I agree there is a group within your church that swings back and forth between Pub and Rat. I do believe there is a solid minority that are conservative and vote Pub. These are probably the more observant, or devout members. The problem internally is replacing the liberal hierarchy with a conservative/free market self help clergy. If that were to happen we would see a more consistent conservative vote.
I don't disagree that the social issues really affect the vote. It is the same in the Evangelical churches. Evangelicals are much less energized and don't go to the polls when social issues are ignored.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that, over the past few decades at least, the candidate who wins the Catholic vote will almost certainly win the White House.
You are right it is a key swing vote. The real goal is to get it over as a consistent base vote. If that happens the "blue blood" Pubs lose even more power and the party as a whole becomes more consistently conservative.
And the ONLY WAY that happens, and the ONLY WAY to keep devout Catholics and Evangelicals energized, is for conservatives to actually follow through on the promises they made when campaigning.
We can criticize the left all we want, but when the Democrats make a promise on the campaign trail, they either deliver on the promise or destroy themselves trying to.