They aren’t Catholics. Being Catholic isn’t like being Jewish or black. Being Catholic is a function of adhering rigidly to the tenets and hierarchy of the Catholic Church. It is the clear teaching of the church that neither abortion nor socialism are compatible with the faith. Voting for either is self excommunicating. The people you call Catholics are the religious equivalent of zombies.
As much as you understandably want to disown them, and can invoke “self excommunication, the reality is that Rome treats them as members in life and in death, as no less an example then Ted Kennedy illustrates.
And what is conveyed by this expresses what she really effectually teaches, as the hearers of words tend to look for its interpretation by how the preachers of it apply it.
And overall Catholics and like institutionalized Protestants are much more liberal than their evangelical counterparts, even in our compromise state, including in voting for Presidents: http://www.peacebyjesus.com/RC-Stats_vs._Evang.html
Catholics can claim that all they want, but until a year ago, every Catholic I knew, ie, was related to and worked with, voted dem, and they are what you all would call faithfully practicing Catholics. Very active in their parishes, attending mass EVERY Sunday, without fail, and then some besides for the holy days.
When asked why they voted dem when the democratic party was pro-abortion, the answer was the same, both thirty years ago and today with the Catholic neighbor I talked with, it's because the dems are *for the poor*. Almost word for word the same answer, decades apart and in a different locale.
Somehow catholics fail to see that the mandate to care for the poor is for the CHURCH, given to followers of Christ. It's not something to be foisted off on to the government. That does not fulfill the individual Christian's obligation to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and care for the poor.
You can't vote or legislate away your responsibility.
Conservative Catholics can claim all they want that anyone calling themselves Catholic who votes liberal isn't REALLY a Catholic, but their argument isn't with those of us who point out the error in that claim, it's with the practicing Catholics who vote liberal.
Take it up with THEM. THEY'RE the ones practicing their religion and considering themselves *good Catholics* because they are *helping* the poor by assigning the job to the government.