The Al Smith Dinner

Recognizing that many of you probably have not read about
The Al Smith Dinner in the Main Stream Media, but it is worth pointing out a few things about this event. This dinner is to help the city’s most vulnerable women and children — including kids with special needs, foster children, and low-income single mothers.

From CVNews Feed:
Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan responded to Kamala Harris becoming the first Democratic nominee since 1984 not to attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner (“Al Smith Dinner”) hosted by the archdiocese, pointing out that the last presidential candidate to skip the dinner “lost 49 out of 50 states.”
“We’re disappointed. We were looking forward to giving the Vice President an enthusiastic welcome,” the cardinal said on Monday, during remarks delivered at the Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center in Yonkers, New York.
The medical center for special needs children is one of the charities for which the Al Smith Foundation raises money. The sold-out 79th annual Catholic dinner is set to take place on Thursday, October 17 at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, New York City.
The dinner, named in honor of the first Catholic presidential nominee in American history, “raises money for various Catholic charitable organizations that benefit children.”
Although the Catholic New York City event is “held annually, it receives particular attention during presidential election years when both of the major parties’ candidates attend and take turns making comedic speeches.”
This tradition dates back to the 1960 presidential election cycle, in which major party nominees John F. Kennedy – who would become the country’s first Catholic president – and Richard Nixon both attended.
Republican nominee Donald Trump confirmed that he is indeed attending the dinner for a third consecutive presidential election year, calling it an “honor.”

My question is, “Why would Kamala Harris refuse to attend this traditional Catholic charitable event?”
Her present excuse is a “scheduling conflict!” Really?? This dinner had been scheduled long before Harris became the Democrat’s nominee … long before she had a schedule!
I guess it could be that her schedule maker is incompetent, but surely he/she would have asked Harris if she wished to attend the Al Smith Dinner.
However, there are other much more likely explanations. Could it be that Harris has a strong dislike for Catholics? Most likely she does not have a strong dislike for disabled children foster children, and single mothers … but who knows. Possibly, in view of the fact that does not give interviews, she feels extremely inadequate speaking to groups of people. Or perhaps she does not have what seems to be of critical importance for an Al Smith Dinner … a sense of humor!
All in all I think that there are probably multiple reasons for her weaseling out of the Al Smith Dinner, but conflicts in her schedule is not one of them !
9/26/24
californiacontrarian