <rachel.kahn.johnston@gmail.com>; <raquelsakai@yahoo.com>; <richardandradem@msn.com>; <rochelleacevedo@hotmail.com>; <district1@sanantonio.gov>; <district4@sanantonio.gov>; <Roger@joefarias.com>; <district3@sanantonio.gov>; <roseann.maldonado@mail.house.gov>; <ruth.mcclendon@house.state.tx.us>; <DanGraney@stonewallsanantonio.org>; <shanti4alwais@gmail.com>; <district2@sanantonio.gov>; <support@tommyadkisson.com>; <sybil@leibowitz4legislature.com>; <syromo@aol.com>; <tessa@instructors.net>; <tessaherr@att.net>; <tim.salas@sanantonio.gov>; <vsalazar@sanantonio.gov>; <jbolds@sanantonio.gov>; <cc7bogert@yahoo.com>; <misterbalconesheights@yahoo.com>; <david@texas-patriot.com>; <MIRELES1@aol.com>; <annacaballerofordistrict6@yahoo.com>; <mcwatts@wattslawfirm.com>; <ginnysmcdavid@yahoo.com>; <gabequintanilla@yahoo.com>; <Yolanda.Byington@sanantonio.gov>; <glorisaldana@att.net>; <rosalbasaenz@hotmail.com>; <aidarojas46@gmail.com>; <luckythea@aol.com>; <tinactorres@aol.com>; <rebeca@rebeca4judge.com>; <info@voteforbarbie.com>
Subject: Open letter to Commissioner’s Court
Dear Commissioners
I would like to let it be known that I would have an objection to any appointment involving John Longoria to a County Court at Law bench. I completely respect Mr. Longoria as a person and agree with many of his ideas and opinions. However I have known Mr. Longoria to be at odds with a woman’s right to choose and other issues that have federal legal precedent. There are many qualified candidates for these benches who would much less controversial than Mr. Longoria.
Again thank you for the excellent work you do for the County of Bexar.
If I were a journalist I would suspect that this group had been organized by an “astro-turf” anti-life mob. Quite frankly, it is not a very strongly worded e-mail. Unless I were already an ideologue I, or very much afraid of them, I would probably ignore even a hundred like e-mails.
In general, the e-mail appears to say that Judge Longoria is acknowledged to be qualified except that because he is a pro-life (he is a Catholic and a Democrat). Being pro-life makes him “controversial” and therefore, unfit to serve.
I suppose that we have a bunch of brain dead commissioners here in San Antonio because this is all it took to cause those previously supporting him to drop their support. The die has been cast. In Bexar County, if you are known to be a faithful Catholic you need not apply to any bench position with the County Courts. I suppose that this is not much different from what is happening elsewhere.
San Antonio has been transformed recently into a very “blue” town. The purveyors of death have become sufficiently organized and aware that they are working to eliminate anyone from the judicial branch that might interfere with the march toward ubiquitous abortion.
There was a late response by the pro-life community. It is not clear how many e-mails were generated in support of Judge Longoria but it clearly was insufficient to turn the tide. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Ora pro nobis.
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What a shame. Considering the number of Catholics in Bexar County, it’s unbelievable, until you also consider that the County Commissioners are elected, and (I would guess) most are Democrats.
How easy it is to panic politicians! Just utter the right words, and the knees jerk. When will we in pro-Life become as effective at getting their attention as the pro-death people are?
Maybe it’s time to draw the attention of Bexar County Catholic voters to the anti-Catholic bias of their County Commissioners.
Comment by Bill — August 13, 2009 @ 6:21 PM
How frustrating and disappointing. I suppose I live in the “reddest” of the three big cities of southern Texas, Houston (Austin is notoriously blue, and as you point out, San Antonio is changing). As far as I am concerned, this is not necessarily a good thing; I can scarcely find a talk radio show I can stand (they are all shockingly radical right-wingers). But while abortion does not seem to be a key issue here, the local redness at least means we tend to default to pro-life.
I myself would consider myself a “light blue,” or moderate liberal, with the exception of being absolutely pro-life—what I suppose many on the left would consider radical. What can I say? I’m a woman of science, and foremost of the biological sciences. From an objective scientific viewpoint, the consensus as to the beginning of an individual vertebrate organism’s life is the point at which a zygote is formed—the moment colloquially called “conception.” Combine that with the thoroughly modern belief, reflected everywhere from the Vatican II documents to the Civil Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, that every individual human has equal rights, and it is clear that no position on life issues is reasonable other than the 100% pro-life one. One of the surreal aspects of the abortion debate is the complete disregard of the science, including by many scientists, of developmental biology.
I am surprised I have not found this blog before. We seem to have complementary sites; I describe my website as “a Catholic magazine of science and reason.” Kudos for publishing a great blog. If you are interested in reciprocal guest posts, by all means let me know, as I want to expand the number of voices on my site.
Comment by Robyn Broyles — September 27, 2009 @ 11:12 AM