Catholics Need Not Apply. Anti-Catholic bigotry in the Democratic Party is back in vogue. Once upon a time, anti-Catholic bigotry once ran rampant in the Democratic Party. It was a staple of the Ku Klux Klan which in turn was used by the Democratic Party, per historians,  as the party’s “terrorist arm” and “military force.” When Catholic New York Governor Al Smith ran for president in 1924 and 1928, he was rabidly attacked by many in his own Democratic Party. Smith’s run in 1924 was lost at the Democratic Convention, but he won the presidential nomination in 1928 (eventually losing