The general: The Catholic vote
Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 9:12 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Democrats, Republicans, 2008
The New York Times uses the Pope's visit to the states to examine the battle for the Catholic vote. "Dismayed at losing so many Catholic and other religious voters to the Republicans in 2004, Democrats talk far more often, and more comfortably, about their values and the importance of their own faith these days. Essentially, they have tried to broaden the definition of ‘values’ issues beyond abortion rights, on which they disagree with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and many religious conservatives. Mrs. Clinton, for example, spoke recently about the economy and the needs of working families to a crowd of more than 2,000 at Mercyhurst, a Catholic college in Erie, Pa. The college and the candidate went ahead with the event despite the objections of the local bishop, who argued that a Catholic institution should reflect the church’s ‘pro-life stance’ on abortion."
With Democrats deciding to target the GOP-held Cuban-American seats in South Florida, the Wall Street Journal wonders if this is signaling a shift in the Cuban vote from the GOP to Dem.
So will McCain's immigration position help Republicans more with Hispanic voters than it does hurt with anti-immigration reform voters who stay home? That's what McCain's betting on, reports Bloomberg News. "McCain cites his standing with his state's Hispanics as proof that he is a different kind of Republican, distinct from the illegal-immigration foes who dominate the party. He vows to campaign in the barrios, gunning for the 70 percent Latino support he won in his last senatorial election. That's precisely what worries anti-immigration Republicans, who say the party's base will stay at home if it detects the kind of mariachi politics that President George W. Bush practiced to win more than 40 percent of Latino voters in 2004.”
