Why Catholics Should Vote for Obama

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Friday October 10, 2008 · 6:31 AM PDT

2008/10/10 · 06:31

There are an estimated 64 million people in the United States who were raised in the Roman Catholic Church. More than 12 million non-Hispanic Catholics attend Mass at least once a week. The Catholic vote is huge.

The voices of Catholic voters have the power to control the outcome of national elections. In eight of the past nine presidential elections, the winner of the Catholic vote won the White House.

Millions of Catholic Americans — and many evangelical Protestants as well — have a litmus test which a presidential candidate must pass before that candidate can win their votes. First and foremost in these voters’ minds is the candidate’s view on abortion. For millions of Catholic voters the most important political goal over the last 30 years has been to assemble enough votes on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Barack Obama does not pass this litmus test. And, for now, John McCain does. The question is, How can Barack Obama still marshal a case that convinces Catholic voters to support his candidacy?

ObamaElectionWatch

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Monday October 06, 2008 · 8:25 AM PDT

2008/10/06 · 08:25

One of the major myths at large today is that John McCain can be trusted to stand up for veterans and their families. Not so!

John McCain glorifies the United States military. Yet over a long, 22-year career in the United States Senate, he has voted against no less than two dozen measures that would have improved benefits for disabled veterans and their families.

He has even voted against providing funds for improving veterans hospitals as well as for research into prosthetics for veterans who have have returned home with missing limbs.

Following are the details of McCain’s record:

ObamaElectionWatch

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Thursday September 25, 2008 · 9:28 AM PDT

2008/09/25 · 09:28

Barton Gellman’s widely praised new book Angler explains how in the 2000 presidential election George W. Bush incorrectly informed American voters that there had been an independent review of the health of vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney. To alleviate voter fears, George W. Bush, called on family friend Dr. Denton A. Cooley. Cooley is one of the world’s most respected heart surgeons. Cooley performed the first successful heart transplant in the United States and was the first surgeon to implant an artificial heart in a human patient.

Bush announced that he had commissioned an independent review of Cheney’s fitness. He reassured the public that Dr. Cooley had determined that Dick Cheney’s "cardiac status was sound." Cooley never looked at Cheney’s medical records, electrocardiogram data, or images of his heart. Dr. Cooley’s review consisted of talking to Cheney’s personal physician on the telephone.

This assurance from Bush that the nation’s foremost cardiologist had given Cheney a clean bill of health put the issue to rest.

This account of Cheney’s health clearance suggests the need for an independent medical clearance of the fitness of John McCain.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Wednesday September 17, 2008 · 8:17 AM PDT

2008/09/17 · 08:17

George Bush beat John Kerry in the state of Montana by 21 percentage points in the 2004 presidential election. So one asks, why would Barack Obama think he stands any chance of winning that state? The explanation is that polls now show that Montana may be in play in 2008. Obama did well in Montana in the Democratic primary. Increasingly, Democrats have been winning statewide office in Montana. In Montana, both U.S. senators, the governor, and the attorney general are Democrats.

Obama’s optimistic view of Montana also has to do with changing demographics. The number of registered voters in the state has increased by only about 10 percent since 2004. But the population is shifting from the more conservative eastern plains to the more liberal western counties.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Monday September 15, 2008 · 9:42 AM PDT

2008/09/15 · 09:42

John McCain recently sent out a clear signal of his support for efforts to divert water from Colorado to his home state of Arizona. This was a revolutionary statement. It is also a clear political windfall for Obama.

The water resource story in the western states is direct and easily understood. The Obama campaign staff must use the Colorado media to make certain that over the next two months voters are constantly reminded of the serious harm McCain aims to bring to the state of Colorado regarding its water needs.

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Friday September 12, 2008 · 7:48 AM PDT

2008/09/12 · 07:48

Over his 22-year career in the Senate, John McCain has consistently voted to protect the profits of drug companies at the expense of senior citizens.

In 2003 McCain was a solid opponent of the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act. This landmark legislation provided the nation’s 40 million senior citizens with access to a prescription drug plan as part of their Medicare coverage. During the long debate over the bill, McCain voted against 12 amendments that would have made prescription drugs more affordable to senior citizens.

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Thursday September 11, 2008 · 8:04 AM PDT

2008/09/11 · 08:04

In a recent interview on Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox News Channel, Barack Obama stated, "I think the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated. It’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."

This concession was both unnecessary and harmful to the Obama campaign.

Aside from the surge, there are many underlying causes of the reduced level of violence in Iraq. And Obama had no need to heap praise on the position taken by John McCain as we enter the home stretch of the presidential campaign.

But the bigger question is why did Obama’s advisers schedule an appearance for their candidate on The O’Reilly Factor?

ObamaElectionWatch

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Wednesday September 10, 2008 · 2:33 PM PDT

2008/09/10 · 14:33

In her speech before the Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin delivered a zinger to the Obama forces. She said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities."

That night, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe came to the defense of his boss. He said, quite accurately, that community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement, and labor rights.

But the defense also identified Obama with civil disobedience and rebellion associated with the American protest movement. This defense was perfect in the 1960s. Today it doesn’t fly with voters in many parts of America such as central Pennsylvania and upper Michigan.

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Tuesday September 09, 2008 · 7:57 AM PDT

2008/09/09 · 07:57

Without doubt, Nevada is a swing state in this presidential election. Different polls in recent weeks have shown both candidates with a razor-thin, one- or two-point lead.

In Nevada two thirds of the total statewide vote is cast in Clark County, in the extreme southern part of the state. Clark County includes the city of Las Vegas. It is the only county in the entire state that John Kerry won in 2004.

Since 2004 Democratic voter registrations in Clark County are up by 63,000 while GOP registrations have grown by 38,000. Many of the new voters are Latinos. County statistics show that 70 percent of the voters who register using Spanish-language forms register as Democrats and only 18 percent register as Republicans.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Monday September 08, 2008 · 8:08 AM PDT

2008/09/08 · 08:08

Some critics of Obama’s campaign strategy have accused the Democratic standard-bearer of excessive targeting of traditional GOP states while neglecting his base.

One of the most important states for Obama to win is Pennsylvania and its large bloc of 21 electoral votes. Last week vice presidential nominee Joe Biden put the issue bluntly: "We cannot win without winning Pennsylvania."

Obama is weak in the central and western portions of the state that are largely rural and mostly white. In this spring’s Democratic primary Hillary Clinton trounced Obama in many counties in these areas.

These counties where Obama fared poorly in the Democratic primary lie along the Interstate 80 corridor. The I-80 highway has become a major political issue throughout the state. Democratic Governor Ed Rendell has proposed that I-80 become a toll road from one end of the state to the other.

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Thursday September 04, 2008 · 8:48 AM PDT

2008/09/04 · 08:48

Over a long Senate career, John McCain has voted at least 18 times against extending benefits of the federal unemployment insurance program to Americans who have lost their jobs.
With generous tax cuts McCain now rewards corporations that move factories out of Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, while opposing any relief for the millions of jobless workers who are left behind.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Wednesday September 03, 2008 · 10:36 AM PDT

2008/09/03 · 10:36

The Republican convention was suspended this week as the GOP didn’t want to be seen partying or playing partisan politics while people in solid GOP states faced the dangers of Hurricane Gustav.

McCain knows his hurricane politics. As is required of any candidate for the presidency, John McCain has expressed deep sympathy for the victims of Gustav. But when he is not running for president McCain’s record on hurricane relief shows a persistent and callous disregard for those in need.

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Why Catholics Should Vote for Obama

John McCain's Record of Opposition to Veterans Benefits

Independent Clearance of McCain's Fitness Needed

How Obama Can Win Montana

Colorado Voters: John McCain Wants to Take Your Water

McCain's Dopey Record on Prescription Drugs

Why Did Obama Go on Bill O'Reilly Show?

Obama, Please Stop Using the Term "Community Organizer"

In Nevada, the Latino Vote Is Key to an Obama Victory

Should Obama Oppose Tolls on I-80 in PA?

John McCain's Dismal Record on Unemployment Benefits

John McCain's Record on Disaster Relief Is a Disaster