La Crosse Catholic Times profiles Sean Duffy and Julie Lassa

ASHLAND, Wis. – The battle for the 7th U.S. Congressional district in Wisconsin – which includes Chippewa, Clark, Marathon, Portage and Wood Counties in the Diocese of La Crosse – is being fought between Wisconsin state senator from the 24th district Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) and former district attorney for Ashland County Sean Duffy (R-Ashland). Lassa and Duffy are vying for the seat left vacant by Democrat David Obey, who is retiring after 41 years in the House of Representatives.

Duffy spoke to The Catholic Times about issues important to Catholics, while Lassa was unavailable – after repeated attempts to contact her through phone and e-mail. Much of the information about her positions on issues can be found at her campaign website and various media outlets and organizations supporting her candidacy.

Faith and integrity

A member of Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Ashland, in the Diocese of Superior, Duffy said, “I intend to take my Catholicism to Washington, D.C.” “I think our faith is a part of everything we do in our lives, whether as a husband, a father, my former role as a prosecutor and now as a candidate,” he said. “My faith has a role in every aspect of who I am.”

Although no mention is made on her campaign Web site of Lassa’s Catholicism, the Web site does state, “As the oldest of three children Julie learned the importance of hard work, the value of a dollar, and that honesty and integrity are a necessity. Those are the same values that Julie and her husband John are teaching their two daughters growing up in Stevens Point.”

Pro-life/pro-choice

The difference between Duffy and Lassa on the issue of abortion is clear cut – if only because of the organizations, such as the pro-abortion EMILY’s List headquartered in Washington, and Planned Parenthood, endorsing Lassa for her proabortion stance, despite being a Catholic.

Duffy sees the issue of abortion as a straightforward case of legal protection for the most vulnerable. “I am 100 percent prolife without exceptions,” he said. “It’s pretty straightforward. To qualify, I believe that if we have the life of a mother as an issue, the mother’s life takes priority, but we must make every effort to save the life of the child.”

Besides Roe v. Wade decision itself, the greatest threat, Duffy said, to the unborn at this time is the federal funding which will allow for abortions under the new health care reform law signed last March by President Obama.

“I’m opposed to this funding and want to make sure that the Hyde Amendment is continued,” he said, referring to the annual appropriations rider which outlaws federal funding of abortion. “As powerful as that amendment may or may not be, it’s all we have right now and I want to make sure that continues so federal dollars aren’t funneled into abortions in the U.S. or around the world.”

Extending his pro-life commitment to women as well as babies, Duffy said that he will also do all he can to address the issues facing both the unborn and expectant mothers. “I think it’s important that we have programs in place for women who find themselves with unplanned pregnancies,” he said. “If we’re pro-life, we need to help women who find themselves in that situation [by providing] life-affirming options so they can choose life. Our community and sometimes our government has to get involved to make sure we support women in that situation.”

Health care

On the issue of health care reform, Duffy and Lassa agree that more can be done than what the health care reform bill which President Obama signed into law last March proposes.

“The health care in place can be better,” Duffy said. “I don’t think this is the bill that was going to accomplish the end goal of increasing access and reducing costs. There are some good things in the bill. … But if you look at this 2,600 page bill and all that’s put into it and how it’s going to reform the system, I don’t think the end objectives will take place. This is a trillion dollar bill over 10 years with $500 billion from Medicare and another $500 billion from tax increases. … It’s not sustainable.”

But at the minimum, he hopes to be able to help strike any provisions that will fund abortions with federal funding. “If we’re going to take the bill and make it more effective, one of the parts we’re going to be looking at carving out, is the part about abortion,” he said.

At her campaign website, while admitting she’s not satisfied with the new health care law, Lassa said that Wisconsin will benefit from its provisions as they stand.

“The recently passed health care law, while needing improvement, contains many positive elements that help individuals and families,” the Web site states. “It prevents insurance companies from dropping our coverage when we get sick, bans discrimination based on pre-existing health conditions, creates tax credits for small businesses to provide health care to their employees, and lowers prescription drug costs for senior citizens. These are all positive steps forward.”

 Joseph O'Brien - The Catholic Times

I have never heard a Catholic candidate say "I intend to take my Catholicism to Washington, D.C."  What an idea!!

Great Sean Duffy ad

Time Magazine gave this ad the Best Viral Campaign Ads of 2010

What do you get when you combine a Wisconsin Republican, folksy tunes, flannel and some good ol' fashioned logrolling? Why, it's the lumberjackiest political ad of the season from former MTV reality star and timber sport enthusiast Sean Duffy. "Washington's reckless spending is spinning [cue log-rolling] our economy out of control," the young Republican says as a suited politician rolls a construction worker, child and grandma right into the lake.

By the way a recent independent poll done by "The Hill" newspaper found Sean is leading in the polls by 9 points!  I'm certain this is so because of his Badger Catholic endorsement.  :D

Julie Lassa's record, the vindictive anti-Catholic

Julie Lassa (D) is running for Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District against Badger Catholic endorsed Sean Duffy.  Lassa was at one time a Catholic, although I don't see this published anywhere so she may have apostatized. 

Lets look back to early 2004 when La Crosse still had a bishop by the name of Burke, who had recently been appointed archbishop of St. Louis.

Jan-8-2004 - LA CROSSE, Wis. (CNS) -- Archbishop Raymond L. Burke has formally notified Catholic lawmakers in the La Crosse Diocese that they cannot receive Communion if they continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia.

The four-paragraph canonical notification, published in the Jan. 8 edition of The Catholic Times, the La Crosse diocesan newspaper, called upon Catholic legislators in the diocese "to uphold the natural and divine law regarding the inviolable dignity of all human life."

"To fail to do so is a grave public sin and gives scandal to all the faithful," it said.

The two documents followed reports in the secular press in December that Archbishop Burke had sent private letters to three Catholic legislators in the diocese, warning them of the spiritual dangers of their votes against human life.

According to Archbishop Burke, the notification became necessary as an outcome of his correspondence with Catholic legislators. None of the three lawmakers to whom he wrote accepted his invitation for a private meeting to discuss their voting records, and in letters to the bishop indicated they were not open to changing their positions. 

"After several exchanges of letters, it became clear in all three cases that there was no willingness to conform to the teaching of the church," he said. "So the notification became a necessity in order that the faithful in the diocese not be scandalized, thinking that it is acceptable for a devout Catholic to also be pro-abortion."

Archbishop Burke has declined to name the three politicians but secular news reports have identified two of them as state Sen. Julie Lassa and U.S. Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wis.

Catholic News Service

So now that she had her feathers ruffled, she has decided to champion the cause of prosecuting dead priest for pedophilia.  The goal is to bankrupt schools and hospitals by allowing lawyers to sue Catholic entities (especially dioceses where those bullying bishops run their anti-woman political campaigns) back to 1848 when Wisconsin became a state.

MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - A Wisconsin senator says she’ll try again next year to help bring justice to victims of child sex abuse. Stevens Point Democrat Julie Lassa was a main sponsor of the Child Victims Act that died when the legislative session ended last week. It would have removed the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse to file civil suits. [Not extended it, removed it.]

Trial Lawyer Stimulus Plan

And a few other interesting notes about her record as congresswoman legislator.

• Julie Lassa opposed legislation to provide conscience protection for medical professionals.
• Julie Lassa opposed strengthening parental consent before a minor girl’s abortion.
• Julie Lassa opposed informing a woman seeking an abortion after 20 weeks that her child will feel pain.
• Julie Lassa opposed a ban on human cloning.

Wis Right to Life 

And an important (but lesser) issue of fiscal responsibility

Lassa, a Democratic state senator,  thinks that merely pointing out the fact the U.S. was in a recession is enough to wash her hands of the state deficit.  But, in fact, the rest of the report shows specifically how actions by the Legislature contributed to future deficits; most notably, the use of one-time federal "stimulus" funds that won't be available in the next budget. 

 Lassa voted for the most recent budget which left the state with a $2.7 billion deficit, and voted for the previous budget which left the state with a $1.6 billion deficit before the recession even occurred.

Recession or not, Julie Lassa repeatedly voted for budgets that left the state with large deficits - including the budget to which the NRCC ad refers.  And her attempt to pull one sentence out of a lengthy report to obfuscate this politically damaging vote makes her claim

PolitiCrap

So lets see, close down all Catholic churches in Wisconsin, and sell them, so Julie Lassa can pay for taxpayer funded abortions..... no thanks.