What do you think are the key issues in the upcoming mid-term elections? Those who plan on voting certainly have a host of issues to choose from.
According to Mark Gray, a soon to be released Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) survey shows, “the cost of living, inflation, and unemployment” are higher priorities than “life issues” for Catholics in the upcoming mid-term elections. Since referendums on abortion are only on the ballots in four states (Nevada, Virginia, Idaho, and Missouri), it’s not surprising that for most voters life issues are not very high on their list of issues.
A National Catholic Reporter editorial, however, says Catholics should be looking at other issues. The editors of “the fishwrap,” as Fr. Z calls it, say “the cruel enforcement of immigration laws, the misguided war in Iran and the ongoing threats to democracy posed by the administration” should be key issues.
I don’t put much store in fishwrap (which has also been called the National Schismatic Reporter) reporting or editorials. This editorial is a good example of why I don’t hold the publication in very high esteem.
Illegal Immigration
We’ve all read the stories and seen the videos of how terrible ICE agents are, as well as how bad conditions are in the detention centers. I don’t doubt that some of the stories are true, but I also don’t think it is fair to say that ICE is guilty of “cruel enforcement of immigration laws.”
According to the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 580,000 deportations of illegal immigrants have taken place through mid-2026. About 196,000, or 34 percent of these were individuals with criminal convictions. So in many instances ICE agents’ own lives have been at risk when making arrests. While this does not excuse over-zealousness it does provide perspective. Law enforcement is risky.
The U.S. allows more people to enter our country legally than any other country on the planet. But because the U.S. is “the land of the free” and “the land of opportunity,” more people want to come here than our social systems, infrastructure, and economy can reasonably accommodate on a year to year basis. It’s sad but true for many who want to come to the U.S. – illegal immigration cannot go unchecked.
Both the Democrats and the Republicans are at fault for the illegal immigration mess. But both parties gleefully point fingers at each other and accuse each other of wrongdoing. Instead of pointing fingers they need to buckle down and work together to fix what’s broken.
Illegal immigration has certainly been out of control for many years. The mess needs to be rectified, and unfortunately there’s no easy-peasy way of doing so.
War with Iran
As for the “misguided war in Iran,” we will probably never know if the war was misguided or not. It is, however, certain that Iran has been chanting death to America for 47 years, and almost 250,000 innocent people have died as a result of terrorist actions – actions sponsored mainly by Iran.
As I wrote recently, “Iran wants to be a world power and it wants nuclear weapons. Iran would undoubtedly use such power to advance the Islamic Caliphate. It would likely continue to sponsor terrorist activities that kill innocent civilians as well. And negotiating with Iran has pretty much been fruitless.”
So is the war with Iran misguided? Or is it a justified action needed to stop Islamic aggression? We may never know.
Threats to Democracy
Does the current administration really pose threats to Democracy? I don’t think there are any ‘Socialist Republicans” running for office during these mid-terms (or even in existence), but there are a slew of “Socialist Democrats” trying to get elected in 2026.
According to U.S. News and World Report, “64 democratic socialist candidates ran for national office in the primaries.” Thankfully, “only 19 of them won.” I just hope none of them get elected.
Socialism is a BIG threat to democracy. It is also contrary to Catholic teaching. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “2425 The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modem times with “communism” or “socialism.”
And Democrats, socialist or not, are also in favor of allowing non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections. That is just plain crazy.
And lest we forget, the Democratic Party platform favors murdering children in the womb, homosexual ‘marriage,’ allowing men to use women’s bathrooms, open borders, and a lot of other nonsensical ideologies.
So where is the real threat to our democratic republic?
What our Bishops Say
A number of Catholic bishops have released videos or penned letters urging Catholics to pray before they vote. That’s good advice.
In addition to discerning which candidates to vote for, voters in many states are faced with ballot issues that require discernment. As mentioned, in four states abortion is on the ballot. But in other states there are also issues that require a good understanding of whether to vote yes or no.
I’ve stated in prior articles that I am an Independent as far as political party affiliation goes. While I have voted for Democrats in the past, for many years now I’ve watched the Democratic party more and more become the party of death, immorality, socialistic ideologies, and downright stupidity.
The Republican party also doesn’t get many gold stars from me. At least, however, Republican candidates are anti-abortion, don’t encourage violent demonstrations resulting in lost lives or property damage, adhere more to our Constitution than do Democrats, and support Natural Law.
As far as the economy and foreign policy go, neither party gets things right all the time. And that’s not surprising. There are just too many variables to consider. And regarding economics there are also too many contradictory economic theories floating around.
The Bottom Line
There are always going to be good people and bad people trying to get into office. Let’s face it, there are good people and bad people in all walks of life. And there may always be rich people and poor people, power hungry, greedy people, and other immoral people in the world as well.
But if all the people in the world were good Catholics, all of these problems would all go away.
As our bishops say, pray and vote your conscience in these mid-terms. But first, make sure you have a well-developed conscience. Read the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” and don’t let the devil’s lies influence your judgement.
