Posted on 04/12/2005 2:43:56 PM PDT by ninenot
Culture & Cosmos
April 12, 2005 Volume 2, Number 36
Democratic Strategists Issue Memo on Loss of Catholics
A memo authored by a prominent Democratic strategy organization calls the decline in support of white Catholics for Democrats "striking" and "a big part of the 2004 election story." One of the analysis' key findings is that Catholic voters are becoming more pro-life which the authors called "a factor in the recent losses and one of the blockages for Democrats, at least in the Midwest." The data also reveals that young Catholics are more pro-life than their parents and that bishops who speak out against pro-abortion politicians help bolster the pro-life vote.
The abortion issue is particularly potent for a group called "Democratic defectors" who either identified themselves as Democrats or voted for Bill Clinton in 1996 but voted for President Bush in the last election. Among this group, "26 percent believe that abortion should be illegal in all cases, nearly three times the number for all Catholic Democrats."
The memo was issued by Democracy Corps, a research and tactical advice organization founded by Democrat strategy virtuosos James Carville, Stanley Greenberg and Bob Shrum. Titled "Reclaiming the White Catholic Vote," it is based on data from a nationwide survey of more than a 1,000 white Catholic voters. The decline in the white Catholic vote has been steady over the last decade. Clinton won it by seven percentage points; Al Gore lost it by seven points; and Sen. John Kerry lost it by 14 points. The data provided in the report provides a fascinating window into the much discussed Catholic vote and makes it clear Democrats are losing ground because of their stance on a range of cultural issues.
It turns out that one of the most contentious and visible issues in the 2004 election, the denial of the Eucharist to pro-abortion politicians, did not hurt the pro-life side as many said it would. The poll found that when white Catholics were asked whether or not they were more or less likely to vote for a Democrat that "is denied communion by the area's bishop for voting to support abortion rights" 49 percent said they were less likely while 33 percent said they were more likely.
The memo also made it clear that the abortion issue is not going away. "Although the pro-life position is strongest among seniors, Catholics current pro-life position does not appear likely to lessen with time. While middle-age Catholics lean toward keeping abortion legal, voters under 30 are more pro-life: 53 percent believe abortion should be illegal in most cases." The pro-life position could be a winning one for Democrats according to the study. Fifty-nine percent of white Catholics say they are more likely to support a Democratic candidate who is pro-life and 35 percent say they are less likely, giving a pro-life Democrat a 24 point advantage. Even on the East Coast where Catholics are less pro-life, a pro-life Democrat has a 12 point advantage over a pro-abortion candidate.
The memo advises Democrat candidates to get around the issue by presenting themselves as one who "[b]elieves in a woman's right to choose but believes all sides should come together around the common goal of preventing and reducing the number of abortions, with more sex ed, including abstinence, access to contraception and more adoption." This common ground approach is reminiscent of a recent speech given by New York Senator and likely presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in which she softened her approach to abortion by calling it a "tragic choice." In the speech she said faith-based abstinence should be embraced but also called on increased funding for "family planning services," a euphemism for contraception, abortifacients and abortions.
Specifically of interest is the fact that denying Communion to the CINO's actually DOES hurt the CINO's in the ballot box.
I am sure the Terri Schiavo tragedy will not help the Dems either.
Memo to Dems: You think it will be sufficient to talk about values and spin a new position on values. It won't. Values are funny things - you have to actually believe them and live them for them to have any merit to others. Otherwise, it's just hypocrisy.
And Hillary Clinton is the last person in the world you should be emulating, as she doesn't mean a damn word she's saying. Now or ever.
We will need to be VERY watchful now as more and more democRATS will be talking a more moderate stance on pro-life issues. They won't vote that way, just talk that way.
Coming next a memo on loss of Latinos.
Then a memo on loss of women.
Then a memo on loss of blacks.
Then a memo on loss of Jews.
Then a memo on loss of Americans.
Finally a memo on how are party can survive as the party of the Islamists.
Hillary's silence on Terri Schiavo, John Bolton, the pope and any other number of high profile issues indicates that she's going to play the centrist role.
Yes, but on that "common ground" there still lies a dead baby, and no amount of cleverly nuanced weasel-words can get around that.
. . . the notion of actually taking a principled stand on anything being totally out of the question.
Heck, the Catholic Church in America can't even "keep" Catholics. If the Rats figure out how to do it, I hope they pass their secrets along to the U.S. Council of Bishops.
zzzzzzinggg!!!
Being a catholic from midwest and 16 years of Catholic
education.....the Democrats make the mistake of taking
all religious individuals as easy prey for their
pseudo-kindred agenda. They lose people like me
because of their attitude, that was very evident with
the verbiage and superior attitude of their nominee,
Kerry along with the other Catholic- Ted Kennedy...
Catholics support Bush because he is closer to the
empathy of a Catholic than the Dem. nominne.. Jake
"The memo advises Democrat candidates to get around the issue by presenting themselves as one who "[b]elieves in a woman's right to choose but believes all sides should come together around the common goal of preventing and reducing the number of abortions, with more sex ed, including abstinence, access to contraception and more adoption."
Is it possible to believe everything? The dems seem to think so.
I dislike both parties but will not vote for the democrats. I'd like to see a monarchy but guess that will have to wait on heavens own time.
I beg to differ with you, friend. Hillary! means every word she says when it comes to wealth redistribution. I can't remember the exact words to a speech from last year, but it was basically, "we will have to take more from the rich to help the poor".
Other than that, I take everything else she says with a pound of salt.
Now, how can that be?
Weren't we assured, right here on this very website, by certain posters to remain nameless, that Apb. Burke and other bishops who insisted on enforcing canon law were going to end up helping the pro-abort politicians?
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