Democrat or Conservative?

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Gabbanelli911

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I’m watching Ted Cruz on CNN announcing his bid for president. I’m confused about what the parties stand for. I’ve heard for many years, from people at home, that Catholics are supposed to be Democrats. But as I listened to Ted Cruz, maybe we are supposed to be Conservative Republicans??

It seems that Democrats are for things such as abortion, gay marriage, imposing its laws on Christian institutions such as offering birth control for its students / employees.

What does the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recommend? I know they cannot dictate what to vote for, but what political party is in line with Catholic doctrine?
 
I’m a Catholic voter. I’m neither donkey or elephant.

I like the church’s social justice teachings; I also dislike capital punishment and abhor abortion.

I figure I’m doing a good job of this, since Republicans I know think I’m a Democrat, and Democrats I know think I’m a Republican. Neither party, by the way, has the Lock on Truth; each offers good things as well as nonsense.
 
Gabbanelli911 said:
I’m watching Ted Cruz on CNN announcing his bid for president. I’m confused about what the parties stand for. I’ve heard for many years, from people at home, that Catholics are supposed to be Democrats. But as I listened to Ted Cruz, maybe we are supposed to be Conservative Republicans??

It seems that Democrats are for things such as abortion, gay marriage, imposing its laws on Christian institutions such as offering birth control for its students / employees.

What does the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recommend? I know they cannot dictate what to vote for, but what political party is in line with Catholic doctrine?
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That pull you feel between what the people at home say and what you are realizing is your maturity process. Keep doing your own research and vote for those candidates which uphold what you believe.👍
 
The Church is above party politics. Do not look to clerics for partisan politics. Educate yourself and make your own decisions, guided by an informed conscience.

.
 
Captain_America said:
I’m a Catholic voter. I’m neither donkey or elephant.
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And that is how everyone should be-- someone who approaches issues with prayer and thought rather than blindly taking the advice of a particular political party. 👍

K
 
Personally I don’t like either because none is aligned with church teaching. I prefer to look at the person individually and make an objective analysis of what the person reflects through their actions and their character. My only problem is that usually I don’t like any of the politicians…
 
Gabbanelli911 said:
I’m watching Ted Cruz on CNN announcing his bid for president. I’m confused about what the parties stand for. I’ve heard for many years, from people at home, that Catholics are supposed to be Democrats. But as I listened to Ted Cruz, maybe we are supposed to be Conservative Republicans??

It seems that Democrats are for things such as abortion, gay marriage, imposing its laws on Christian institutions such as offering birth control for its students / employees.

What does the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recommend? I know they cannot dictate what to vote for, but what political party is in line with Catholic doctrine?
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Neither party is completely in line with Catholic doctrine, and individual candidates do not always support everything that their party does. Personally, I have never voted for a Democrat on the national level because of issues like those you mentioned, but in all honesty many Republicans are beginning to capitulate on those issues as well, so it’s entirely possible that a race involve a democrat who is correct on those issues and a Republican who is not. (Or any other combination.)

You shouldn’t feel constrained to a particular party, but you did pick out several important issues, and it is true that the Republican Party as a whole at least says that it is on the right side of those issues. But again, candidates don’t always do what their party says completely, so you should always consider candidates individually, and you may find (depending on where you live and especially on the state level) that there are some reasonable candidates in both parties (or, more often in my experience, that neither party has a decent candidate).
 
I’m not a Repub. Was a democrat activist for years and years. Couldn’t stay with the party when abortion became its sole motivating issue.

Other things have changed too. It does nothing for the truly poor. It does nothing for the real environment. (MMGW is not “the environment”, it’s a theory) And Obamacare is some 30 million people short of being “universal”.
 
I am independent. I do my own thing when I vote. Right now that means not voting cause they are all crazy. My husband says I should write in but what’s the point? 🤷 The Pope won’t be elected the next U.S. president. 😃
 
Ridgerunner said:
I’m not a Repub. Was a democrat activist for years and years. Couldn’t stay with the party when abortion became its sole motivating issue.

Other things have changed too. It does nothing for the truly poor. It does nothing for the real environment. (MMGW is not “the environment”, it’s a theory) And Obamacare is some 30 million people short of being “universal”.
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Also, I look at which party/candidate is most likely to push for those things I cannot vote for, such abortion on demand, forcing all companies/institutions to provide contraception insurance, etc. versus the party/candidate that is most supportive of what I hold true–that people are responsible for their own behavior, the government was not established to force me to think/act as any current administration wants me to, that I have the constitutional freedom to disagree with any government set up by men.

When I take all those factors into consideration I simply cannot vote for any Democrat for whom I could vote locally, and certainly not nationally. The claim that Democrats care more for the poor simply because they spend more on government welfare programs is propaganda that isn’t borne out by the facts. On the contrary, such programs have kept millions in generational poverty sanctioned and encouraged by the government. I simply cannot vote for that.
 
PaulfromIowa said:
The Church is above party politics. Do not look to clerics for partisan politics. Educate yourself and make your own decisions, guided by an informed conscience.

.
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The two main political parties are pretty much Pepsi and Coke. Its branding and they’re both doing pretty much the same thing when in office. Research the issues and individuals and vote your conscience.
 
styrgwillidar said:
The two main political parties are pretty much Pepsi and Coke. Its branding and they’re both doing pretty much the same thing when in office. Research the issues and individuals and vote your conscience.
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There are differences. Don’t allow the pro-abortion, anti-marriage party make you think otherwise. That’s a big part of their strategy; to counsel despair in all those who do not favor their rule.
 
It’s not so much what the parties stand for as much as what they stand against. Typically they stand against each other. :rolleyes:

So, I’d say follow your conscience. If your conscience leads you to vote republican take it out and examine it again. If it still leads you to vote Republican. Take it out and shoot it. 😃

ATB
 
Mickey_Finn said:
It’s not so much what the parties stand for as much as what they stand against. Typically they stand against each other. :rolleyes:

So, I’d say follow your conscience. If your conscience leads you to vote republican take it out and examine it again. If it still leads you to vote Republican. Take it out and shoot it. 😃

ATB
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Kind of a flippant dismissal of the only viable opponent of the Party of Death. One should think this out again, because in dissmissing the Repub, you’re supporting the Dems.
 
Della said:
Also, I look at which party/candidate is most likely to push for those things I cannot vote for, such abortion on demand, forcing all companies/institutions to provide contraception insurance, etc. versus the party/candidate that is most supportive of what I hold true–that people are responsible for their own behavior, the government was not established to force me to think/act as any current administration wants me to, that I have the constitutional freedom to disagree with any government set up by men.

When I take all those factors into consideration I simply cannot vote for any Democrat for whom I could vote locally, and certainly not nationally. The claim that Democrats care more for the poor simply because they spend more on government welfare programs is propaganda that isn’t borne out by the facts. On the contrary, such programs have kept millions in generational poverty sanctioned and encouraged by the government. I simply cannot vote for that.
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Failure to oppose the party of abortion and homosexual parody of marriage is to support it.
 
Gabbanelli911 said:
I’m watching Ted Cruz on CNN announcing his bid for president. I’m confused about what the parties stand for. I’ve heard for many years, from people at home, that Catholics are supposed to be Democrats. But as I listened to Ted Cruz, maybe we are supposed to be Conservative Republicans??
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As others have said, neither party is aligned with Catholic doctrine. And there are plenty of factions within each party. Platform items advocated by both parties have changed back and forth over the years so you can’t base things on what the parties stood for in years past.

Another thing to remember is that Catholic leaders are not necessarily experts on economics, psychology, and history and the ideas promulgated by politicians so a political platform item that at first glance seems in line with Catholic ideals may have some unintended negative consequences. You also have to consider the principle of subsidiarity. Some issues are important but are not appropriate for the level of government that is pushing for it.

Study the moral math. There are a lot of social and economic problems that really can’t be fixed by legislation. They need to be fixed by a change of morals. Throwing money on the problem may make it better but it might make it worse.

You really have to study the issues and the candidates. In my opinion you have to look for long term (as in 15-20 years) solutions. Government is seldom good at fixing big problems in the short term.
 
Ridgerunner said:
Kind of a flippant dismissal of the only viable opponent of the Party of Death. One should think this out again, because in dissmissing the Repub, you’re supporting the Dems.
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Ridgerunner, I’m pretty sure death was here long before any political parties were formed.
 
I’m a traditional Catholic when it comes to religion; politically I’m a conservative - a non-mainstream type that is more inclined to prefer tradition over any modern trend or philosophy. I’m neither a registered Democrat nor a Republican – I wasn’t even aware that one can register as such; with that I consider myself an independent voter.

The DNC has it out for those who oppose abortion and same-sex “marriage” (usually known as social conservatives), obviously. The Repubs also has it out for social conservatives, but in a more insidious way: After Obama won re-election libertarians used the social conservatives as the scapegoat, saying that due to such a group’s stance it “scared” away potential voters like women, those under 35 (fair enough), and minorities. Even though social issues weren’t the forefront of the debates, somehow the libertarians found a way to blame Romeny’s lost to those who adhere to tradition.
 
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