....the rise of the Democratic party as we know it was to a great extent concomitant with the first waves of Irish Catholic immigrants to Northern cities. The historical details of this are well known, so I won’t go into it, but to some extent the ties still are operative. According to the exit polls, last fall Barack Obama won 47% of white Catholics. He only won 34% of white Protestants! This is still a large difference.... What you see here is clear: Catholics remain more Democratic than their Protestant brethren. Some of this might be regional, but the effect seems to still show up if I constrain by region (though in some cases it does dampen a fair amount).
When they make enough money to move out of the neighborhood and own in the suburbs, they will vote Republican. Everyone votes their pocketbook.
Many are not, but the ignorant or ones connected to union jobs and their families often are for the money IMO.
A very interesting read. I see Obama stickers at my church and I just cannot understand it. Fortunately, however, I see far more Tea Party stickers.