kmiec malta.jpgAt first I laughed when reading Barack Obama had appointed Doug Kmiec ambassador to… Malta? Yesterday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave its thumbs up, so only 1 nonhurdle remains, the full Senate.
Then I did a little reading and discovered intrigue and controversy.
Recall Kmiec is a supposed pro-life Catholic Republican who defected to support Obama and actively – and successfully – worked hard to siphon pro-life Catholic votes Obama’s way. For that Kmiec is being rewarded with this ambassadorship. And here is where the plot thickens….


1st, Kmiec’s appointment is another in a string of crony paybacks by Obama that has been raising ire among not only U.S. diplomats being pushed aside but also among recipient countries. When earlier this year Obama appointed one of his biggest fundraisers, Louis Susman, The Telegraph reported:
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Critics… pointed out that there is little difference between handing a major diplomatic post to a fundraiser and the “pay to play” scandal in which disgraced former IL governor Rod Blagojevich apparently auctioned off Mr Obama’s senate seat to the highest bidder.

Stateside news outlets are overlooking Obama’s Chicago-style political paybacks. Reported Big Hollywood last month:

The MSM discreetly reports that President Obama hasn’t exactly been making good on his pledge to appoint ambassadors from the ranks of foreign service professionals rather than campaign contributors.

So back to Kmiec. There are apparently several reasons Kmiec was appointed to Malta in particular. In a U.S. News & World Report op ed last month, John Farrell wrote:

Specifically, Kmiec helped lead an effort, targeted at Catholics, that vouched for Obama and suggested that folks could trust him to make abortion rare…. I thought this a noble effort, and have written warmly of it, in part because I figured that Kmiec would be around to hold Obama’s feet to the fire. After all, Kmiec had put his credibility on the line.

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But now he is off to Malta, a lovely island nation in the Mediterranean where the arduous duties of ambassador can be dispensed in a morning’s work. Then have your staff prepare a lunch; the sailboat is waiting. And remember to be back for the evening’s reception at the yacht club. If you ask a career foreign service officer about being posted to Malta, they tend to get misty-eyed and blabber rhapsodically.

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Ah, Chicago. Is Kmiec getting his reward for shilling to Catholics? Or is this a shrewd move on the part of Rahm and Ax to get him out of the country and dispense with any uncomfortable questions he might raise about abortion: like when, exactly, is the White House going to do something to make it rare?

There’s something else that makes Malta a controversial choice for Kmiec. Just south of Italy it is a “Catholic island nation,” according to the Catholic News Agency, adding:

Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mercieca of Malta has previously spoken out about the role Christian politicians must take in respecting life in all stages. During a Maltese Independence Day celebration in 2004, he noted that these politicians “should reject abortion and euthanasia….”

The editor of The Malta Independent Online wrote:

The appointment of Douglas Kmiec… is somewhat of a poisoned chalice by President Obama to Malta.
For the US President is sending to Malta not just one who supported him, although a Republican, but also one who, though a Catholic and a pro-life person, has fallen foul of some leaders within the Catholic Church in the US for his public stances regarding abortion and other pro-life issues.

Di-ve.com wrote:

His nomination had caused a stir in pro-life Catholic circles because of Malta’s strong pro-life stance and laws prohibiting abortion.

So there is a lot more than meets the eye with Kmiec’s Maltese reward. Obama is apparently sending Kmiec on a paid Mediterranean vacation to get Kmiec out of his hair while at the same time hoping to liberalize staunch pro-life Catholics, which would be helpful as Obama attempts through the U.N. to spread his abortion agenda throughout the world.

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