[Alex Murphy]

What we are really looking at is the fact that the ‘Catholic Vote’ reflects the same two nation divide that is seen right across our country. You can even give names to the two types of ‘Catholics’ who make up these two voting blocs: Biden or Ryan, Kennedy or Santorum, Pelosi or Boehner. The divide is not just ‘right’ or ‘left’ or ‘Democratic’ or ‘Republican’. It’s those who’s political convictions–no matter how spotty and incomplete or faulty–are informed by the genuine teaching of the Church, and those who believe the Church should be informed by their political convictions.

Have I said it before? Every argument is a theological argument. The real divide is therefore between Catholics who believe their religion is a human and historical construct which can (and ought) to be changed according to the times and circumstances in which they live and those who believe that the times and circumstances in which they live are to be corrected and informed by the eternal, God-revealed truths of the Catholic faith.

This is in reaction to a Georgetown University poll released yesterday that claims the Catholic vote is currently split 50/50, while the Protestant/Evangelical vote stands at 51/40 for Romney. Also note that Monday's Gallup poll stated similar numbers:

Protestants...support Mitt Romney over Barack Obama by 13 percentage points. Keep in mind that black voters are mostly Protestant. That means that, included in this lopsided Romney vote, is a significant group of black Protestants who opt for Obama over Romney by 89% to 5% (Aug. 1 - Sept 16 data). Among white Protestants, the margin for Romney over Obama is 64% to 30% -- significantly larger than the gap among all Protestants. Catholics are almost precisely at the sample average.

[Emperor Palpatine]

Start excommunicating all Democrats and those who identify as such.

I guarantee that might wise a few of these cretins and reprobates up.

[ex-snook]

You could add that Catholics are just as likely to vote their pocketbooks as other groups.

[bronxville]

Archbishop Chaput: I can’t vote for pro-abortion Obama
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/18/archbishop-chaput-i-cant-vote-for-pro-abortion-obama/

There’s a current conversation at hotair on this topic you might enjoy. In the 2010 elections, the Catholic vote turned 20 points for Republicans.

The basic problem Churches are having is the inability to speak politics from the pulpit.

[HapaxLegamenon]

The Works of Mercy for the Liberal Catholic

The Corporal works:
1. Give cell phones to the workless
2. Money to the drug addict
3. Alcohol to the thirsty
4. Shelter the fugitive
5. Condoms to the promiscuous
6. Abortions to the pregnant
7. Bury the nation in debt

The Spiritual works:
1. Admonish the successful
2. Instruct all godlessly
3. Comfort the careless
4. Bear charity impatiently
5. Perceive all things as injuries
6. Resent the employed
7. Pay for the living and the dead

[ansel12]

When it comes to voting, they’ll vote as they wish according to wherever they get their opinions from–TV, the newspaper, the mass media–just like their neighbors. The one source they won’t consider when informing their vote is their priests and bishops.

They have only voted republican 6 times in history (those by narrow margins), they are following some common ideology, some guiding force.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Every pastor in our local diocese recently received the following letter from "Americans United for Separation of Church and State." I'd like to know if or how many protestant or black churches received similar warnings:

Letter to Religious Leaders for Election Season 2012

Dear Religious Leader,

As Election Day draws near, candidates and their supporters may seek help or endorsements from your house of worship. Thus, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the law governing electioneering by nonprofit organizations.

The First Amendment protects the right of all Americans, religious leaders included, to speak out on religious, moral and political issues. However, houses of worship and other nonprofit entities classified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code are barred from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office and may not intervene directly or indirectly in partisan campaigns.

Any activity designed to influence the outcome of a partisan election can be construed as intervention. If the IRS determines that your house of worship has engaged in unlawful intervention, it can revoke the institution’s tax-exempt status or levy significant fines on the house of worship or its leaders.

Contrary to what some may believe, the IRS does enforce the “no politicking” rule. In 1995, the IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of a Binghamton, N.Y., church for buying a full-page ad in USA Today opposing a 1992 presidential candidate. (The federal courts upheld the revocation.) Other churches and religious ministries, including Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network and Jerry Falwell’s Old Time Gospel Hour, have been subject to audits and retroactive tax payments for violating the “no electioneering” rule.
In addition, a special “Political Activity Compliance Initiative” has been created to educate houses of worship about the law and deal with reports of violations. (For more information on pulpit politicking, see the IRS Web site at: http://www.irs.gov/charities/churches/index.html and click on “The Restriction of Campaign Political Intervention by Section 501 (c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations.”)

Houses of worship and other nonprofit groups may sponsor voter registration drives and candidate forums if they are truly nonpartisan, and issue advocacy is broadly protected. But remember, tax law prohibits 501(c)(3) groups from supporting or opposing candidates.

I urge you to be especially wary of so-called “voter guides.” Such guides are often thinly veiled partisan materials. If the IRS finds that a violation has occurred, it may be the house of worship, not the organization that produced the guide, that is penalized.
This letter is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice, and I urge you to consult with your legal advisor on specific questions. To learn more about issues surrounding religion and politics, visit our Web site: http://ProjectFairPlay.org.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn
Executive Director

• Attachments
  • Print version of letter (PDF)
  • Print version of letter (Word Doc)

[Cronos]

Only 27 percent of the Catholics surveyed support President Obama. Of those surveyed, 74 percent of Catholic men over the age of 50 do not support Obama, while Obama support among Catholic men under 50 years is only 25 percent. With Catholic women over the age of 50, the president’s support is only 23 percent, with just 31 percent among Catholic women under 50 years.

Among the Presbyterians (mind that you can preach to your own) it's more like 70% for Obama

[boatbums]

ALL Christians - regardless of denomination - must cease being “functional” atheists and start representing the faith in every area of our lives. It is not something we take down off a shelf and put on to go to “church” one day a week for an hour or two. It is what we ARE, what makes us tick, it informs ALL our thoughts and motivates our actions. Unless we ALL stick up for what we KNOW is right, our country will be taken from us and we may NEVER get it back again. This election is a fundamental test, I believe from God, and it is up to us to make a stand. If we blow it off or imagine it won't make any difference, then we only have ourselves to blame when our beloved America ceases to be the land of the free and the home of the brave and we find real atheists as our masters.