Two early Catholic presences on the web were blogger Mark Shea and John Zmirak. Both come from working class backgrounds and have a bit of a chip on their shoulder regarding elites. However, Zmirak ended up fiercely on the Right and Shea fiercely on the Left. Ironically they agreed on at least one thing: the folly of the Iraq War.
The Iraq War seems to be the precipitating cause for Shea's turn from disdain for country club Republicans to red-hot hatred for all Republicans. You can see his blog turn back around 2004.
The war began in March 2003. "On November 1, 2003, the Associated Press presented a special report on the massive human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib. The scandal came to widespread public attention in April 2004, when a 60 Minutes II news report was aired on April 28 by CBS News, describing the abuse, including pictures showing military personnel taunting naked prisoners. "
Shea called himself an "old yellow dog Catholic labor Democrat" but later said he was an Independent. From his blog:
May 31, 2003 — "When history is written, years from now, this war will be the one major black mark on the Bush presidency.... Are we prepared to be bogged down in Iraq, for years to come, fighting a religious war? History will not judge this whole adventure very kindly."
Jun 30, 2003 — "Hear anybody beyond a few zealots who are even aware of the Dem schemes to keep Bush nominees out and apply anti-Catholic litmus tests? ... The Liberals champion abortion (very, very, Me) and the Great Society (strongly We.) Republicans idolize both the rugged individual AND the ..."
Aug 29, 2003 — "He says we won't be in Iraq for 50 years. We'll be there for about 5, with endless stuff like this going on, until enough American troops die ... Bush's simple piety is not rocket science ("WWJD?") but sincere. When he expresses it, he earns brickbats as a one-dimensional think who . ... ...Were we to confine our diet to creatures that lacked sense and do not even respond to light, we could only eat liturgists and liberal Democrats."
Oct 31, 2003 — "Speaking of which, here's a nervous Chattering Class Take on Bush's Evangelical Faith. It's always difficult to read stuff like this..."
Nov 26, 2003 — "It's almost credible as an effusion of leftist hysteria, full of all the normal 'conservatives are nazis/destroy Rush Limbaugh blah blah--until ... Bush for solar flares. Then you start sensing that you've been had. A fun read if you enjoy parodies of looney leftist rhetoric."
Jan 30, 2004 — "Support for Bush must be total and unequivocal. Anything less makes you a Yellow Dog Democrat. And they say conservatives are not ideologues."
Jun 1, 2004 — [Republicans] are every bit as much ideologically driven dissenters regarding Church teaching as the most pro-abort Democrat. "