Michael Sean Winters

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Webinar today on Republican efforts to motivate Catholics; Biden is underperforming Clinton among Latino voters; Democrats for Life and common sense.

Distinctly Catholic: Why is it that poll after poll demonstrates that Catholics and other Christians who attend church more frequently are more likely to be conservative and Republican?

Distinctly Catholic: CatholicVote.org is willing to spend $9.7 million to test the proposition that Catholic voters are Trump's best chance at a second term. But the president may be in for a surprise.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Chastising news coverage of President Trump; Barr and Trump — who is using who?; Complaint alleges high amount of detainee hysterectomies.

Distinctly Catholic: Can Catholics qua Catholics become politically involved in a way that does not contribute to sectarianism? We can identify ways of witnessing to the faith in the public square that contradict the faith.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Ambivalence about democracy at National Catholic Register; Trump speaks to anxieties; extreme rumors; white women voters; another brilliant sandwich.

Distinctly Catholic: Bishops are not expected to be experts in every nook and cranny of civic life, but you have only to read a newspaper to recognize we are witnessing an unprecedented challenge to participation in political life by President Donald Trump.

Distinctly Catholic column: I have worried for five years now about the effectiveness of Trump's "fake news" mantra. Now, for the first time, I think he may have said something from which he will have a tough time escaping. 

Roundup of political news and commentary: Polling in Florida providing unexpected trends; Democrats need to get a handle on neoliberal economic failures; it's not apathy, it's antipathy; reforming police; the jibarito

Distinctly Catholic: Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro published an essay Sept. 5 examining the question: "What kind of government does Francis exercise, and how do we interpret it in the light of these seven years?"

A roundup of political news and commentary: Louis DeJoy and political contributions; fearmongering may prove effective strategy; Massimo Faggioli on the U.S. church (must read); Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro on what drives Pope Francis

Distinctly Catholic: The fables of rugged individualism that condition so much of the culture's core beliefs, combined with the dominance of neoliberal economic ideas and globalization have brought us to where we are.

Distinctly Catholic: Law and order are related to justice; Joe Biden recognizes that keeping America safe requires more than bemoaning a storefront that has been vandalized while ignoring the justified anger that led to it.

Round up of political news and commentary: Including minorities in vaccine trials; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Catholic social teaching and laissez-faire economics incompatibility; political family dynasties; fascism alert

Distinctly Catholic: Voting and Faithfulness is a helpful contribution to discussions Catholics should be having about what it means to form our consciences and what it means to be a faithful citizen.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Virtual Labor Day Mass; Arroyo interviews the RNC sister; get Biden to Kenosha; the pitfalls of lay influence; racial politics in the U.S. and the U.K.

Distinctly Catholic: Instead of articulating a consistent theme during the Republican National Convention, the party introduced more hero worship of Donald Trump than most Americans are comfortable with. The endless focus on Trump himself strikes me as a strategic blunder of the highest order. 

Distinctly Catholic: Thursday, the Republican National Convention went with "Land of Heroes," a theme I anticipated would bring sap and a shift from policy to personality — adulation of the president. I was not disappointed, but I was surprised at how imprecise the message was.

Distinctly Catholic: Praise for the president's handling of the economy was the central focus of Tuesday's theme at the Republican National Convention: "Land of Opportunity," but the schedulers could not stay on message: They mixed in videos and speeches that had nothing to do with the central economic theme.

Distinctly Catholic: The Republican National Convention's first night was a story of mixed messages, and it began with New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan offering a prayer.