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Hail-Mary Vote (Understanding those mysterious Catholics)
National Review Online ^ | 10/09/08 | Raymond Arroyo

Posted on 10/18/2008 7:36:05 AM PDT by DocT111

The Catholic vote is a bit like an apparition of the Virgin Mary. It is a clear article of faith to some, a murky delusion to others. ...

Admittedly they are a mysterious lot, a group that is neither monolithic nor partisan. At present 49 percent of Catholics are Democrats while 40 percent are registered Republicans. A portion of these voters are known to swing wildly in presidential elections. This year they represent a third of voters in do or die battleground states like Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. On the whole Catholic voters are offended by injustice, have a reflexive concern for the poor, and are committed to protecting life in varying degrees. Despite their diversity, there are cultural characteristics of Catholic voters that for whatever reason have been largely ignored or underappreciated by the two major political parties. Here are a few that I have observed in my travels and during conversations with Catholics across the country:

The Madonna Complex: The veneration of the Virgin Mary in Catholic practice has uniquely prepared the Catholic people, men and women, to warmly accept female leadership. Not just any leader mind you, but a leader who is at once nurturing and firm: a mother. This is one of the reasons Hillary Clinton trounced Obama 59 percent to 41 percent among Catholic voters in the Pennsylvania primary. It is also why Sarah Palin has caused such a sensation among Catholic woman, even self-described Democratic women. She represents an underground feminism that has long existed but is seldom celebrated. When I recently asked a bi-partisan group of Catholic women in California if they felt that Sarah Palin was like them, I was loudly corrected. “She IS us,” they said.

(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: catholicvote; mccain; mccainpalin; palin; sarahpalin
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I truly believe there are more of us in terms of supporting McCain and Palin vs. Obama/Biden.
1 posted on 10/18/2008 7:36:05 AM PDT by DocT111
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To: DocT111

We definitely need a Hail Mary pass and not just from the Catholics but the Jews as well. I still can’t fathom why either group is for this Messiah.


2 posted on 10/18/2008 7:40:58 AM PDT by itsthejourney (1 of every 10 people you pass in the mall is here illegally)
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To: DocT111

It is an interesting point made concerning our respect for Mary.

Certainly Sarah Palin reflects that respect for motherhood. She is femine and strong at the same time. Mothering is not a burden or a curse - but a source of strength and honor.

By giving birth to Trig, Sarah sent the message that life is always preferrable to death - even when that life is less than “perfect” (according to worldly standards).


3 posted on 10/18/2008 7:42:02 AM PDT by Scotswife
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To: DocT111

For every Catholic I know who supports McCain due to his pro-life stance, I know of another Catholic who is supporting Obama due to the Iraq war, Universal Health Care, and the economy in general.

At our church discussion groups, the abortion issue is being parried by the theory that since no Republican administration has taken significant steps to outlaw abortion (despite many promises), the issue (abortion) should be taken off the table when considering a candidate (i.e., forming your voting conscience).

Not my conclusion, but I understand why somebody would think this.


4 posted on 10/18/2008 7:57:46 AM PDT by opticks
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To: DocT111

Ping to read later


5 posted on 10/18/2008 8:04:22 AM PDT by Alex Murphy (What can I say? It's a gift. And I didn't get a receipt, so I can't exchange it.)
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To: DocT111

Thank you for posting this article. This is by the one of the best articles on the subject of the Catholic vote that I have read all campaign season.

Coincidently, they same states that are battle ground states in this election are also heavily populated Catholic states but also extremely “Blue Collar” states.

I would think the formula here is for the McCain/Palin ticket is to increase their appeal to those two issues hard in the last two weeks.

This is by far the most damming excerpt from the article to obie/biden...;

“Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden, both Catholics, dragged the issue of abortion into the presidential race a few weeks ago. After publicly misrepresenting Catholic teaching on when life begins, the pols were reprimanded by no less than 30 bishops, some even inviting Pelosi and Biden to refrain from communion.

In spite of efforts to finesse the issue, the skirmish reminded Catholics that the bishops consider abortion a “foundational” issue.

It also revealed how far removed the Democratic party’s position on abortion is from that of the Church. For Catholics who attend Mass each week the defense of human life is the preeminent issue.

This is one of the reasons why McCain enjoys a 16-point lead in the latest Pew poll among church-going Catholics. I was shocked to learn during my travels that even a month after the fact, many Catholics are just now becoming aware of the “bishop eruptions.”


6 posted on 10/18/2008 8:09:25 AM PDT by areukiddingme1 (areukiddingme1 is a synonym for a Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer and tired of liberal BS.)
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To: opticks

Doesn’t matter WHAT they think of abortion......we all KNOW what GOD thinks of it.......EVERYONE will answer at the Final Judgement.


7 posted on 10/18/2008 8:33:25 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion.....The Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: opticks

“the abortion issue is being parried by the theory that since no Republican administration has taken significant steps to outlaw abortion (despite many promises),”

I don’t have time to research this right now, so going off memory - would appreciate any FReepers whose memory is better than mine to jump in and confirm or correct.

I believe that President Bush and the Republicans got the Partial Birth abortion law passed (IIRC Clinton vetoed it).

I also think that their argument is a bit flawed, given Roe v Wade and, again IIRC the SC held hearings on this again within the last few years. I don’t see how Republicans can outlaw abortion. That said, many have said (including Palin and Thompson, and I think McCain) that it should be a state issue, determined and voted on by the people in each state, not something mandated by law at the national level. I also think that Pres Bush, McCain, Palin and others have pushed for adoption rather than abortion. Given Sen and Mrs McCain have a adopted a child, they speak to the benefits of it. Contrast this to 0bama’s comment regarding a baby being a ‘punishment’ (if his daughters got pregnant when in their teens).


8 posted on 10/18/2008 8:46:48 AM PDT by Seattle Conservative (God Bless and protect our troops and their CIC)
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To: DocT111

Coming from a generations long Catholic family, I have a theory as to why many vote Democrat. My mother will vote for Obama simply because she’s democrat and he’s running a democrat ticket. My theory is the democrat party today is not the democrat party she grew up with, and she hasn’t yet caught up with the times. And she’s pro-life and anti-government, but doesn’t see that the Rats are anti-life and pro-government.


9 posted on 10/18/2008 8:47:47 AM PDT by melissa_in_ga (McCain-Palin 2008 - A landslide?)
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To: DocT111
Way too many Catholics think all democrats aspire to be the next JFK.

JFK wouldn't get the backing of the present democrat party

10 posted on 10/18/2008 9:36:37 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: DocT111

Maybe Anglo Catholics tend to support McCain-Palin, but what about Mexican-American Catholics?


11 posted on 10/18/2008 10:17:35 AM PDT by olrtex
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To: DocT111
Nothing mysterious about us Catholics. We just believe in life. The reason the dimocrats hate the Catholic Church so much is because she has stood against abortion (and will continue to do so) for so long!

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12 posted on 10/18/2008 2:20:00 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: DocT111

If anyone wants my “VOTE no on Obamanation links, just Freepmail me.


13 posted on 10/18/2008 2:21:00 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: DocT111

Catholics who vote for Obamanation and any dimocrat — due to increased abortions being in their party plank — excommunicate themselves and are only CINOs. They cannot receive Communion.


14 posted on 10/18/2008 2:23:03 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: DocT111; informavoracious; larose; RJR_fan; Prospero; Conservative Vermont Vet; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.

Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment

Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”

15 posted on 10/19/2008 5:22:04 PM PDT by narses (http://www.youtube.com/TheMouthPeace)
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To: Seattle Conservative

Bush appointed two good people to SCOTUS. It hasn’t given us a majority yet, but it has moved this back the right way.

As for actually saving lives, clinton issued a mandate on his very first day in office reversing Reagan’s Mexico City Policy, and then proceeded to give hundreds of millions of tax dollars to abort babies in the third world. Clinton even helped China do forced abortions.

Bush restored Reagan’s policy on HIS first day in office, meaning that tax dollars cannot be used to fund UN abortions and International Planned Parenthood abortions.

Bush has been blocked from greatly reducing abortions in this country by activist judges, but he reduced abortions abroad, probably saving millions of lives. No doubt Obama would go back to the clinton policy of making foreign aid dependent on a country’s willingness to legalize abortion.

To say that Bush hasn’t made a difference in saving lives is ridiculous. But the BIG item is judges. We cannot afford to go backward on that when we are so close.


16 posted on 10/19/2008 5:35:19 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: opticks; NYer; Kevmo; narses; Salvation; Sun; Antoninus; cpforlife.org

Alito & Roberts-from GWB

Ginsburg-from Clinton.

McCain touts Scalia, Alito, Roberts, & Thomas.

Obama promises proabortion “justices.”

4,000 innocent slaughtered babies each day trumps the lost souls of all other issues combined.

I’m turning an O supporter around on FOCA alone, and this is a person who is ambivalent about abortion, but is shocked at how dedicated O is to baby-slaughter.


17 posted on 10/19/2008 5:39:56 PM PDT by fetal heart beats by 21st day (Defending human life is not a federalist issue. It is the business of all of humanity.)
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To: fetal heart beats by 21st day
Shocked at this too?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSiPqjU6fYI&eurl=http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2105631/posts
 

You Tube - Over 1,500 Black Babies Per Day Are Killed In The USA / Pro-Life Anti-Abortion Video PSA


18 posted on 10/19/2008 5:44:34 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Thanks. I’ll save that for friends who are black. The other person is Jewish.


19 posted on 10/19/2008 5:47:35 PM PDT by fetal heart beats by 21st day (Defending human life is not a federalist issue. It is the business of all of humanity.)
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To: fetal heart beats by 21st day

Here’s a letter to the editor I wrote to some Catholic newspapers:

“Dear Editor:

When I visited the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, I came across prolife quotes from Pope Benedict XVI, and this is one of the quotes:

“God’s love does not differentiate between the newly conceived infant still in his or her mother’s womb and the child or young person, or the adult and the elderly person. God does not distinguish between them because he sees an impression of his own image and likeness (Gn 1:26) in each one.”

On Election Day I will be voting pro-life, because I am a 45 million+ “issues” voter. You see, over 45 million unborn babies have been killed since Roe v. Wade (1973), which is far more than the American lives we have lost in wars since 1973.”

I wrote a longer letter, mentioning candidates’ names to the secular newspapers.


20 posted on 10/19/2008 5:51:56 PM PDT by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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