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.
'While they know its wrong, they like having it there. Sorry, that's the way I see it - 40,000,000 abortions and 1.4million a year can't all be confused teens, you know.'
No, but 60% of that number is black, the target market of PP and it founder Margaret Sanger. Marketing is powerful stuff. It won the WH for Clinton twice remember.
True enough, but I think there's a larger issue out there that Demo-strategists can't bear to face: their demographics really suck!
Their core base of seniors dependent on SS is dying off, and those numbers are not being replaced fast enough by liberal youngsters. Is it not logical to opine that a solid majority of abortions occur among moderate-to-liberal women? Most of the women that I know are conservative, and are strongly pro-life.
If my premise is correct, then the Democrats are killing off huge numbers of their future base. I hate to extrapolate, but there may be evidence when comparing the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Didn't Dubya win the national vote by about 4 million in 04? Again, I hate to extrapolate, but if we're averaging over 1 million abortions per year, you'd have to say there's at least a couple of million potential voters that the Democrats lose every four years.
Hey, I could be full of it, but as Fred Willard's character in "A Mighty Wind" said, "I don't think so!!!"
Every careful consideration of the data shows that a pro-life position helps a candidate.
DEMOCRACY CORPS
JAMES CARVILLE ¨ STANLEY GREENBERG ¨ BOB SHRUM
10 G STREET, NE ¨ SUITE 400 ¨ WASHINGTON, DC 20002
202-478-8330 (TEL) ¨ 202-289-8648 (FAX)
WWW.DEMOCRACYCORPS.COM
Special Report: Reclaiming the White Catholic Vote
Culture of Life Foundation
1413 K Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington DC 20005
Phone: (202) 289-2500 Fax: (202) 289-2502
E-mail: clf@culture-of-life.org
Website: http://www.culture-of-life.org
It's about time!! Any self respecting Catholic cannot be in or for a political party that celebrates the right to kill our children.
May God bless all our Pastors and Bishops who speak the Truth in love. It is their duty to tell us that it is a grievous sin to support or participate in The Culture of Death Party.
"A nation that kills its children is a nation without hope."
Pope John Paul the Great
This is one White Catholic vote the Democrats will NEVER earn!
interesting stuff
I agree with that statement. But mischaracterizations of Vatican II aside, Paul VI was no liberal.
Pray for W and Our Troops
The liberal Dems WANT Catholic votes BUT filibuster Catholic judicial nominees.
This from afa.net:
On May 1, in a Senate Judiciary Committee session, Senator Charles Schumer of
New York said that J. Leon Holmes was disqualified as a candidate for a federal
judge appointment because of his “deeply held conservative religious views.”
Holmes is a Catholic.
On June 11, 2004, speaking of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, a nominee for the
appellate court, Schumer said Pryor’s beliefs “are so well known, so deeply held
that it’s hard to believe that they’re not going to influence” his decisions.
Attorney General Pryor is a Catholic. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California also
opposed Pryor because of his “deeply held religious beliefs.”
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes once said, “We live under
a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is.” In plain
English, that means we don’t live under a Constitution but under judges, some
of which have total disregard for the intent of the Founding Fathers.
So please call and/or e-mail your U.S. senators and tell them to vote to END the filibusters.
Click here to send your emails!
One click sends your email to each of your Senators.
http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=7400646&type=CO
If you call AND e-mail, you can be even more effective.
While Rod'Em papers over her dead-set insistence for abortion-on-demand,
She Who Must Be Oyveyyed chose to NOT abort Webb Hubbell's child.
Oooooh, FINE poem, Phil. She who must be oyveyyed! Love it! Mind if I violate the copyright?
Paul VI was no liberal, but he lost control of events.
In which way(s)?
The American Church, for one, simply went its own way. It is said that by the end of his pontificate he had been pretty much pushed aside.
ping
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