Excruciating Silence of Caroline Kennedy

The campaign of Caroline Kennedy for Hillary’s senate seat is excruciating. In her, there is so much of her father and especially her mother: refinement, taste, wholesome and yet glamorous beauty, intelligence, competence, idealism, maternity, concern for the common good and radiant femininity. But the Kennedy curse hangs over her: abortion.

Last night, her cousin Kerry Kennedy was on Hardball, supporting Caroline’s bid as well as her own book on being Catholic. Chris Matthews asked about Caroline’s stand on abortion: pro-choice or pro-life. Kerry answered that she did not know; it had never come up in conversation. Mr. Hardball was incredulous: “The Kennedy family, so famous for their political conversations…and this has NEVER come up in conversation?” This is, of course, ludicrous. This family is the quintessential political family, the ultimate American Catholic family, a family obsessed with questions about the public order. And abortion is THE polarizing, defining moral, social, cultural issue of the last 35 years, which is to say Caroline’s entire adult life.

How telling it is that a cousin (recall that the Kennedy’s are renowned for their close family ties) cannot publicly speak on Caroline’s position on abortion. Apparently, she has no clear public record on the issue. Is it possible she is pro-life? No, it is inconceivable! She emerged from privacy (an absolute value for her) to enthusiastically support Obama. She herself is being supported by Uncle Ted and the entire choice establishment. She has ties to NARAL and other choice groups. Her book on privacy connected abortion and contraception with the alleged shrinking of the right to privacy. We all know she is pro-choice, probably in the 100% category with Obama, Teddy and Hillary. Imagine a Kennedy Christmas gathering if a cousin were to clearly advocate legal defense of the unborn. This would be worse than a Fleckinstein posting on his (liberal, Democrat) family’s website. It would be chaos! It would be civil war!

Caroline’s silence on this issue is more than shyness. Her deep Catholicism and maternal nature cannot but trouble her. Her silence on the issue is a guilty compliance and acceptance of legal abortion. This is not the Advent silence of the pregnant Mary and Elizabeth that erupted into Praise at the Annunciation; it is not the humble, obedient silence of Joseph who protects the Christ child from the murderous Herod; nor is it the contrite, humble, awe-filled silence of Zechariah at the miraculous conception of his son John. No, this is the silence of a conflicted conscience; the silence of betrayal; the silence of non-resistance to and therefore compliance with absolute evil.

In the political sphere, Caroline will become another foot soldier for the Democrat machinery of annihilation. Let us hope that she returns to her decent, honorable life of anonymous service, preferring the privacy of her mother to the ignominy of Kennedy choice.