Michael Sean Winters

Twice-weekly roundup of political news and commentary: Crisis reloaded; former party of Lincoln may yet change again; predicting Luzerne County's votes; hear from a former letter carrier on the USPS; schools during pandemic, then and now

Distinctly Catholic: In trying to figure out what to expect from this week's Republican National Convention, remember that the entire thing will be dictated by Donald Trump. In that sense, all bets are off.

Distinctly Catholic: At a time when the incompetence of the White House is obvious, the Democrats at least showed they could mount an entirely different kind of convention and make it work.

Distinctly Catholic: Giffords, Clinton, Pelosi, Warren, Harris — on Wednesday's DNC program, women demonstrated their expertise on gun rights and immigration, on health care and foreign policy.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Creating something better; Napa's early draft of RNC; what it means to be pro-life; ad targets Trump's mishandling of pandemic; congrats to St. Louis.

Distinctly Catholic: In speech after speech, the Democrats' three core totems this week have been racial justice, beating the pandemic and rebuilding the economy. Left out: any focus on abortion.

Distinctly Catholic: On the first night of the first virtual national party convention, there was no drama, but there were a lot of cameos from regular people, as well as speeches from headliners representing various wings — Sen. Bernie Sanders, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican.

Twice-weekly roundup of political news and commentary: Taking down Trump and Bezos — and cancel culture; Catholic tradition rich with anti-racism resources; UAE and Israel; climate change, Greenland's ice and Barack Obama; Harris on religion

Distinctly Catholic: Biden and his campaign team need to decide if they are simply aiming to get to 270 electoral votes, or if they're going for a big win — a mandate to really "heal the soul of the nation."

Distinctly Catholic: I make no apologies for Biden's untenable position on abortion, but the reduction of the Catholic faith to this one issue has been a pastoral as well as a political dead-end, a distortion of Catholic moral teaching that must stop.

A twice-weekly roundup of political news and commentary: Deep dive into swing states' power; Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA has a big job now; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on looters; Melissa Rogers has firsthand knowledge of Joe Biden's faith

Distinctly Catholic: Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris is not a deal-breaker for progressives, and having a Black woman on the ticket means race will be at the center of this autumn's election.

Distinctly Catholic: The excommunicated Sacramento priest's misconduct is all of a piece, and that piece is all related to the anti-Francis craziness that has taken hold among some on the Catholic right.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Cardinal Burke on Fox News; hyping hydroxychloroquine in Brooklyn; Beirut hearkens back to Halifax; day of prayer and fasting for workers.

Distinctly Catholic: It seems that every time someone crosses the pro-life Catholic brigade, you get an over-the-top, profoundly hateful reaction; I suspect it doesn't help the pro-life cause one little bit. Now, a new report from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame confirms that suspicion.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Don't forget Puerto Rico in next stimulus bill; rebuild the labor movement; administration's failed response to coronavirus; dogs don't vote in elections

Distinctly Catholic: I hope Republicans will think about the consequences for public health if cities have to start laying off workers. Want to make a pandemic worse? Cut back on garbage collection, cut resources for hospitals, make it harder for schools to reopen safely.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Supreme Court decides limit of parishioners during Mass; Biden's Catholic faith; Latino voters and abortion; a Democratic tsunami in November?

Distinctly Catholic: Next month will be the second anniversary of the infamous "testimony" of former nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. Now, at long last, most conservatives have come to view him as a liability.

Distinctly Catholic: Candidates are focusing more on their own records and not so much on their ties with the White House. A survey of 37,000 ads run by the five most endangered Republican senators showed that only 5% contained a pro-Trump message.