There are millions of traditional Christian conservatives who have not bought into the Washington Culture of the Beltway Trough. Many of them embrace Ron Paul’s intrepid demands for serious cuts in the size, budget, and power of government. Many more cheer Dr. Paul’s drive to end Fed-driven theft-by-inflation. In fact, that effort appeals to members of many denominations who honor the Commandment, "Thou shalt not steal."

Of course, many (but not all) Christians who embrace radical Dispensationalism have a different set of priorities: they desire Armageddon. Their millennial passion disposes them to support candidates who advocate expanding the wars in the Middle East, in order to bring on the Second Coming of Christ – which will apparently inaugurate his one-thousand year reign, which they will then share with him. These voters are not inconsequential in number and influence: in 2008, for instance, both Huckabee and McCain slavishly sought the blessing of Pastor John Hagee of San Antonio’s Cornerstone Church, the founder and leader of "Christians United for Israel." Hagee finally endorsed McCain, only to find McCain denouncing the endorsement because of Hagee’s long history of Anti-Catholicism.

Which brings us to the Catholics. The Catholic faith does not applaud Armageddon or urge its early arrival. Of course, we pray "Thy Kingdom come," but we do not pretend to know the day or the hour. As far as Israel is concerned, Catholics believe that the Catholic Church, and not any specific ethnic group or geographical territory, is the "New Israel." So why aren’t Catholic "leaders" inclined to applaud, and even zealously support, Ron Paul, not only for his fiscal honesty, but for his opposition to abortion and Roe v. Wade? Sure, Dispensationalists might oppose him because of his condemnation of BushObama’s illegal wars, but Catholics have no similar theological calling to do so. In fact, they have good reason to resonate that condemnation.

So what’s Ron Paul’s Catholic problem? When offered this pro-life constitutionalist who reflects the moral views of millions of Catholics, why do prominent Catholics follow the lead of the secular liberal media and treat Dr. Paul like the "thirteenth floor of a hotel"? I think a great deal of the problem lies not with the people in the pews, but with professional Catholics who have put their faith in the Republican Party – specifically, with the GOP establishment "left behind" by George W. Bush. Specifically, many people among the establishment’s Catholic faction are closely identified with the Iraq War, and to this day long to vindicate their support of it.