How To Vote

Sometimes I get accused of being too partisan by some of my friends whose political ideology is far from my own. I admit, looking at my voting record may leave people with the thought that I am as committed a Republican as could be. My votes, however, are not simply a matter of party loyalty. Had I been alive in the early 1800s or the late 1800s, it is very possible my votes would have been overwhelmingly Democratic. I have voted for Democrats at times in my life (the gasp you just heard are my conservative friends who cannot believe that such a thing could have happened). Let me share two principles that drive my voting preferences.

I am an American Christian. The noun in that descriptor is "Christian." This is my first loyalty. I will vote for candidates who I believe will most likely promote values and morals through the crafting of policies that are compatible with Christian teaching. Thus, I am not in favor of those whose "law and order" campaigns simply create mandatory sentencing and offer no opportunity for either common sense or consideration of special circumstances to judges and juries. Neither do I favor candidates that promote greater governmental dependency through welfare type programs that discourage people from working at lower paying jobs because the aid they receive would be a better paycheck. The Bible says that those who will not work should not be fed by those who do. Work is part of what humans were created to do. To diminish or discourage work is to diminish humanity. I value human life, therefore I vote for candidates more likely to limit or end abortion, and in protecting innocent life favor capital punishment for those who murder.

Now it is possible that there could be a Christian running for office against a non-Christian, and the Christian's politics may not be, in my view consistent with biblical standards, ethics, morals, or economics. If the non-Christian is closely aligned with those principles, I will vote for the non-Christian, since I am choosing one who will shape society, not who I like or feel closer to.

May I also say, some issues must then trump others. If my choice is between a prolife and a proabortion candidate for the State Legislature (where abortion laws can be effective), and the proabortion candidate happens to belong to a more conservative party and lower my taxes, while the prolifer is the opposite, I would vote, in almost every case for the prolife candidate. My taxes will go up or down (usually up, right?), but sanctity of life is an eternal question.

Finally here, character does count. I want to vote for candidates who have integrity, honesty, and loyalty. Current conditions at every level of politics show me that this is sometimes hard to find or determine. Don't be fooled by rhetoric, or sadly, someone claiming to be a Christian. "You will know them by their fruits" is a good piece of advice in politics as well as the weightier issues of salvation.

I am a political pragmatist. "What works" is not a good measure of morality. However, it is the reality of politics. No politician and no government will ever be perfect. In our system, we will never get 100% of what we want. Some would say, "stick to your absolute position, no matter what." In some cases, that may be possible. However, it may be better to compromise to get half of what you want rather than refuse and get nothing. For example. Some abortion opponents refuse to accept any legislation other than a ban. I would say that if we could pass a law in the U.S. banning all third trimester abortions, but allowing them in the first two trimesters, we should do it. Then, when that is in place, you can work on the second trimester, and then the first--we may not get them all, but wouldn't saving some babies be better than saving none while we stayed true to our belief in a total ban?

Similarly, some have said that they would never vote for a pro-choice candidate (read "Giuliani" this year), but would vote third party in a Presidential election instead. I cannot agree that this would be wise or good. First, no third party candidacy ever has won the Presidency, so you are choosing to lose. Second, a third party candidate winning 10% or more of the vote would give the election to one of the other two candidates, and in this particular season, that would mean a candidate much more likely to choose judges who would uphold abortion rights and strike down any attempts to limit it. So, the people who are protesting would then be accomplishing the very worst thing for their cause. Similarly, if "peace" advocates were to decide that their major party candidate (read "Hillary" this year) was not strong enough on immediate withdrawal from Iraq and all voted for the Green Party candidate, the net effect would be to guarantee a victory for the other side.

Applying these principles does not guarantee we will all vote alike. But it will mean we will all have voted purposely and honorably before God and our fellow citizens.

There is more I could say, but I'll stop there.