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Pope Benedict's visit to the U.S. has sparked a media debate about the Catholic vote in the presidential election. Catholics account for approximately 20 percent of the American electorate and until recently were considered a safe bet for the Democratic candidate. Not anymore. Like many other groups, Catholics are no longer a monolithic voting block united around one candidate or cause.
That makes wooing them so much harder. So far, Hillary Clinton has done the best job appealing to Catholic voters. "On the Democratic side, they're the biggest single reason Sen. Hillary Clinton is still afloat," writes CNN Vatican expert John L. Allen jr. Among Catholic voters, Clinton beat Barack Obama decisively in Texas and Ohio and hopes to pull it off again in all important Pennsylvania, where Catholics make up more than 30 percent of the population. What makes Hillary Clinton so attractive to Catholics? It helps that she is popular among Latinos, who are predominantly Catholics. But as Allen points out, Clinton also carries the "Catholic 'Reagan Democrats,' meaning socially conservative blue-collar voters." Obama's "Bittergate" remarks could alienate him even further from mainstream Catholic or Christian voters.
On the Republican side, John McCain's biggest plus among Catholic voters is his pro-life stance. His biggest drawback for Catholics is his ardent support for the war in Iraq.
It is too early to tell who will end up with the Catholic vote in November. However, a check of the Catholic Voting Guidelines 2007 reveals that "Catholics know that the protection of the unborn is the 'dominant issue' among all politics issues." Based on this premise, Catholics would have to vote for John McCain in November. |
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