It’s on between the Tea Party and the Catholic Church in New Hampshire.
Republican State Rep. and Tea Party leader Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) told the Catholic League he will be filing legislation in the New Hampshire House to strip the Roman Catholic Church of its tax exempt status because Bishop John McCormack spoke against proposed budget cuts at a recent State House rally, according to Bill Donohue, the President of the Catholic League.
“I am now considering a bill to remove the Church’s tax exempt status in New Hampshire, for you have clearly shown that you no longer want it,” Manuse says in the e-mail.
Sources at the State House have confirmed to NH Journal that Manuse indeed intends to file such legislation.
Last week, McCormack joined several thousand protesters to oppose Republican-sponsored budget cuts.
“Never in the nearly 18 years I have spent as president of the Catholic League have I seen more totally irresponsible statements issued by the lawmakers in any one state,” said Donohue in a statement. “Why doesn’t Manuse go right ahead with his bill to remove the Church’s tax-exempt status? We’d love to present his e-mail in court.”
Manuse gained notoriety earlier in the session for filing legislation he called the “don’t touch my junk” bill. The measure would have placed TSA screeners on the sexual predator registry.
Manuse’s threat could enflame serious constitutional controversies about the roles of church and state. It is highly probable that the punitive nature of Manuse’s bill would violate the state and federal constitutions – an irony because Manuse considers himself an expert on the constitution.
Senior Republicans are growing concerned that the caustic tone in Concord may harm the Granite State as it fights to keep its treasured first-in-the-nation status against larger states, especially Florida.
“We have always prided ourselves on being thoughtful, considerable voters who should be trusted with important responsibility of picking presidents. But the recent antics in Concord have cast a dark shadow over that assertion,” one longtime Republican strategist told NH Journal.
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