Analysis
This article seeks to look at how catholics will vote in the upcoming election. Three catholic citizens are cited in the story, with one saying they will vote for DeVos and the other two still undecided on the Governor’s race. The Grand Rapids bishop is also cited and there is information on what the Michigan Catholic Conference stance is on some of the ballot proposals. The only other source cited is Inside Michigan Politics founder Bill Ballinger. What information was provided in this article for voters, to assist them in making an informed vote?
Article Text
Walt Gutowski Jr. is like a lot of Catholic voters in Michigan these days: torn.
He regards the sanctity of human life as “very, very important to me.” That might seem to disqualify Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who backs a woman’s right to abortion.
But Gutowski thinks Granholm is charismatic, and he likes her approach to helping people in need. On the other hand, the owner of Swift Printing in Grand Rapids is drawn to GOP candidate Dick DeVos for his opposition to abortion, his business background and ties to West Michigan.
His vote?
“I would say I really don’t know right now. This is the weekend where I do a lot of soul-searching,” Gutowski said.
With about one-fourth of registered voters in Michigan, the Catholic bloc could play a pivotal role in a close race.
Thirty years ago, said Lansing political analyst Bill Ballenger, they were considered a reliable source of votes for Democrats.
But as working-class Catholic voters migrated in the 1980s toward social conservatism and candidates like Ronald Reagan, that began to shift.
Today, said Ballenger, “It is pretty much up for grabs.”
Indeed, the Catholic vote in Michigan split just about even in the 2004 presidential election, as exit polls found that Democrat John Kerry tallied 50 percent of that vote compared to 49 percent for President Bush. Bush beat Kerry in the U.S. Catholic vote 52 percent to 47 percent.
The church leaves the choice on individual candidates up to parishioners, even as it weighs in on bedrock values issues like immigration reform, minimum wage and affirmative action.
The Michigan Catholic Conference has not been shy about Proposal 2 — which would ban certain types of affirmative action in Michigan — calling it “bad public policy.” On immigration reform, it favors a path to citizenship for undocumented residents. It supports an increase in the minimum wage.
In 1998, the church and Catholic voters were instrumental in defeating a state ballot proposal to sanction physician-assisted suicide. In 2004, Catholic dioceses in Michigan pumped more than $1 million into the campaign to ban gay marriage, including at least $55,000 from the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
Bishop Walter Hurley of the Diocese of Grand Rapids acknowledges that for many Catholic voters, “life” issues like abortion or embryonic stem cell research trump all others. The church itself condemns both practices.
But Hurley said it is not in his province to tell voters which candidate to support.
“I don’t think it is my place as the bishop of the diocese to determine who is qualified and who is disqualified.
“We believe that we are dealing with an adult congregation of people that needs to make their own decisions. We have a responsibility to provide people with information so they can make good decisions.”
That leaves voters with plenty to consider, as it examines the records and promises of both candidates. On the surface, Granholm might seem to flunk basic church teachings through her support of abortion rights, her veto of a bill to ban partial-birth abortion and her support of embryonic stem cell research.
But on compassion for the poor — a consistent thread in Catholic teaching — Granholm might earn points for backing the minimum-wage increase that passed earlier this year and expansion of the earned-income tax credit. She also vetoed a measure that would have put time limits on welfare benefits, a position consistent with church stands.
Grand Rapids lawyer John Anding said he considers himself a Democrat in many respects. He voted for and even donated funds to Granholm in her successful 1998 campaign for state attorney general. He calls her record on consumer rights “far superior” to the ideas advanced on that front by the GOP.
But Anding believes Granholm now stands among “the most radical pro-choice” governors in the nation. On that issue alone, he said, he cannot vote for her.
“I think that from a Catholic perspective, if you are connecting the dots you see that all the issues in this campaign are about advancing human dignity.
“If you don’t get the life issue right, there really is no hope for our state or our culture.”
Grand Rapids lawyer Larry Mulligan takes that issue seriously as well. That fact that Granholm vetoed a bill to ban partial birth abortion “makes it very, very difficult for me to consider voting for her.”
But Mulligan considers Granholm “very good on the issues of the poor” — a stand he considers “very very important” in his hierarchy of issues.
As a result, he’s stuck between Granholm and DeVos.
“Personally, I have not made up my mind. Maybe I will the night before the election.”
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