Talk By Michael Sean Winters

Michael Sean Winters, author of “Left At the Altar: How the Democrats Lost the Catholics and How the Catholics Can Save the Democrats,” will be speaking at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington DC this Tuesday. The talk, including a book signing, will take place in the North Conference Room (enter through the garage) at 7pm on Tuesday, July 1. I know nothing about the book, but it–and the talk– promise to be fascinating. Winters blogs over at America magazine. See this entry on his book, and the related Washington Post story. If you are in the area, come on by! And say hello to me!!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 12:17 am and is filed under Morning's Minion, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

12 Responses to “Talk By Michael Sean Winters”

  1. SB Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 9:04 am

    A noble but probably doomed effort. As Scott Lemieux points out w/r/t to the identical argument from Jim Wallis:

    Wallis expects us to believe that there is a substantial bloc of voters who 1) care enough about abortion to vote against Democrats they would otherwise support because of abortion, and 2) will switch back despite no change in the party’s substantive positions if Democratic rhetoric just becomes even more mealy-mouthed when defending reproductive freedom. Since this is implausible in the extreme, and I’ve never seen the slightest bit of evidence to support it, I see little reason to take this seriously.

    In addition, even if this mythical group of single-issue-anti-abortion-voters-who-don’t-care-about-abortion-policy existed, there are potential strategic (as well as normative) costs to Wallis’ strategy. Shouldn’t we consider the many voters who have had abortions and don’t appreciate people like Wallis implying that they did something grossly immoral?

    Now if you got more Democrats to actually oppose abortion in any meaningful sense (beyond empty platitudes), that would be a different thing.

  2. Christopher Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 9:44 am

    This would be the same Michael Sean Winters that won the coveted Father Richard McBrien Prize in Really Inept Vaticanology, yes?

  3. Mark DeFrancisis Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 9:58 am

    With enemies like George Weigel, who needs friends…

  4. Morning's Minion Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 10:09 am

    LOL! Christopher– do you expect to be taken seriously when linking to the pro-torture National Review and to an article written by pro-war George Weisel, the man who claimed that George Bush was endowed with the “charism of political discernment”? I know nothing about Winters– but the fact that he is being attacked by Weigel speaks well of him, in my view.

  5. Morning's Minion Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 10:46 am

    SB: if you are in DC, why don’t you just come to the event and make these points?

  6. CrankyCon Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 10:55 am

    I’ve met Michael, and he is a really nice guy, so it’s tough to criticize him -no offense to MM, who also is a nice guy but for some reason easier to criticize :) – but I think Weigel was basically on the mark. Michael really constructed some poor straw men arguments there, describing a conservative Catholic unease with Pope Benedict where none really exists except in extreme circles. That said, I would be interested in taking a look at this book, though I don’t think I will be able to make it to the book signing tomorrow.

  7. Henry Karlson Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 11:22 am

    I’ve not met Michael, though I am sure many of my friends in Church History know him.

    I might go, I am not sure yet.

  8. Morning's Minion Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 12:23 pm

    No offense taken, Cranky!!

  9. Christopher Says:
    June 30, 2008 at 10:18 pm

    MM,

    See How the Right has Disappointed Michael Sean Winters for why I have trouble taking the man seriously, particularly his claim that:

    “According to one American present during a spring 2004 Vatican meeting with U.S. bishops, then-Cardinal Ratzinger laughed when he heard of denying politicians communion based on their political views. After all, popes have, over the years, given communion to Communist mayors, gay legislators, and countless pro-choice politicians.

    I’d say the Pope takes the public scandal of “pro choice [Catholic] politicians” far more seriously than Michael Sean Winters believes.

  10. Morning's Minion Says:
    July 1, 2008 at 10:51 am

    I think the pope takes morality seriously, but I also think he would disgusted by the likes of Deal Hudson sending in undercover photographers to papal Masses to see who and who is not receiving communion.

  11. Kurt Says:
    July 3, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    I’d say the Pope takes the public scandal of “pro choice [Catholic] politicians” far more seriously than Michael Sean Winters believes.

    Yet he continues to give them communion.

  12. ron chandonia Says:
    July 3, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    OK, MM, I am a card-carrying member of the Democrats for Life of America, and I am intrigued by the title of this new book. But I see not a single indication in the cheerleading for this Wesley Clark speechwriter as to what his position might be on “How the Catholics Can Save the Democrats.” Is it just (as I suspect) by voting for them more often?

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