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Values Voters and Vanderslice: The Big Lie

Again we are regaled with stories about "Values Voters" and how to get them. Self proclaimed Dem values voters guru Mara Vanderslice has a good publicist and was able to have this story placed in the NYTimes:

Party strategists and nonpartisan pollsters credit the operative, Mara Vanderslice . . . with helping a handful of Democratic candidates make deep inroads among white evangelical and churchgoing Roman Catholic voters in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Exit polls show that Ms. Vanderslice’s candidates did 10 percentage points or so better than Democrats nationally among those voters, who make up about a third of the electorate.

Sounds impressive right? It is a load of crap. I'll explain on the flip.

So Ms. Vanderslice's candidates did 10% better than Dems nationally did they? So what does that mean in round numbers. It means that they won about 38% of the white evangelical vote, as Dems nationally did about 28% with white evangelicals. Nationally Dems won 38% of folks who attend church more than once a week and 46% of those who attend at least once a week. Nationally, Dems captured 50% of white Catholic voters. It is hard to er, slice and dice what Vanderslice is supposed to have done. But I will look at one race in Ohio involving a so called Vanderslice candidate - Sherrod Brown, and see if Vanderslice actually did something worthy of an article. Here is Brown's performance in the same segments:

VOTE BY RELIGION TOTAL DeWine Brown
Protestant (59%)48% 52%
Catholic (25%) 46% 54%
Jewish (3%) 22% 78%
Other (4%) 20% 80%
None (9%) 18% 82%

VOTE BY RELIGION AMONG WHITES
TOTAL DeWine Brown
White Protestants (48%) 54% 46%
White Catholics (22%) 47% 53%
White Jewish Voters (3%) 22% 78%
Whites - Other (3%) 27% 73%
White - No Religion (7%) 19% 81%
Non-White Voters (17%) 23% 77%

VOTE BY CHURCH ATTENDANCE
TOTAL DeWine Brown
More Than Weekly (16%) 62% 38Weekly (30) 52% 48Monthly (13) 41% 59%
A Few Times a Year (27%)31% 69%
Never (13%) 26% 74%

VOTE BY CHURCH ATTENDANCE
TOTAL DeWine Brown
Weekly (45%) 56% 44%
Occasionally (39%) 34% 66%
Never (13%) 26% 74%

Hmmm. It looks like Sherrod Brown outperformed Dems nationally as well, and by about 10 percentage points it looks like on the frequent church goers line. Did Vanderslice work that one? Why yes she did.

So let me get this straight, Mara Vanderslice is the reason why Sherrod Brown did that well? Are you shitting me? Sherrod Brown was preaching the gospel is the storyline now? My gawd, for a person of faith, this Vanderslice person is quite the liar. Who else did she work for?

* Bob Casey for U.S. Senate * Ted Strickland for Governor
* Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate
* Michigan Democratic Party
* Jennifer Granholm for Governor
* Kansas Democratic Party
* Kathleen Sebelius for Governor
* Democratic Party of Oregon
* Heath Shuler for U.S. Congress

Now we have something to compare. She worked for Granholm but not for Stabenow apparently. Let's see what a difference maker Vanderslice was in Michigan:

VOTE BY RELIGION TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
Protestant (54%) 52% 46%
Catholic (27%) 55% 43%
Jewish (1%) * *
Other (7%) 73% 27%
None (12%) 70% 21%

BORN-AGAIN OR EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN?
TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
Yes (33%) 45% 53%
No (67%) 63% 34%

VOTE BY RELIGION AMONG WHITES
TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
White Protestants (43%) 45% 53%
White Catholics (24%) 53% 44%
White Jewish Voters (1%) * *
Whites - Other (4%) 73% 27%
White - No Religion (9%) 66% 24%
Non-White Voters (18%) 81% 18%

WHITE EVANGELICAL/BORN-AGAIN?
TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
Yes (23%) 33% 65%
No (77%) 65% 33%

VOTE BY CHURCH ATTENDANCE
TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
More Than Weekly (14%) 39% 61%
Weekly (29%) 46% 51%
Monthly (13%) 68% 31%
A Few Times a Year (25%) 67% 30%
Never (14%) 69% 26%

VOTE BY CHURCH ATTENDANCE
TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
Weekly (44%) 44% 54%
Occasionally (38%) 67% 31%
Never (14%) 69% 26%

How did Granholm, Vanderslice's candidate, do?

VOTE BY RELIGION TOTAL Granholm DeVos
Protestant (54%) 53% 47%
Catholic (26%) 56% 43%
Jewish (1%) * *
Other (7%) 71% 28%
None (12%) 72% 24%

BORN-AGAIN OR EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN?
TOTAL Granholm DeVos
Yes (33%) 47% 53%
No (67%) 63% 35%

VOTE BY RELIGION AMONG WHITES
TOTAL Granholm DeVos
White Protestants (43%) 46% 54%
White Catholics (24%) 55% 44%
White Jewish Voters (1%) * *
Whites - Other (4%) 68% 32%
White - No Religion (9%) 68% 26%
Non-White Voters (19%) 80% 19%

WHITE EVANGELICAL/BORN-AGAIN?
TOTAL Granholm DeVos
Yes (23%) 35% 65%
No (77%) 65% 34%

VOTE BY CHURCH ATTENDANCE
TOTAL Granholm DeVos
More Than Weekly (14%) 37% 63%
Weekly (29%) 51% 48%
Monthly (13%) 64% 36%
A Few Times a Year (25%) 65% 33%
Never (14%) 72% 27%

VOTE BY CHURCH ATTENDANCE
TOTAL Granholm DeVos
Weekly (43%) 46% 53%
Occasionally (38%) 64% 34%
Never (14%) 72% 27%

Wow!!!!!!!! What a brilliant strategist that Vanderslice must be. She got ONE WHOLE POINT more for Granholm among white evangelicals!!!! A genius is born!!! Sheesh.

But wait, the story is not over. Were there any losses resulting from the Vanderslice genius for Granholm. I am afraid there were:

VOTE BY PARTY ID
TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
Democrat (40%) 94% 5%
Republican (33%) 11% 89%
Independent (27%) 57% 36% VOTE BY IDEOLOGY
TOTAL Stabenow Bouchard
Liberal (21%) 85% 13%
Moderate (47%) 64% 34%
Conservative (31%) 24% 74%

Compare to Granholm:

VOTE BY PARTY ID TOTAL Granholm DeVos
Democrat (40%) 93% 7%
Republican (33%) 13% 86%
Independent (27%) 57% 40% VOTE BY IDEOLOGY
TOTAL Granholm DeVos
Liberal (21%) 85% 14%
Moderate (47%) 66% 33%
Conservative (31%) 23% 76%

Stabenow did 3 points better among Democrats than Granholm. So maybe that one point squeezed out from white evangelicals cost Granholm 3 points from 40% of the electorate. MAYBE not good political strategy.

Let us be serious for a moment. My microanalysis is facetious. I have no idea why there are slight variations in the results of Granholm and Stabenow. But the New York Times pretends they do. The idiot Mike McCurry is quoted as saying:

The midterm elections were a “proof point” for arguments that Ms. Vanderslice had made two years before, said Mike McCurry, a Democratic consultant and former spokesman for President Bill Clinton who worked with Ms. Vanderslice on the Kerry campaign. For the Democrats, Mr. McCurry said, Ms. Vanderslice and her company “were the only ones taking systematic, methodical steps to build a religious component in the practical campaign work.”

What a load. Ms. Vanderslice had no impact and proved absolutely nothing. I hate these idiots in DC. They are just the worst.

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  • Display: Sort:
    If the Democratic Party (none / 0) (#1)
    by aw on Wed Dec 27, 2006 at 03:24:59 PM EST
    insists on catering to values voters (whose values center on sexual/reproductive issues) I'm leaving.


    Smoke and Mirrors (none / 0) (#2)
    by squeaky on Wed Dec 27, 2006 at 03:31:10 PM EST
    digby's on the case as well:


    This kind of slick talk (and it is slick) reminds me of the anti-abortion groups who also claim they are just trying to "open a dialog."......

    ....That "reasonable" woman [Mary Kay Culp, president of Kansans For Life] who appeared on NOW talking about "dialog" was the staunchest supporter of that creepy nutball [Atty. Gen. Phill ] Kline, who was uncermoniously booted from his job by the people of Kansas in November. She will say anything, as you can easily see by a simple Google search; her words are well tailored to each different audience. The woman is a political operative.

     I believe that Ms Vanderslice is doing much the same thing, although she's working within the Democratic party rather than as an outside activist:

    These guys will lie, cheat, steal, and then stab you in the back, all to bring "reasobable debate" about abortion into politics. Problem is that religion is not reasonable and neither are they

    Yeah (none / 0) (#3)
    by aw on Wed Dec 27, 2006 at 03:33:48 PM EST
    I love that "open a dialogue" crap.  It's like the snake in Jungle Book, singing "Trust in Me."

    Parent
    Culture of B.S (none / 0) (#4)
    by jondee on Wed Dec 27, 2006 at 03:59:12 PM EST
    How did abortion become such a deeply framed issue and the fate of millions of kids living in poverty and fear become one of "poor life choices" etc? Excuse me but, effing, shameless, hyopcrites explain yourselves.

    Jondee nails it (none / 0) (#5)
    by Sailor on Wed Dec 27, 2006 at 04:58:56 PM EST
    The right2lifers care about 12 cells as human but continually vote for politicians who cut welfare, head start, college loans while simultaneously expanding death row and prison pops for non-violent drug offenders.


    Parent
    sorry, the term "values voters" (none / 0) (#6)
    by cpinva on Thu Dec 28, 2006 at 05:49:19 AM EST
    is a load of meaningless crap all by itself. everyone is a "values voter", it's not the monopoly of any one group. we all vote whatever our particular "values" happen to be. anyone claiming otherwise should be burned at the political stake. probably one of those losers with a BS in poly sci.

    frankly, one of the biggest mistakes the democrats have made, in terms of voter demographics, is allowing the republicans to co-opt the term "values", as though it's some mystical incantation, that only they can hear.

    what a pile o' bunkum!