AmericanPapist Comments
In '04, they called Ohio for Bush after he led there with 100,000+ votes. They called Ohio for Barack when he had a less than half that vote lead, and before they counted many all votes.
There were also 200,000 new registrations there, and the legitimacy of many was called into question.
...He is starting to remind of JFK in more ways than one.
"remind me of JFK," that is.
Fr. Z has a chart on vote by religions taken from BeliefNet. I'm not sure of the source. The gist: Weekly attendees voted for McCain 54-45%, the stame rate as non-weekly-attending Protestants. Weekly attending Protestants were more strongly for Obama.
"All Others" (which includes everyone but self-identified Catholics and Protestants) and non-weekly-attending Catholics broke 65% and 61% for Obama, whereas the same margins were in McCain's favor for weekly attending Protestants.
It is clear that the Republicans don't know who their base is and have had trouble solidifying it.
Catholics should divorce themselves from the GOP.
The GOP doesn't really represent Catholics; instead the GOP uses Catholics for GOP's own ends.
It's time for Catholics to take action and start their own movement.
With regard to the election, it's uncanny that the margin in terms of the number of votes was pretty stable in OH, PA, VA, NC, and FL for most of the night. When about 2.5 million votes were counted in PA, for instance, the difference was about 600,000 for Obama, where it stayed until all the votes were counted. Now that 5.8 million votes were counted in PA, the difference is almost exactly 600,000. This means, after the margins were established early on in all these states, the remaining votes broke almost 50-50.
I don't know if it means anything, or if I was just seeing things, but it was really weird watching the difference remain so stable as the vote totals increased.
Let's not forget that Amendment #2 (protection of traditional marriage) in Florida passed! woo hoo!
Also, it is a sad day in the state of Washington. It looks like they have voted to legalize physician assisted suicide. The anti-life creep is moving in on both ends.
Anonymous, I know what you mean, but I think the Republicans and we, too, would be better off not if they didn't take us for granted and instead offered us (and I mean the Christian vote broadly, too) not mere positions held as lip service but as actionable goals to attain. Holding a pro-life position, for instance, and being pro-life are not quite the same thing. Republicans would succeed more and so would we if they understood us as their base.
But if they continue to do what they're doing, they will lose us entirely.
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever."
Thomas Jefferson
The souls of millions of the innocent unborn are weeping this morning.
We must all pray for our country.
I wonder if what we need is a third party. A real third party...
See I knew Obama would win!!
Wow, Dave! Of course, good and evil still haven't changed. Hopefully, you will repent before it is too late. You don't want to be singing that tune through the gates of hell.
Those 45% of Catholics who attend mass atleast weekly and voted for Obama need to hear a good homily on our Lord's discourse on the Last Judgment. "Whatsoever you do..."
Such bitterness. Will you please put your anger aside and continue to work for the betterment of this country? Or will you sulk for four years until Sarah Palin runs for Prez. There's too much work to be done than sit here and create false narratives about what happened. Republicans lost. They had broken their promise to the American people and the majority -- yes the majority -- have decided. So let's get to work.
Mattheus,
Do you have any extra Obama stickers or t-shirts left over?
right, bill912
No, Mattheus, the majority HASN't decided.
A plurality of those who voted decided.
When you consider the population total vs. the votes earned, a majority of Americans, actually didn't vote for Obama.
Bill912
Find a Bible and read John 3:16 no one is going to hell for being liberal. "Who ever believes in HIM (JESUS) will not perish but have ever lasting life"!!!!!!
Mrs Obama, that dress, really. Blood red over your breasts and womb area? What's up with that? A little scary.
Time of reckoning responsibilities, which history will review: Countless rationalizations and moral equivocations from convoluted Cafeteria Catholics & pathetic Auschwitz Debate Clubbers, who twist themselves in knots trying to hide THIS sun with one finger:
The grotesque evil of refusing to ban abortions, or increasing with FOCA the 1.5 million butchered, that is: the yearly million plus babies offered at the altar of Moloch.
Decades of USCCB lack of Catechesis, and Catholic Universities showing an utter failure to enlighten the factual genocide… What will happen?
Whenever I see the percentage of Catholics voting for Obama, and see it broken down by Mass attendance, folks say, "Ah, see, those non-ardent (!) Catholics sure go Obama's way!" But Holy Cow, 45% of the ardent ones still vote for Obama??? I'm sick of it. I'm sick of parents with Obama pins picking up their kids at RE. I'm sick of Obama bumper stickers on cars at Mass. I'm sick of 5th graders in my husband's catechism class voting for Obama. This is not a hard thing to figure out. You don't have to be smart, you don't have to be clever. You just need to have some spine and not be willing to deceive yourself and others- including your children- over and over.
Thanks for the work, AP,
chris
"Find a Bible and read John 3:16 no one is going to hell for being liberal."
I never said anyone would go to hell for being a liberal. Only those with unrepented mortal sin on their souls go to hell. By their own choice.
Someone needs to go on "What Not To Wear" before they order their Inaugural Ball gown. Yeesh.
Perfect Jefferson quote, Anon.
Don't mess with bill912, dave.
chris,
i feel your frustration, and agree that we have plenty of work to do. sadly there is no guarantee that even weekly Mass attendance means you are living your faith to your fullness. actually weekly Mass is more like a bare minimum.
dave, the Greek text of that verse has the verbs in the subjunctive. This would be best translated into English by use of "may" or "might." "Whosoever believing in Him may not die but may have eternal life." It is not future tense. There is no assurance. God sent his Son to make eternal life possible, not guaranteed. More is needed than mere faith. Don't forget the other Scripture verse that says, "Not everyone calling, 'Lord, Lord,' will get in."
I'm not saying liberals can't be saved. I'm just encouraging you not to commit the sin of presumption. And not to underestimate the importance of all this in voting for a sworn advocate of some people having the power of life and death over His innocent and defenseless bretheren.
Again, I think some fault is the Catholic Bishops of Colorado for refusing to support Colorado's Pro-Life legislation.
Dave,
Does that mean we should only fight the good fight when we know we can win?
Or that our values are only important when they are convenient?
Yes, the daily Mass attenders also need to be evangelized for life and family.
Once a daily Mass attender (6:30 am no less) accosted me after Mass. The day before I had participated in a protest in front of a fertility clinic to make an appeal to the father to save his frozen children. It had made the front page of the newspaper. This pious gentlemen assured me that the frozen embryos were not children and had no souls because Veronica Leuken a false seer, had received this revelation about them from God! I pulled out the Instruction one Respect for the Origin of Human Life and other Questions and opened the page to the already highlighted sentence to the contrary of his assertion and gave it to him. I think he refused to take it.
Chris said "I'm sick of 5th graders in my husband's catechism class voting for Obama."
Did they register through ACORN?
8-)
i am happy catholic who voted for obama. and i am still happy.
GW - lol!
Maybe carl is one of those 5th graders.
Chris, my thoughts exactly. 45% of regular mass goers voted for Obama. That's almost HALF. Almost half of practicing Catholics do not have properly formed consciences. Almost half of the Catholics standing next to you in your parish can't differentiate between a life-or-death issue and others which have relatively less weight.
I am disappointed that there seems to be this dichotomy almost assumed between voting pro-life and "all the other issues," as if, if it weren't for abortion, the Catholic Church is pretty straight ticket Democrat on the major issues.
With Rerum Novarum and Centissimus Annus, as well as a host of other teachings, there is a solid base for limiting social spending and confiscatory taxation in Catholic doctrine. It is not a choice between helping the poor and helping the unborn. One can help the poor through the Church instead of the government. In fact, the more government does, the less churches and families do. Big government waters down and displaces the role of the Church in the community. Voting for big government weakens the Church, and it means less to donate to Catholic social causes.
I think that the Church needs to demonstrate that voting conservative is not some sort of Sophie's choice between fiscal liberalism and social conservatism. That is a big problem in the minds of a lot of the swing voter Catholic group.
My pastor said that his brother priests who were silent or misled their flock will be to blame: "Jesus will tell them, 'I do not know you.'"
I find some other numbers stunning, the fact that 3 million FEWER people voted this year than in 2004, and that Obama essentially got the same number of votes that Bush got in 04 (apx 400K more).
Exactly, LCB.
I do not understand those who claim "bitterness" in the comments about the election results (e.g., Mattheus Mei). AmP, while being very vocally against Obama's presidential candidacy (and with reasons that he justified with logical arguments), has NOT been bitter in his response to the election. Many of us are understandably saddened, as well as concerned about the likelihood of a pro-abortion, pro-spending, anti-freedom of speech and religion agenda for the next 4 years.
Actually, I have been very impressed with AmP's professionalism and LACK of anger/bitterness over the election results, especially considering the stakes (abortion = dead babies). I think that it is fair to continue to evaluate the actions of the new administration so that, when the next election comes around, we can make an educated choice informed by conscience and our faith.
I understand the anger of some respondents when we see that 45% of weekly Catholic churchgoers and 61% of "Catholics" who do not regularly attend Mass voted for a man who has vocally and proudly supported the killing of innocent babies (and many of his other policies are suspect too). I am appalled by these numbers, just as I was appalled to watch our "faithful, dedicated Catholics" at Mass this weekend who sneered and even walked out of the homily when our pastor read a letter from our Bishop about voting and conscience (BTW, that is the Diocese of Lexington and the Most Reverend Bishop Ronald Gainer). I do not understand it, and I have not met a "pr-Obama Catholic" who has been able to explain it in a logical way.
We cannot change what has now occurred, and AmP and his readers know that. But that does not mean that we should sit by idly and accept anything that happens as "the will of the people," and we are not "bitter" just because we don't agree with Obama's actions or policies.
AmP has done a wonderful service in providing access to information to help people make an educated decision, and I am sure that he will continue to be a source of ongoing information (and commentary) during the next 4 years. I do not agree with everything he writes or every opinion that he holds, but I do think that he does a pretty good job of sticking to facts and not getting into nasty, hateful rhetoric, which is more than I can say for most of the blogs that discuss political issues. His objections to Obama, Pelosi, Biden, etc. are based on their inconsistency with Catholic teaching, which we as Catholics do not have the option to follow or not as we choose - obedience to God's will and Church teaching has always been the cornerstone of our faith.
AMEN RWS! You got it!
What a disgrace the McCain campaign is.
His thuggish staffers are now trying to destroy Palin.
I hope the GOP destroys itself. They deserve it for going against their conservative principles all these years.
And shame on all you Catholics who put the GOP before common sense the Church. You know who you are.
Catholics and the election were disappointing if not surprising. I hope that when it comes to the actual issue of being pro-life, they show more resolve...
Let's pray it is so.
Bottom line: do your best to get nominal Catholics back to the active practice of the faith.
So those are the two young girls that Obama wouldn't want to be punished with his grandchildren.
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