States with large Catholic constituencies such as Massachusetts, which votes on Super Tuesday on 1 March, could prove more resistant.
"Catholic politicians, and even non-Catholics with Catholic constituencies, will vote against the amendment," she said, unless they hear "that the cardinal wants them to vote for it".
Mr. Bush was determined to muffle the outcry before crucial primaries in New York, California, Illinois and other states with large Catholic constituencies.
In addition, the success of health-care reform ultimately depends on the coöperation of Democrats from districts with strong Catholic constituencies.
The second is that Mr. Bush had to try to clean up his record before facing millions of increasingly restive Catholic voters in New York and other states with big Catholic constituencies.
Carpeting the M1 – that would create jobs!" ✒My friend Alf Bates was the Labour MP for Bebington, in Wirral, Merseyside, but it is a Catholic inclined constituency, and he refused to change his views on abortion, so he was deselected.
According to Luker, "Richard Nixon – never one to pass up an opportunity – figured that by opposing abortion he could carve off Catholics", who had been a traditional Democratic constituency, for the GOP.
Gandhi said she did not think a popular movement against corruption in government had targeted her party but in Goa, in a never-before phenomenon, several powerful but notoriously corrupt Congress leaders were trounced in Catholic-dominated constituencies by the Hindu rightwing BJP party.
Once a reliably Democratic constituency, Catholics have become divided, with traditionalist Catholics making common cause with conservative evangelical Protestants on social issues like opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.
She said: "Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir.
