Posted on 11/28/2012 3:46:35 PM PST by NYer
For over seventy years, white blue-collar Catholics who have lived and worked in America’s once great industrial states were the voting bloc that provided the margins of victory for Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and the two Bushes. The 2012 election results, however, indicate these Catholics no longer have that kind of clout at the ballot box.
Why? First of all, they are an aging group whose numbers are declining every year. About 650 Catholic World War II and Korean War veterans die every day. That translates into 950,000 in the last four years. Add spouses and the number may easily have hit 2 million.
Next, the once solid Catholic vote is fractured beyond repair. Millions of grandchildren and great grandchildren of those aging Catholics have abandoned their faith and embraced secularism. Fifty-seven percent of white cafeteria Catholics cast their ballots for Obama in 2012. And equal percentage of practicing Catholics voted for Romney.
Finally, in recent years a subset of blue-collar Catholics have dropped out of the work force for no apparent reason (Charles Murray examines this phenomena in Coming Apart: The State of White America). Some live with their folks, collect unemployment benefits, and occasionally grab “off the books” jobs. They refuse to become responsible adults and soak up a living from poverty programs. These Catholics typically either don’t vote or support big government candidates.
For all these reasons, plus the fact that Obama’s campaign devoted huge resources to identifying and turning out its base (and convinced former supporters to sit out the election – 8.3 million 2008 white voters did not cast a ballot this year), Romney lost all the Rust Belt states with large Catholic populations:
Pennsylvania (35 percent Catholic) – This was one to watch in 2012 because of its large white Catholic population (only 4 percent are Hispanic) and because it has the fourth oldest population in the nation. As William Galston of the Brookings Institute predicted last June: “Obama got 47 percent of the white Catholic vote in 2008; right now he has 37 percent. . .potentially a big deal in the Midwest. . . .despite the fact that Obama is now ahead in Pennsylvania, I don’t see how he carries Pennsylvania with white Catholic support at that level.”
In November, Romney received 50 percent of generic Catholic vote, down 2 percent from McCain’s 2008 percentage. White Catholics broke 56-44 percent for Romney. Obama carried nine of the top twenty Catholic counties, down two from 2008. But, in those counties, Romney’s total votes, vis–à–vis McCain’s, were down 40,192 (-2.6 percent).
|
|
Obama
|
Romney
|
|
Philadelphia
|
-6.5%
|
-21.9%
|
|
Alleghany
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-6.7%
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-4.7%
|
|
Montgomery
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-10.1%
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-2.3%
|
|
Delaware
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-7.8%
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-8.6%
|
|
Bucks
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-11.1%
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+3.3%
|
|
Chester
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-10.9%
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+7.8%
|
Michigan (29 percent Catholic) – In his home state, Romney received 55 percent of the generic Catholic vote and 55 percent of white Catholics. He carried 12 of the top 20 Catholic counties. Four years earlier McCain received 46 percent and 51 percent respectively, and carried only 5 of the top Catholic counties. Obama’s total votes in those counties were down 69,339 votes (-8.3 percent) while Romney’s were up 29,635 votes (+4.45 percent). Nevertheless, this small shift was not nearly enough to put Romney over the top
Romney lost Michigan because he did not make serious inroads in densely populated Catholic counties. One-time Reagan Democrats in bellwether McComb County stuck with Obama giving him 52 percent of their votes. In 2008 Obama received 53 percent. The Obama campaign’s message that Romney was a plutocrat who would shut down Michigan’s automobile industry worked.
Ohio (26 percent Catholic) – This must-win state went for Obama, 50.9 percent versus 49 percent for Romney.
Romney’s Catholic percentages improved over McCain’s by about 3 percent, but the total number of Catholics who went to the polls was down in 15 key counties, declining 3.6 percent (28,321 votes) compared to McCain. Meanwhile, Obama easily carried and maintained his margins in the densely populated heavily Catholic counties of Cuyahoga and Hamilton.
The Obama campaign convinced disenchanted white blue-collar Catholics to stay home on Election Day and while the black vote was down 1 million nationally their turnout in Ohio increased by 178,000.
Wisconsin (32 percent Catholic) – Thanks to favorite son Paul Ryan, this was the only Rust Belt state in which voter turnout increased. Total votes cast in 2012 were up 86,092 (+2.68 percent) over 2008. Obama went down 2.9 percent and Romney up 11.6 percent.
Romney carried 56 percent of the generic Catholic vote and 57 percent of white Catholics (McCain got 53 percent and 52 percent, respectively). The Romney ticket also squeaked by in Ryan’s congressional district with 51 percent. (McCain, 48 percent).
Romney increased his vote totals over McCain’s in all but two top Catholic counties. He won 24 (versus 9 for McCain), but his vote total was only 63,266 out of 2.4 million cast. Romney’s gains were offset by Obama’s gains in the two most populated Catholic counties, Dane (Madison) and Milwaukee. The Obama campaign focused on its base and turned out more supporters than in 2008. Obama carried Wisconsin with 53 percent (56 percent in 2008).
Romney needed at least two of the states described here to win. He lost them all because, in my judgment, practicing Catholic voters were not persuaded to come out in force.
Romney’s numbers crunchers did not understand the importance of practicing Catholics in tightly contested Rust Belt states and did not effectively cultivate them. They were also afraid to advertise Romney’s anti-abortion stand and opposition to same-sex marriage to energize these Catholics. The Obama campaign exploited these errors. And let’s not forget the American bishops. Most of them failed to mobilize Catholics over religious liberty on Election Day.
Thus ends a once great force in America’s electoral politics: white Catholic voters. What a pity.
Ping!
Most of those “Catholics” who voted for Obama are pagans. They don’t go to church, they don’t believe in a god other than the state, they favor abortion and gay marriage. The media love to lump all “Catholics” together to try and show a fissure between Catholics and their church. However, I am confident that faith filled Catholics overwhelmingly voted for Romney.
Unfortunately, too many Romney votes ended up being switched to 0bama or discarded all together. The regime is a separate country working within our own. They laugh at us now.
For George W, that was in 2004, he lost the Catholic vote to Gore in 2000, and they voted Clinton in 1992.
There are numerous pagans among Catholics.
Let’s not forget that “Catholics” started the French revolution with all its anti-Catholic violence. The same is true for the Spanish civil war during which many thousands of priests and nuns were slaughtered by “Catholics”.
I’m still here, LOL!
See George Weigel’s recent interview with Raymond Arroyo. THere were two, this one is the first one, like a week before election day or so.
He claims there is no “Catholic vote”, but a, oh, now I am going to forget it, a faithful or a practicing religious vote.
Of course, pracicing Catholics can not vote for a pro abortion candidate and they know it.
The biggest problem I see with this article is that it seems to imply that the Catholic vote will never return. On the one hand he says they’re dying. Are they dying at a faster rate than other constituencies? Are their offspring switching to other faiths? Are they simply not voting? (He says that at one point in the article too)
Their jobs are shipped throughout the world, their unions busted, education costs have skyrocketed, as has health care costs, retirement plans have drifted away and they still staff the armies. The GOP has to become their supporters or kiss them goodbye. Right now they get the back of their hand from many of them.
The Catholic vote is not going anywhere, it is returning to it’s historical place, a permanently democratic vote.
I'd say there is an apparent reason, and it's glaringly apparent concerning millions who are chronically on our various welfare programs. Do these great 'experts' and 'analysts' ever ask: what value do some people put on having almost unlimited free time, less money and material things, but all their time to themselves?
Of course, it would be extremely Un-PC for politicians and other prominent figures to acknowledge that, no, they are all hardworking folks just down on their luck, and would jump at the first job opportunity to come their way.
Everyone puts a value on their free time, and I think we have many who want as much as possible, even if they live a less financially affluent life.
“About 650 Catholic World War II and Korean War veterans die every day. That translates into 950,000 in the last four years. Add spouses and the number may easily have hit 2 million...”
Someone is either quite bad at math, or there are quite a few 90 year old polygamous Catholics.
I’ll vote for writers being bad at math.
They’re too many cowards and commies in the Church today.
http://www.churchmilitant.tv/daily/?today=2012-11-28
Grow up.
The reason why the Catholic vote is disappearing from the states mentioned is because over the last 20 to 30 years they have moved out of state and are now making up the blue majority in other states.
there’s a lot more to this subject. Read his bio to consider where he is coming from. Philisophically, Catholics are with the Dems on spreading the wealth to less fortunate, and are not on board with tough love. GOP does not get that point across. I don’t know what this guy’s point is about, or why he wrote it.
Do a google image search for "obama and pope" and you'll see the reason why so many Catholics voted for the baby butcher; no thanks to Rome. The buck stops in St. Peter's!
Do a google image search for "obama and pope" and you'll see the reason why so many Catholics voted for the baby butcher; no thanks to Rome. The buck stops in St. Peter's!
Apologies for the double post.
It seems most Catholics in the USA are a joke. They are nothing more than Kennedy Catholics and don’t really believe in their nominal religion at all. Makes this convert who was convicted intellectually of the truths of the Catholic faith a bit cross that cradle Catholics just don’t give a hoot, and are Democratic Obama-, abortion- and same sex marriage- believers first and Catholics a distant second if that.
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