Wednesday March 26, 2008

Figuring Out Pennsylvania Catholic Vote Critical for Clinton, Obama

Associated Press - March 26, 2008

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania - Understanding Pennsylvania's rich Catholic tradition and responding to it is an article of faith for Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama as the April 22 primary looms in the still unsettled and intense Democratic presidential race.

It's a way of thinking well-known to the people of Scranton, a working-class city nestled in northeast Pennsylvania where earlier generations worked in the factories, mills and coal mines - and kneeled in prayer in Catholic church pews on Sunday morning.

On Election Day of yesteryear, large numbers of Pennsylvania Catholics evoked the name of Franklin D. Roosevelt and voted Democratic.

This year, Clinton has fared well among Catholic voters in early primary states and she holds a substantial lead over Obama among Catholic Democrats in Pennsylvania polls. Some analysts argue, however, that Catholic voters' race, age and economic status - rather than religion - are more likely to play a greater role in determining their vote.

Pennsylvania has an estimated 3.8 million Catholics, or just over 30 percent of the state's population, and the percentage among Democrats is estimated to be slightly higher.

Scranton is the hometown of the late Gov. Robert P. Casey, a feisty Catholic politician who stood up to the Democratic Party over abortion. Pennsylvania's version of the so-called "Reagan Democrat," a Democrat willing to buck the party on social issues, are called "Casey Democrats," and they are a critical voting bloc in Pennsylvania.

"Those so-called Casey Democrats will be looking for a broad agenda on social justice, economic justice and a recognition by the candidate, by our nominee that he or she will be someone who can talk about their faith, but more important than that, can listen to them, listen to what their concerns are and also listen to them about their faith and their point of view," said Bob Casey Jr., Pennsylvania's junior senator and the son of the former governor. He has not endorsed in the primary.

Obama, unwilling to concede the Catholic vote, plans small round-table meetings and "listening sessions" with Catholic voters in Pennsylvania's urban and rural areas, as well as e-mails and phone banks targeting Catholics.

In a nod to the diverse concerns of Catholic voters, the meetings will focus on Obama's stands on the economy, jobs and health care, said former Indiana Rep. Tim Roemer, who has been reaching out to fellow Catholics on the campaign's behalf. One goal is to gauge how issues such as race and the inflammatory remarks of Obama spiritual mentor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, are playing with Catholics, Roemer said.

"We found Catholic voters aren't really a lot different in terms of many of their concerns than the average voter," Roemer said.

Clinton backers Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., last week wrote a letter to Pennsylvania Catholics emphasizing her plans on health care, mortgage foreclosures and fuel costs.

Clinton spokesman Mark Nevins said Catholics connect with Clinton's message and Pennsylvanians value her ties to Scranton, where her father was born and raised and she was christened at the Court Street Methodist Church.

In the 1960s, Catholics overwhelmingly supported John F. Kennedy, the only Catholic elected to the White House. In recent years, many have moved toward Republican candidates, drawn by the party's opposition to abortion. In the last presidential election, some U.S. bishops were outspoken in criticizing Catholic politicians who support abortion rights in conflict with church teaching, including 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

President George W. Bush, a Methodist who opposes abortion rights, won 52 percent of the Catholic vote against Kerry, the practicing Catholic, in 2004.

This election, available exit polls show Clinton with a 61-35 percent edge over Obama among Catholic voters. A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed her leading Obama 70-24 percent among Pennsylvania Catholics.

Clinton is a Methodist and Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ. Both candidates support abortion rights.

Analysts wonder whether Clinton is doing well with some Catholics because they also are part of her base, including Hispanics, blue-collar voters and older women. With traditional Democrats who are Catholic, the perception is that Clinton is more of a known quantity who paid her dues in the party.

David Leege, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, contends that a strong woman leader who can make it in a man's world appeals to a generation of Catholic women who worked outside the home before most of their Protestant neighbors.

"For many of them, Hillary Rodham Clinton represents a hero," he said.

A woman candidate appeals to Dorothy Bouselli, 81, a Catholic who joined other senior citizens at the Dunmore Community Center outside of Scranton for a lunch of pierogis, the potato-filled, Eastern European-style dumplings.

"It's time for a woman to come in and clean house," Bouselli said.

Margaret Palukonis, 87, a former bakery worker from Throop who is also a Catholic, said she started questioning Obama's message of change when she heard comments from Wright in which he said "God damn America" for its treatment of minorities.

"America is a wonderful, wonderful country," Palukonis said. "If people don't like America, why do they stay here? Don't stay here. I wouldn't stay here if I didn't like it. We like it. We like it like it is. We don't want a change."

Palukonis said she opposes abortion, but does not think it's an issue that belongs in politics.

In Pennsylvania, many Democrats were outraged in 1992 when party leaders denied Gov. Casey a prime-time spot to speak out against abortion at the Democratic convention that nominated Clinton's husband.

In 2006, Casey's son handily defeated Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a fellow Catholic, by winning a majority of the Catholic vote and gaining back some voters who had shifted to the Republican Party. Like his father, the younger Casey opposes abortion rights.

Even he acknowledges that a "Casey Democrat" is difficult to define. He noted that while his father was socially conservative, he was progressive in appointing women and minorities and going after polluters, as well as starting Pennsylvania's children's health insurance program.

"I don't think you can necessarily reliably predict how Catholics will vote," said the younger Casey. "Some Catholic voters will put more of an emphasis on social justice. Some will put more weight on the war. Others will put more weight on the issue of abortion."

In general elections, Democratic presidential candidates since Bill Clinton in 1992 won the Catholic vote in the state - as well as Pennsylvania.

Since last year's election, the number of Democrats in Pennsylvania has increased by more than 161,000. The defectors include Catholics like Chris Molitoris, 22, who was a registered Republican but switched his party registration so he can vote in the Democratic primary for Obama.

Molitoris, who is from Plains near Scranton and is the student president at the University of Scranton, a Catholic Jesuit university, interned for Santorum's campaign two years ago. Like his Catholic parents, he says he is opposed to abortion, but he says he is more willing to consider a candidate who is not. He says he thinks Obama would best represent the United States on the world stage.

"I'm pro-life, but I don't want to look at just the pro-life issue alone to determine the quality of the candidate. I've taken more of, I guess, a holistic approach in looking at the whole entire package," Molitoris said.

Christina Drogalis, 21, from Old Forge, is a Catholic and student at the same university. She supports Obama too.

"I think Hillary Clinton might have too much of a legacy. It sort of feels to me too much of the same old thing," Drogalis said.

Gorski reported from Denver and Hefling reported from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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