Over at Commonweal’s web site, William J. Gould criticizes the strategy adopted by some Catholics of effectively embracing the Republican Party because of its pro-life position on abortion. A better approach, he argues, is for church authorities to recognize a diversity of approaches for Catholics in the public square:

The kind of pluralism I have in mind would range from radical perspectives such as that of the eminent Catholic philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre—who contends that the two major parties are so defective that not voting is actually preferable to voting—to support for antisystem third-party candidates like Ralph Nader, to voting for Obama (as I will) on the grounds that, on balance, his administration will do more to serve the common good than McCain’s, to voting for McCain (as many others will) on prolife or other grounds. That approach comports far better with the situation facing Catholics than anything proposed by bishops like Chaput and Martino.

I agree with his minor point: Catholics should not embrace the Republican Party (or the Democratic Party, for that matter) as presently constituted. Neither party, it is safe to say, reflects Catholic social teaching in its fullness. But I disagree with his major point -- Catholics should accommodate their beliefs to the two political parties rather than reform or challenge them.

Surely accommodation is part of the problem in Catholic America not the solution. For four decades, Catholics have knuckled under to political leaders; with little say so from Catholics, the Democratic Party moved left on cultural issues, while the Republican Party moved right on economics. This remains the case today. Few Catholic conservatives challenge the GOP to do more to help the poor and vulnerable here at home; few Catholic liberals or progressives challenge the Democratic Party to extend legal protections to unborn infants.

How has accommodationism benefited Catholics or Americans? It hasn’t made American life more Catholic, if our me-first public philosophy is any guide. And it has left Catholics more divided, a fact which Pope Benedict XVI lamented in his visit this spring.

A better political approach for Catholics, it seems to me, would be reformist in nature. Catholics should reform both political parties to make them better vessels of Catholic social thought. If this were to happen, at a minimum the Democratic Party would be more culturally conservative, while the Republican Party would be more economically populist or liberal.