Democratic candidates score big with clergy

[PatSeg]

This is interesting:

< Clergy and religious organizations contribute to political candidates, just like investment bankers or teachers or any other group. That clergy give doesn’t surprise, but how they’re giving does. <…>

Thus far in the ‘08 cycle, 56 percent of religious groups’ and leaders’ donations have gone to Democrats, and 43 percent to Republicans, compared with 52/47 in favor of Republicans in ‘06 and 51/49 in favor of Democrats (!) in 2004. <…>

You can only read so much into these numbers. After all, in the aggregate religious groups have backed the losers of the last two elections. But the partisan gap in contributions is wider now than it’s been since 1992.

In three of the last four cycles, clergy have backed Republicans in greater numbers than Democrats. The lone exception, 2004, was practically even.

But this year, clergy contributions are going to the Dems by a wide margin — according to the data from the Center for Responsive Politics, 56% is the strongest percentage Dems have had with clergy donations in two decades.>

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13919.html

[patrice]

1. In the Catholic Church, that's called atonement.

In order to be forgiven you must at least try to right your wrongs.

I was on enough phone banks in '00 & '04 to know some influential Catholics have some atonement to attend to.

[PatSeg]

2. That would explain it

"Oh shit, what have we done?"

[patrice]

3. It would also explain why there is some very palpable hostility

toward the Catholic Church now, primarily amongst, I think, un-repentent BushBots who believe still that all EVERYONE **MUST** do is keep on believing and all of their fascist dreams will come true.