Pitt: is U.S. ready to elect Catholic VP & Pres?

[rivertext]

That other thread you started was getting awfully long. I thought I would start this issue in a separate thread. I very much like Clark for VP, but he is ALSO Catholic. What do you think of the theory that running a Catholic Pres. & VP might start an anti-Catholic backlash in the South that would sink all the Democratic candidates?

And then we've got Bush telling the Vatican to do something about the Bishops "who are not with me":

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_06_13.php#003065

We could lose the Catholic and the anti-Catholic vote, OR, Bush's plan could backfire. The Catholics and the anti-Catholics might both vote for Kerry/Clark to spite the interference of the Vatican. When pro-choice Catholic Mary Landrieu ran for the senate in Louisianna the Catholic hierarchy urged their flock to vote against her. Supposedly, she won the election only because a great deal of the anti-Catholic and Catholic vote went to her -- as a protest against the Catholic interference in the election.

For background on Clark's religion here is an interview in which he says:

"I'm a strong Christian and I'm a Catholic but I go to a Presbyterian Church. Occasionally I go to the Catholic church too."

http://www.belief.net/story/136/story_13636_4.html

Is he going to labeled a "religious waffle" . (When I was Catholic I was told it was a sin to go to a Prostestant church.)

[David Dunham]

1. Chances are Kerry will pick a Protestant, most likely Edwards.

[Scoopie]

2. Wes was raised protestant

and converted to Catholism and now goes to a Methodist Church. He covers it all!! LOL!

I AM a Southern Catholic, BTW. :) AND - to make it more intriguing - I was RAISED a Catholic in the South! How 'bout them apples? (See, we have Catholics down here!)

[Crunchy Frog]

4. I think it's a Presbyterian church

that he goes to, though I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure that's what I've heard though. I think it was his mother who was a Methodist, and they were raising him Methodist before his father died.

How do you think 2 Catholics would go down in the South, since you live there?

[Scoopie]

10. Crunchy, it will only matter to the wingnuts

who won't be voting Dem anyway.
People down here like to know where you go to church or if you go to church, but they could care less which denomination you are. Or rather, the average person down here does.
Yes, there are some nuts in the South who think that if you're not Baptist, then you're Satan. (Had one ask me one time if Catholics believed in Jesus!! LMAO! I had to explain to her that the Catholic religion was and OLDER version of Christianity than her newbie religion, relatively speaking, of course.)

Edited for clarification

[graham67]

16. I heard that too....

he was attending a Presbyterian church.

[Cheswick2.0]

12. He goes to a conservative Presbyterian church

By that I mean theologically conservative. His is one of those that may break off from PCUSA (Presbyterian Church USA)because of the anti-homosexual bias of the congregation.

[graham67]

17. Wow....

I had not heard of Presbyterian churches that now were considering breaking off from the PCUSA (hadn't all the traditionalists gone to the PCA a long time ago?). As long as I can remember the PCUSA adopted 'Live and Let Live' policies concerning the gay community and especially the abortion issue.

edited for clarity

[Cheswick2.0]

23. Sorry I didn't stick around to answer this sooner

There is a big battle going on right now between different presbyteries and it is all about homosexuality. It is not a subject that came up that much before the original PCA PCUSA split.
The conservative congregations want to censure individual pastors for doing such things as baptising the child of a gay couple or blessing gay unions (forget about gay marriage).

These people are a minority but they play on the insecurity and homophobia of otherwise moderate people.

Yes you are right most of the conservative did leave with the PCA crowd in the south, but in the north it was a slightly different story. Our conservatives were out numbered and chose to stick with their congregations which mostly stayed with PCUSA.

Then you have to add to those folks the dominionists who are at work. They are not content to have conservative break off churches. They are working secretly in all mainstream churches. I don't think they have infiltrated my congregation yet. But I do think it is just a matter of time and when that happens we either break from that element or I leave the denomination and find another liberal one.

[edkohler]

19. Clark Won't Happen.

It's highly unlikely that Clark would be picked for VP. He's doesn't have a VP personality and would bring little to the ticket compared to Edwards. I doubt his religious beliefs are a big factor in this.

[Jai4WKC08]

21. A "VP personality"? LOL--that's a good one

Let's see... he's loyal and a team player and places the good of the nation above all personal self-interest.

Yep, definitely not the kind of guy Kerry would want.

/sarcasm

Like you know jack about Clark's personality.

[molly]

3. Religion does not matter to me - who cares

except the extremeists. Who gives (anyone with half a brain - a flying "F")

Catholic - anti-catholic - Jewish - well = yada-yada-yada

[KoKo]

5. Here's a quote about Edwards "faith" from NR Rag Mag...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/02/opinion/main597467.shtml

CHILDHOOD
Born in Seneca, South Carolina, Edwards spent much of his childhood in the small, conservative town of Robbins, North Carolina. For those of you just emerging from a persistent vegetative state, his daddy was a textile-mill worker. So, for a time, was his mama. In high school, Edwards was the golden-boy athlete who always got the best-looking girls. As the senator loves to remind us, he was the first in his family to go to college. Raised Southern Baptist, he later joined the Methodist church.

[drfemoe]

13. pshaw..

raised baptist, but my methodist friends had the bowling alley in the basement of the church.

Of course you want to join the methodist church. doy ..

[FleshCartoon]

6. Is this really an issue?

Even in my small Southern town, the Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals all get together and have ecumenical events all the time.

I'd rather leave religion out of it altogether.

[Padraig18]

8. Same in my small Illinois town.

Religion just isn't an issue here...

:shrug:

[FleshCartoon]

11. Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a non-issue

in my town, but only if you're a non-Christian. Then you're devil spawn.

[incapsulated]

7. The only Catholic Issue that's been raised thus far...

Is Kerry having trouble with the church over whether he is "fit" to receive communion. (you have no idea how much this infuriates me).

But very little if any talk about his religion costing him votes.

Maybe things have finally changed in that regard or they figure he isn't going south anyways. I doubt he would be getting votes from people who wouldn't vote for a Catholic ticket even if they where both Baptists, you know what I mean?

What's odd is the similar Jewish history between these two. Clark's father was Jewish, but he didn't find out until he was an adult (his father died when he was 4 or 5). Kerry recently found out about his own Jewish background. If the scummy right-wing fundies were going to use religion to stealth smear these two, I would bet on the Jewish angle far more than the Catholic, myself. That, and the French thing, hehe. ;)

[salonghorn70]

9. Edwards' Faith

Here is a good speech where Edwards talked about his faith.

http://edwards.senate.gov/~edwards/press/baptist.html

[WilliamPitt]

14. "an anti-Catholic backlash in the South"

You're asking the wrong guy about whether we might suffer an anti-Catholic backlash in the South. We are so far behind the 8-ball in the South on so many issues that an anti-Catholic backlash would be only an accent in the symphony.

The Catholic angle nationally is going to depend on how far into the process the Church wants to get. I'm definitely worried about it, and a two-Catholic ticket might be a problem. But we'll see.

[DaveSZ]

15. One's religion shouldn't matter

I don't care what religion a person is as long as they aren't an extremist like Bush or Ashcroft.

Actually, they can be as extreme as they want as long as they don't allow their beliefs to interfere with public policy.


:)

[WilliamPitt]

18. I agree, it shouldn't

But when 25% of the voting populace (i.e. the portion of the populace that actually fucking votes) counts itself evangelical Christian, and finds itself gathered in a stronghold-area we call the South, it winds up mattering.

[incapsulated]

20. yeah, but..

Wouldn't they be voting Republican in the majority anyway? Only Clinton made any inroads with those votes. I don't think Kerry has a chance with them regardless of the religious makeup of the ticket.

:shrug:

[Eurobabe]

22. WTF cares?

Two Catholics who adhere to separation of church and state are certainly better than the evangelical whack job in the WH now!

[Cheswick2.0]

24. I don't think religion matters

and I don't think there is a big anti catholic bias. Aren't the catholics the largest denomination in the country?
Besides Clarke is hardly a catholic except in name. He has attended protestant churches most of his life.