Posted on 11/05/2004 2:58:50 PM PST by swilhelm73
It is said that George W. Bush won the 2004 presidential election because of religious voters, especially evangelical Protestants. What is not said is that John F. Kerry lost the election because he failed not only to win religious voters generally but Catholics specifically. Because he lost Catholics -- an amazing fact when one considers that Kerry himself is Catholic -- he lost the race.
Put differently, Catholics voted for the Protestant, George W. Bush, and did so in large part because they agree more with him than Kerry on moral issues, such as abortion, closest to Catholic hearts. Just as Al Gore did not win the Electoral College in 2000 because he couldn't carry his home state of Tennessee, John Kerry failed because he couldn't bring a natural constituency from his own church.
According to CNN's exit poll data, 27% of those who voted on Tuesday were Catholic, which equated to roughly 31 million of 115 million voters. How these Catholics voted is striking: They voted for Bush over Kerry by 51 to 48%. In other words, they mirrored the popular vote to the exact number.
Kerry lost the Catholic vote to Bush by at least a million. A Catholic with a major party nomination should have won the Catholic vote by several million. Another Democratic senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, once won an extremely close election because he overwhelmingly took the Catholic vote.
The numbers diverge more sharply when one considers devout Catholics compared to those who find their way to church only for weddings and Christmas. Catholics who attend Mass weekly voted for Bush by 55% to 44%.
The breakdown among states is most interesting. Bush remained close to Kerry in Pennsylvania, a state with millions of pro-life Catholic Democrats, which went for Kerry 52 to 48%, because he carried Catholics who go to Mass weekly by 52 to 48%. In New Hampshire, which barely went for Kerry, Bush took Catholics who attend Mass weekly by 63 to 35%.
Most impressive, Catholics played a key role in Florida and Ohio. In Florida, they comprised 28% of voters, and went for Bush 57 to 42%. In Ohio, they made up 26% and went to Bush 55 to 44%. The margin was even wider for Catholics who attend Mass weekly: In Florida, they went to Bush by almost two to one, 66 to 34%, and in Ohio they supported Bush by 65 to 35%.
In fact, Catholics for Bush made it unnecessary to begin counting provisional ballots in Ohio. Ohio Catholics cast 780,000 votes for Bush and 624,000 for Kerry, a difference of 156,000 votes. Compare that to the overall vote difference for all Ohio ballots: which was 136,000. Thus it can be asserted that Kerry lost Ohio, and therefore the election, because he couldn't get the support of people of his own faith in Ohio.
The Catholic vote kept Bush competitive in the liberal East, where the 41% of voters who are Catholic went for the Protestant president by 52 to 47%, and those who attend Mass weekly supported him by 56 to 42%. Bush actually won the Catholic vote in New York by 51 to 48%. Those Catholics were offset by the 12% of New Yorkers who claimed no religion at all; these atheists eagerly voted for Kerry by 78 to 19%. Kerry actually almost lost the Catholic vote in his own liberal home state of Massachusetts, where Catholics gave him the nod by a paltry 50 to 49%.
THE ISSUE BEHIND THIS Catholic snub was abortion. Pro-life Catholics were aghast at the prospect of a Catholic president becoming the greatest champion of legalized abortion ever to step foot in the Oval Office, as Kerry would have been. Kerry could speak all day about how his piety would prompt him to boost the minimum wage. Catholics could care less; they wanted him to defend babies in the womb.
The Democratic Party has ditched pro-life Catholic Democrats (like my grandmother in the mountains of Pennsylvania), pursuing instead the pro-choice feminist driving an SUV through the suburbs of Maryland. In so doing, it has lost the votes of millions of people who long voted Democrat. By bowing before the altar of the feminist church, liberals like John Kerry have ceded a huge constituency. It cost the Democrats the 2004 election, and may do so again in 2008.
Liberals will bellyache about how Karl Rove took the vote by mass-mobilizing evangelical Protestants. What they will not talk about is how they, and a presidential nominee named John F. Kerry, drove both evangelicals and Catholics toward Bush. Kerry did more for Protestant-Catholic unity in America than the churches themselves could accomplish. The fact is that moderate to conservative Catholics had nowhere to go but to George W. Bush.
Liberal Christians like Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi say that Democratic politicians are "faith-filled" people as well; they read the Bible and Matthew's gospel. However, if church-going Democrats want to win the church-going population, the solution is obvious: it's about abortion, stupid -- an answer they do not want to hear. Call us club-carrying troglodytes, but us simple-minded Christians in the hinterland just can't countenance that Jesus would be a champion of legalized abortion. And until Democrats recognize that, they will never win the churchgoers they need to drive them to the White House.
Thank you! for making this point.
Almost reflective of the political landscape, the post Vatican II Catholic Church, worldwide, has slacked off on its more orthodox teachings, giving ample room to the more progressive element in the church, to experiment with liturgy, catechesis and music. Ironically, the majority of converts to the Catholic Church, come in seeking orthodoxy! They have done their homework and have a greater understanding of catechesis than those instructing them.
For us 'cradle catholics' , these liberal experiments are a deterrant to expanding our faith. Worse still, their impact on youth, has been devastating. Most come away from faith formation with a very poor, at best, understanding of their faith, leaving them ripe targets for Evangelicals.
I have total faith that, with time, the emerging trend towards orthodoxy, will prevail. In the meantime, though, I would strongly encourage devout catholics to visit other RC parishes. If necessary, visit Eastern Catholic Churches. There you will find a better alignment with the faith of the Fathers. This is especially important if, like me, you reside in a diocese shepherded by a liberal bishop. The Catholic Chuch is both Western and Eastern.
I know nothing about him. Ask the CO freepers.
Next Sunday?
A month of Sundays?
Am I supposed to be heartened by those numbers?
It means that there are millions of Catholics who either don't understand what John Kerry stands for or what it is to be Catholic.
I really feel that the Catholic Church needs to abolish Vatican II return to the laws, practices and traditions prior to Vatican II implication.
There has been nothing but turmoil, confusion and a exodus from the pews of what was one of the mosdt strongest supporters of the values that we are fighting to retain and in some cases to return to now.
Vatican II and it's attempt to accept the teachings of other more permissive religions is a failure. If the Vatican places no value in Catholicism why would the people. Prior to V2 a Catholic and being a Catholic was very unique and the people felt the difference between themselves and members of other religions. Catholics were taught that the Catholic Church was the one true Church because of it's connection with Jesus through his apostile Peter. Peter being the Rock that the church was built on.
The Lord chose Peter because Peter was an ordinary commonsense man. He was not the most intelleigent or the most creative of the Apostles -- To ensure that the HOLY Roman Catholic Church would endure until the end times, The Lord built his church on the weakest link of the chain, because a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link -- Peter -- a common man.
Rome has lost the faith, we need to return to the time of our father's or better still our Grandfather's time and the Catholicism Practiced then, prior to Vatican II. The Catholic Church was always a hard place to live in, but the Best Place to die in.
this is useful in highlighting the contrast among people who call themselves Catholic.
Great post. This article is on target.
At our Catholic Bible study Thurs nite, someone asked me why I was humming and smiling. I replied that the previous 48 hours were an outstanding victory for God's people--Kerry, Dashcle, and Arafat all gone ...8 out of 10 fellow facilitators looked at me in disbelief and one even said that this result was not what the Council of Bishops would have wanted...After 10 years of Bible Study with this group I've had it I won't be part of this anymore..I consider myself a devout Catholic and there needs to be a 'cleansing' in the Catholic Church..I will do private study and attend Mass at the local cloistered convent. Where has the conservative Catholic Church gone???
The above statistics were from the Manchester Union Leader's editorial dated 7 November 2004.
President Bush won by increasing his percentage of the vote in many groups. The outstanding increase IMHO (2%) was in the suburbs: 2% does not sound like much but the population of the suburbs is huge.
I think the percentage of weekly-Mass-going Catholics who voted for Bush was much higher than 63%. I suspect the current statistics are the result of people fudging how often they go to Mass. Of the Catholics I know who actually go to Mass every week, the percentage voting for Bush was at least 90%. (90% is not an exaggeration; if anything, it's conservative.)
Good post Smartass!
I would be surprised if he attended any church today. It was just a photo op, like bill, hill, and chelsea during impeachment.
Eewww! I need to get over the 'toons.
A huge AMEN!!!!! from Virginia!
"the OTHER big Catholic loser because of abortion was Tom Daschle. We should never underestimate his loss."
A big AMEN!!! from Virginia on that, too! When I heard Daschle got the left foot of fellowship out of the Senate, it was before the results were in on the Presidential, and at the time it looked like the French carpetbagger was ahead of the American. I consoled myself that at least Daschle was shown the exit sign. The next day it was clear the American won and the French carpetbagger conceded. Hopefully with Daschle's departure, maybe Bush can get more done....now if only Miz Pelosi could be given the left foot of fellowship and shown the exit sign......
As one who has a good friend who is Eastern Catholic, who helped me appreciate Eastern Catholicism, and having had the recent pleasure of attending an Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy, I heartily recommend it to everyone! It was truly incense without nonsense, and a true blessing!
Was the Catholic faith losing people prior to Vatican II?
No it isn't. You expect a man to abide by the rules of the faith that he professes.
If he was a Buddhist and so believed that abortion was no big deal because the soul was just reincarnated that would be one thing.
But he isn't, he knows that it is wrong and he supports it anyway. To me that is a big no no. And a good way to judge a man's character.
Pray for W and Our Troops
To the best of my recollection -- NO! The Catholic church at that time was a very solid entity. Some blacks were even joining, which was a little unusual, especially where I am grew up in SW PA. It was agrowing church, but not a rapidly growing church.
What was very noticiable was the exoudus of the members after Vatican II!! That you could see, feel and hear the very vocal complaints!
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