Presidential Race
by Christopher Dodson,
Executive Director, North Dakota Catholic Conference
November 2004
I am writing this column on November 3, the day after the
election. The presidential race is still officially
undecided. Hopefully, the matter will be settled by the
time this is printed.
It might seem premature to offer some post-election
thoughts, but here I go.
Those who study social trends ought to look at the
relationship between success of The Passion of the Christ
and support for George W. Bush. The Passion broke box
office records and, reportedly, led to an increase in
church attendance. Research has shown that those who attend
church regularly are more inclined to support the
president. Even if there is not a correlation between The
Passion and church attendance, there might exist a
correlation between an area’s viewing of the movie
with the area’s support for President Bush.
If there is such a correlation, it might reflect the
growing moral divide in the country. This morning –
remember, this is the day after the election – it was
reported that exit polls revealed that the moral direction
of the country was the top concern in states that went for
Bush and was the least concern in states that went for
Kerry.
The phrase “moral direction of the country”
presumably means concerns about abortion, abstinence,
marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, and parenting. The
exit pollsters, like us, should remember that the economy,
the war in Iraq, and domestic policies are also moral
issues.
Perhaps another example of the difficulties the news media
and pollsters have with understanding the moral component
of politics is the Forum’s poll on the marriage
amendment. About a week before the election, the poll
showed only 52 percent of likely voters supporting the
amendment, with 36 percent opposed and 11 percent
undecided. Other than a parish bulletin insert from the
North Dakota Catholic Conference and a small press
conference by the Family Alliance, supporters of the
amendment did little that last week to increase support.
Conventional wisdom is that ballot initiatives lose support
in the final weeks and that most “undecideds”
will vote “no.”
However, in the end, over 73% of the voters approved the
amendment. That percentage is greater than the poll’s
“support” and “undecided” combined.
Either those few activities had a great impact or the poll
was seriously flawed.
Now that the measure has passed, Catholics should make an
effort to explain to opponents, especially young people,
that the measure was not motivated by bigotry or partisan
politics. Now is the time to explain and teach about
marriage. It is also the time to explain that the Church
opposes any unjust discrimination.
Looking ahead, it is also the time to get ready for the
legislative session. The energy put into electing
candidates should carry over to concern for the common good
and the life and dignity of the human person. Every
citizen, whether his or her candidate lost or won, should
become involved in the legislative process.
To stay informed on the issues and how and when to contact
your legislators about issues of concern to the Church,
join the North Dakota Catholic Conference legislative
action network. Send us an e-mail at ndcatholic@btinet.net
or call us at 1-888-419-1237.
