31 - 40 of 78 Comments

1. Mike

   6 months ago

   The author is all wet in his assessment of the Catholic vote and the Tea Party. In reality, the way the supposed Catholic vote worked out was an approximate 50-50 split between those who regularly attend services and those who do not. Those who do not voted for BO; those who do, for Romney. You draw your conclusions as to who suppported the Bishops and were knowledgeable about the ACA and ultimately the HHS mandate.
   Regarding the Tea party, again he speaks in broad generalities ignoring an important fact. Many teapartiers are strong advocates of the 3 non-negotiable issues he mentions. To disparage them and subordinate their posittion to a trivial one ignores the advocacy they bring to the Church's postion.
   As for ethnicity, I agree with the author. The Republicans blew this one big time. They must have known of the trend in the browning of America and obviously chose to ignore it.
   

2. Josephine

   6 months ago

   After reading all of these posts its clear to me that many of you just don't understand what Catholics who voted for Obama are all about. You can call us names, say we're evil, that we are not true Catholics. The fact is, we don't really care what you think, your not our judge. Here is some insight for you:
   
   -We vote on many issues, economy, jobs, family, finance, education, social justice, all of this is balanced and we make the best decision for our family and society as a whole.
   -We believe in individual responsibility, if you have an abortion, that's your sin, not the sin of anyone else
   -We don't believe that anyone should infringe their religious beliefs on others, if you think life begins at conception and abortion is killing a child, fine, don't get an abortion. But don't tell someone who believes differently that they should follow the rules of your faith.
   -We do not want politicians to impose their personal beliefs on us. What if the president was Muslim, would we have to have to follow Sharia Law? No, we don't, and that's what's great about America, freedom of religion
   -We don't believe that President Obama is a bad person, he's a pragmatist, we like him. We may not agree with all of his policies, but that does not change our views of him
   -80-90% of Catholics use birth control and some point in their life, this is a reality and the church needs to face the facts. They may not change their stance, but we don't like it when you try to interfere with our personal life, mind your own business. There are much bigger issues that we want the church to work on.
   -The HSA mandate forces INSURANCE companies to pay for contraceptives, and yes religious institutions have to buy insurance. What if a business owner decided it was against their faith to pay for chemotherapy? What do we do then? It's a slippery slope when you try pick and choose what medications a person can have. We believe that this decision is up to an individual and their Dr., not their employer.
   -We think that all of you are the problem, your anger, your hate, your judgement, your inability to understand anyone's view but you own, your rightousness. However, we don't sit around and tell you your not Catholic, we just live our lives the best we can, we try to stay positive and hope for the best.
   
   The reality is, we are the majority of the Catholic Church and you might just be shaking our hand in the pews this Sunday.
   
   

3. mike robertson

   6 months ago

   Bravo Spiritus!! The Catholic democrats justify voting for evil (infanticide-even after the fact. The evil man in the White House justifies killing babies even after they survive the attempt to murder them in the womb, equating sodomy with Holy Matrimony, threatening Church institutions with closure for not abandoning God and His laws, etc...) by claiming they are "compassionate. What rot. The Catholic democrats are clobbering the poor (including people like me on the lower half of the economic ladder) with their Greek-style socialism. If we judge by results, the Catholic democrats are turning us into a third-world economic basket case. This is not compassion. True, Catholic democrats are making us equal-by making us all equally poor and miserable.
   
   PS: I am 53, a prayerful Catholic and happy white male who entrusts these things to God's will. After all, God in His infinite wisdom allowed Hitler to win the election in Germany. I would never have allowed such a thing.

4. judy claar

   6 months ago

   As we read and hear in articles like this one and through news commentators, and people responding here, we supposedly know why Romney lost. As for my two cents, I will agree with Vance and say the first debate was over the top. The second, Romney did come back to Obama as much as he could. (Rigged fight=Unfair commentator). The third debate, I don't know why, he just played it safe with not much passion. He went in with all ringmasters=commentators, playing favorites. Why did the debates turn out the way they did? Everyone has their own opinion.
   
   Spiritus Gladius: Thank you for your post. A perfect point made. One that defies the stats. I think Romney spoke well to youth and those those in college about their future. I think he spoke to the elderly in putting back monies that Obama stole from SS to help fund whatever investments he has going on. But the article was correct in saying that the Rep. Party needs to address blacks, Hispanics, women and Catholics.
   
   I can see this being done by writers for the Rep. Party in the next 4 years. We Especially Need Catholic Clergy to write more and do more within the Church to support Life. This Has to get through to Omama Catholics and Hispanic Catholics, because clearly IT DID NOT.
   
   In my humble opinion, IF we forget all that Romney spoke of in jobs and love of country, we lost to Obama because Obama Catholics and Hispanic Catholics can not admit that Abortion is Murder. They can not admit to Natural Law when it comes to Euthanasia.
   
   Another great thing writers need to address, is that the old Democratic Party " just ain't what it use to be". Why all this "hang up" with Catholics and the Dem. Party?
   
   How many Hispanic Catholics do we have in the U.S.?
   
   How many "dyed in the wool" Catholic Dems. vote for the Dem Party because of The Union, Feeding the Poor, or whatever they Think they do. Cut the crap. Vote your Faith. Vote Life. THAT IS YOUR CONSCIENCE!
   
   To Summarize, Obama Catholics and most Hispanic Catholics did not vote their Faith or their Conscience. I am truly disappointed and saddened to the depths. Will our country go the way of EU? Will our Church go the way of EU? Prayers and Blessings...
   
   

5. dardew1

   6 months ago

   Spiritus Gladius, buy your own words " I am a young 22 year old angry white kid, hardly a man" , I'm a 55 year old black man who has children older than you. " No Republican ever "declared war" on blacks, women, gays, latino's etc. If any minority here seriously believes that the Republican party is a bunch of angry old white men who hate you, you have either been living under a rock". No, I've just lived a lot longer than you.

6. missmarie

   6 months ago

   Half of the voting public choose Government to be their everything. We are a fractured people. Divided by government induced designations. Everybody is stuck on one or two "ideas" that are driving them to vote. Our society is so fragmented, people living in their own little bubbles, unable to view the scope of what is really going on around the globe. Placing people in categories only fuels the hatred and furthers the distance between us. Pitting one race against another, one age group against another, one socioeconomic level against another, one religion against another, one issue against another, etc., etc, only serves to further enhance a progressive/socialist government that decided a long time ago that God needed to be replaced by a few elites that would manage "the people" into their world view. To say I am disappointed about the results of this election is an understatement - I am deeply troubled by the number of people cheering for more government control over their lives and I don't particularly care what "category" they are in.

7. John

   6 months ago

   I do appreciate the civility of this discussion board!
   You are beating yourself up too much. All these things may be true but the Dems did in 2012 what they did in 2008; they just did it to the next crop of voters who were < 18 yo in 2008 but voting in this election. They sent a hoard of young-adult 'organizers' to the campuses and appealed to their rebellous, self-centered, independent, its-an-unfair-world,don't-let-the- government-tell-you-what-to-believe natures. They operate via villification of those who don't expouse their liberal values. It sounds a lot better at that age than self-sacrifice, mutual respect that they will endorse later in life. Trouble is that its they and their children that will be exposed to gay is normal teaching in the classroom. Thier lambs to the slaughter. Sad.

8. BOB

   6 months ago

   Let's face it. There is NO SUCH THING AS A CATHOLIC VOTE! That horse left the barn a long time ago with the passage of Roe vs Wade and a silent catholic population that refused to make themselves heard. When a life and death issue is spoken of as "another social issue" made no more important by the voices of the church who are in a position to make a difference at the loss of some members, but instead remain silent recommending the use of uninformed "catholic" consciences instead, Catholics become Democrats and Republicans first and foremost. In this Year of Faith the Holy Father recommends the only viable solution, catechesis and evangelization, But with only a third of us going to Mass regularly it is sad to realize two thirds of us don't even know it is a Year of Faith. The church's moral authority may have been recently tarnished, but it is my humble opinion that unless it exercises the rights that came with the keys to the kingdom by shaking the tree to free itself of the rotten fruit, Catholicism will remain an adjective instead of a defining way of living.

9. Bill Sr.

   6 months ago

   Spiritus Gladius
   
   Well stated by an obviously well educated and well informed member of the faith. God Bless you. Your kind of boldness with the truth is much needed to fight the tide of tyranny we face today.

10. Edju

    6 months ago

    Do you really want to know why so many Catholics voted for Obama? Here's what to do, if you REALLY want to know what Catholic Obama voters were thinking: Ask them. Listen non-judgmentally. That doesn't mean you have to agree with them, but try setting your egos and your prejudices and assumptions aside - and just LISTEN.
    
    You will be surprised at what you might learn by giving others the courtesy of respecting their opinions. That's where understanding starts.
    
    Again - you don't have to agree with them. But if you don't understand where they are REALLY coming from, you will never get past this divide. Obama voters are not stupid or delusional, and some of them might just be good Catholics too - is it really your place to judge the hearts of others? Are you so certain your own heart measures up to God's standard?
    
    The wise man learns humility in defeat and exercises it in victory. The fool does neither. Don't be a fool.
    
    Peace.

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