Clinton Tries to Maintain Hold on Big Religious Bloc
Story summary:
It's a potentially massive voting bloc that defies easy analysis. Yet Pennsylvania's approximately 3.8 million Catholics are on the receiving end of major outreach efforts from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, as the candidates look for an edge in the April 22 primary. Still, many local Catholics argue that it's impossible to put them in a box, and they draw from a broad range of church teachings on moral issues and the value of life when deciding how to vote. "I just don't think that there is a consensus out there in the Catholic community, any more than there is in the broader community," said Lois Campbell, vice president of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network. "The people I know and connect with in the church are a pretty even mix." For Ms. Campbell, the top concerns are the war in Iraq and the impact of a weakening economy. Ms. Campbell is a local field organizer for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., that is polling Pennsylvania Catholics, both Republicans and Democrats, to find out their top concerns. The alliance is planning an assembly on faith and politics in Scranton on April 17 and a much larger national gathering in Philadelphia in July.
Clinton Tries to Maintain Hold on Big Religious Bloc
"We are called as Catholics not to simply follow partisan political agendas, but to draw wisdom and guidance from the fullness of Catholic social teaching with its focus on the dignity of the human person, justice and the common good," said Alexia Kelley, the alliance's executive director. Both campaigns are appealing to that world view and trumpeting the support of prominent Catholics to make further inroads in the community.
Burns Strider, director of faith outreach for Mrs. Clinton, said the candidate's backing among Catholics was "broad and deep" and the campaign would be scouring databases and conducting door-to-door canvassing to identify supporters.
Mr. Obama has been touting the endorsement of Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania's freshman senator and son of the late Gov. Bob Casey Sr., who won handily among Catholics and spawned a generation of voters -- "Casey Democrats" -- who were willing to buck the party on social issues, such as abortion. Mrs. Clinton, a Methodist, and Mr. Obama, a member of the United Church of Christ, both back abortion rights. Yet some anti-abortion Democrats say that issue won't deter many Catholics, especially those who attend church infrequently or place more emphasis on bread-and-butter issues like access to health care and good jobs.
