How will the Pope effect the 2016 elections ?

[frenchdefense]

It's way early but this is an interesting opinion from a liberal (oh horrors !) columnist.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/pop-francis-2016-election

Don’t quote me on this, but I think Jesus also took a hit in his poll numbers when he kicked the money changers out of the Temple, broke bread with prostitutes and reminded the religious elite that their obsession with the letter of the law missed the big picture. I doubt a pope who is focused on bringing those on the peripheries to the center of global debates is losing sleep over the finer points of Washington punditry or polling. This is a pope who still remains enormously popular and is arguably the most compelling moral leader in the world today. Coveting thy fellow leaders’ polling numbers is likely a sin, but most politicians would do anything to have the pope’s widespread appeal.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

I think that almost everyone is already locked in to their positions. The popularity of Pope Francis is mainly with those who think that he agrees with them which means there was no change on their end. So I don't think there will be any effect on it. It's going to be a big waste of money when, after the primaries, the presidential candidates for each party spend millions of dollars on their campaigns when the ones who will vote for them are the same ones who would have voted for them anyway.

 

[Colin]

How will the Pope effect the 2016 elections ?

Probably as much as Blessed Pope Paul VI's 1965 visit to the USA effected the 1968 Presidential election .

 

[Kotton]

Let me think, just how much did this affect the vote? Since I agreed with Pope Paul VI who did I vote for? Can't remember. I believe this answers the question and supports your post.

 

[Fantine]

The Pope's approval rating among "conservative Catholics" has fallen 27% in recent months (probably due to the release of Laudato Si). And, of course, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, and other prominent Republicans have criticized much of what he says.

Like the wolf dressed as "Grandma" in Little Red Riding Hood, Republican candidates have put on the nightgown and nightcap of being "pro-preborn-life" and "anti-gay marriage" to hide their predatory intentions--and, like Red Riding Hoods being led to the slaughter, many Catholics have looked at them as the only moral alternative.

Pope Francis has pulled off their nightgowns and nightcaps, leaving them defenseless and exposed. Thanks be to God.

 

[Sword of the Lord]

Hopefully the communist pope has little influence over our politics.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

.

 

[Rhamiel]

Hopefully the communist pope has little influence over our politics.

the Pope is not a communist

when we use that word flippantly for anyone who we might not agree with 100%, it looses all meaning

Communists are at their core Statists

the Pope is to the Left of where you are Politically
but that does not make him a Communist or a Statist

 

[Rhamiel]

I think that almost everyone is already locked in to their positions. The popularity of Pope Francis is mainly with those who think that he agrees with them which means there was no change on their end.

good point

many Catholics have looked at them as the only moral alternative

the moral alternative to what?

 

[Mountain_Girl406]

Hopefully the communist pope has little influence over our politics.

Out of curiosity, do you see Pope Francis as the true Pope, elected by the will of the Holy Spirit, or do you see the Papacy as currently vacant?

 

[Sword of the Lord]

Out of curiosity, do you see Pope Francis as the true Pope, elected by the will of the Holy Spirit, or do you see the Papacy as currently vacant?

He is the true Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

 

[mark46]

I think that almost everyone is already locked in to their positions. The popularity of Pope Francis is mainly with those who think that he agrees with them which means there was no change on their end. So I don't think there will be any effect on it. It's going to be a big waste of money when, after the primaries, the presidential candidates for each party spend millions of dollars on their campaigns when the ones who will vote for them are the same ones who would have voted for them anyway.

Perhaps almost everyone is locked into their positions. That is a poor excuse to not vote, or to believe that the election will not depend on last minute changes of mind with regard to candidate or whether to come out and vote.

2000 was very, very close. It took a Supreme Court vote to declare George Bush the winner. A few votes in Florida or in NH would have changed the result.

2012 was a very strange election. The Republican conservatives thought that they couldn't lose. After all, there were running against a very unpopular Obama. Their pollsters told them that they had an easy win UP UNTIL THE POLLS OPENED on Election Day. Many states were decided at the last minute, when some folks changed their minds with regard to candidate, and other folks decided at the last minute to stay home or to vote.

And so it is again. It is very likely that the Republicans have the ability to defeat and of the Democrats. That doesn't mean that they will.

BOTTOM LINE
It is likely that a very, very few states are in play in the general election (unless the Republicans nominate Trump or Cruz). These few states are called battleground states. Some states are really critical. For example, it's been over 50 years since a Democrat has won the presidency without winning Ohio.

As is almost always the case, your vote REALLY counts a lot if you live in Florida, Ohio or even in Wisconsin or NH.

 

[Rhamiel]

@Mountain_Girl406 the guy you were asking about the Pope is a Lutheran
so yeah, he is not supporting any pope

 

[Tallguy88]

Best leave local politics to local bishops.

 

[Rhamiel]

Best leave local politics to local bishops.

I have always been partial to the ultramontane position
with an emphasis on Papal authority

and if Catholics did listen to their local Bishops, there would not be so many Catholics who vote for politicians who want to protect abortion rights

 

[mark46]

I have always been partial to the ultramontane position
with an emphasis on Papal authority

and if Catholics did listen to their local Bishops, there would not be so many Catholics who vote for politicians who want to protect abortion rights

You are correct.

Listening to the pope would give someone the idea that there are more than TWO relevant political issues. One might even get the idea that we should try to look at issues beyond abortion and gay marriage, especially since the president has so little effect on either, and so much affect on all the other issues.

 

[Tallguy88]

I have always been partial to the ultramontane position
with an emphasis on Papal authority

and if Catholics did listen to their local Bishops, there would not be so many Catholics who vote for politicians who want to protect abortion rights

I don't know what the bolded word means.

 

[Rhamiel]

You are correct.

Listening to the pope would give someone the idea that there are more than TWO relevant political issues. One might even get the idea that we should try to look at issues beyond abortion and gay marriage, especially since the president has so little effect on either, and so much affect on all the other issues.

you are right, there are way more then two relevant political issues
but those two issues are important

why would you want to look beyond the murder of millions of human beings?
or just saying "well the President does not effect this much" seems kind of weird
like I know that NO US President could bring back the chattel slavery of African Americans...
but if one of them said they supported that, no matter how competent he was at governing, no matter how much I agreed with his view of other issues, I could not vote for him

there are other issues besides the murder of millions of innocent babies
but that is still a really big issue

I don't know what the bolded word means.

that is my $5 word of the day lol
it means an exaggerated view of the authority of the Pope
it stood in contrast to Gallicanism where the monarchy and local Bishops were exaggerated

while there have always been a fluctuation of power levals between Papal and Royal power (and between Papal and Local Bishop as well)

we can see these terms being more specific to the time from the Reformation until the First Vatican Council
with the acceptance of Papal infallibility and the ability for the Pope have immediate jurisdiction over all of the Church, the ultramontane position has more or less been accepted by the Church
the Jesuits were supporters of this position btw

 

[WarriorAngel]

The Pope is where the Pope is supposed to be.
Anti gay marriage
Anti abortion
Anti Euthanasia etc
Follow the core teaching that were always taught - [the grave sins] and vote accordingly.
Everything else is up for debate...
Just war, death penalty, climate change - are subject to terms or conditions but not considered grave to disagree.

 

[mark46]

The Pope is where the Pope is supposed to be.
Anti gay marriage
Anti abortion
Anti Euthanasia etc
Follow the core teaching that were always taught - [the grave sins] and vote accordingly.
Everything else is up for debate...
Just war, death penalty, climate change - are subject to terms or conditions but not considered grave to disagree.

The pope thinks that there are important political issues in addition to gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia. For YOU, for YOU, everything else is up for grabs. I haven't a clue why you think that the pope agrees with this very limited view.

I understand your view. Thank you for clarifying. Be happy, vote for Trump. You don't need to worry. All that matters is a candidate's current stated view on three issues.