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My voting habits have changed...

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by Jack Matthews, Sep 8, 2006.

  1. Jack Matthews

    Jack Matthews New Member

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    I don't consider it an excuse. Most anti-abortion candidates have proven to be liars. The fact of the matter is that Roe V. Wade made abortion a constitutional right, and only the Supreme Court can overturn it. If it isn't something that a politician can actually do something about if he or she gets elected, then it is patently dishonest for them to claim to be on one side or another to get votes.

    If the conservative, evangelical Christian political movement is really interested in ending abortion, or at least in reducing the numbers, then it needs to get its rear end out there, put its money where its mouth is, and instead of campaigning for candidates who can't do anything about it, it needs to start ministering to the young girls who get themselves pregnant and see abortion as a quick method of birth control. Why not put some money and effort into rescuing girls from the situations they have found themselves in, offer a safe place to provide pre-natal care and let her choose whether to keep her baby or put it up for adoption? I wonder how many babies could be saved in a year if a fourth of the politically active evangelicals would invest in some kind of ministry like that?
     
  2. Jack Matthews

    Jack Matthews New Member

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    Frankly, if I think a candidate has a better position on the economy, national security, foreign policy or the tax code, I'll vote for them regardless of their view on abortion or same sex marriage. Those issues are way down on my list of priorities as a voter. They are things that would be better handled by the church instead of the government.
     
  3. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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    I've heard it many times before, Jack.

    It's the same as saying it's OK to ignore things like God's word and your own Christian values when you vote for a candidate.

    You have to ask yourself if it's so easy when I vote, why not at other times?

    I'd rather not have that inner conflict in my life. I'd have a hard time explaining it to the MAN upstairs. He won't accept rationalizations very well, I'd say.
     
  4. LadyEagle

    LadyEagle <b>Moderator</b> <img src =/israel.gif>

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    The person who says they will give the UN the boot out of the USA will win the presidency, be he/she Republican or Democrat. No one is willing to do that, though. Today I heard that we fund 22% of their budget and we are supposed to fund millions of dollars for refurbishing, yet the majority of the UN is against the USA and is corrupt to the core.

    http://www.getusout.org

    At any rate, I've about decided there are no longer any PATRIOTS either in office or running for office. Slowly becoming more cynical, my hopes for patriotic leaders were dashed completely to crumbs since September 12, 2001 when our borders weren't closed until we found out who was in our country and why. Five years later, we still haven't.
     
  5. StefanM

    StefanM Well-Known Member
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    What if you cannot support any candidate in good conscience? Do you just go in and write in a random person you know will never have a chance?
     
  6. Jack Matthews

    Jack Matthews New Member

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    Absolutely not. The Bible does not tell me anywhere to put my trust in the political system to solve the spiritual problems of man. In fact, it says just the opposite. Abortion and same-sex marriage are but two of a plethora of moral values issues, and it is rare to find a candidate who comes down on the Christian, moral side of every issue. Who is to say that abortion is worse than gambling, or allowing the state to usurp the judgement and power of God by performing executions, or slaughtering innocents in a war?
     
  7. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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    More of the same, Jack.

    I understand why it's difficult to maintain Biblical principles when you vote.

    You don't have to explain it to anyone on this earth, least of all me.
     
  8. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    A government without God is a government against God.
     
  9. The Galatian

    The Galatian New Member

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    As the Founders said, a government that incorporates God, is a government against God.
     
  10. Baptist in Richmond

    Baptist in Richmond Active Member

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    Greetings Jack Matthews!

    Bear in mind that the Republican Party OWNS the "Religious Right." Many of the people who identify themselves as the "Religious Right" will support the GOP regardless of what they do. We have seen this in more than one election. It is truly sad.

    I too not only voted Republican, but I actively supported and partcipated in political campaigns. Though it may not be obvious, I am a little disillusioned with the GOP, and cannot support them.

    I may join you in that third party.....

    Regards,
    BiR
     
  11. LadyEagle

    LadyEagle <b>Moderator</b> <img src =/israel.gif>

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    Greetings, BIR. I hope you and yours are doing well.:flower:

    Now, you have certainly proved my point about the Republican Party. You, who will proudly state that you are a liberal and have voted Republican, have proven my point that the Republican Party is liberal.

    I will probably join you in the third party vote (especially if I decide to vote in 2008). Could it be that a third party will have the majority of what we are looking for in a candidate?

    My vote for Michael Peroutka in 2004 (Constitution Party) was a protest vote against Republicans. When they say we are throwing our votes away, it just ain't so. I knew that TN electoral votes would go Republican, so it wasn't a wasted vote. Their candidate won, as was so easily predictable. In TN, there is no love lost on Algore. (Though he was a pretty good senator back when...)
     
  12. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    Enough for Governor Busybody to support the idea.
     
  13. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    There is still Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. :thumbs:
     
  14. LeBuick

    LeBuick New Member

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    Here is the way I see it, third party has not won the white house in a lot of years. Unless they have a candidate that really has a chance, there are really only two candidates in the race. It would be different if the vote split 33% each but look at the Bush/Gore election. it was 46%, 46% and the rest was 3rd party. So in my view 3rd party votes were wasted because it went to a person that did not have a chance to win.

    I sometimes don't vote for a candidate, I vote against their opponent (lesser of two evils).

    I'll explain, look at the above. If you voted 3rd party it was either the same as not voting (because you were part of 8%), or voting for the winner. The only way to have voted against the winner is to vote for someone with a chance of beating him, in this case Gore. If the person you vote for doesn't have a chance of winning, then you might as well vote for the winner because you sure didn't vote against him.

    I can't remember which election it was, but rumor was one party paid a man to run 3rd party just to split the opposing votes. They even told him the latform to run on because by splitting the opposing vote it assured their party would win. That is the true deception of polotics.

    Clear as mud?
     
  15. StefanM

    StefanM Well-Known Member
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    LeBuick...

    There is no way to tell who the winner will be. You can't say you might as well just vote for the winner because the winner is determined in part by your vote. You're putting the cart before the horse.

    If I cannot feel comfortable voting for either of the two candidates (including the "lesser of two evils"), I will not vote for either. If that means I'm wasting my vote, so be it. I will not vote for someone I do not want in office who has a realistic chance of winning. The only way I would vote for another candidate I didn't necessarily want in office is if I knew they had no chance of winning. I would do this only because I couldn't support one of the main two. Even then, I might write in someone.
     
  16. Timsings

    Timsings Member
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    In the interest of clarification, there are no term limits in the U. S. Senate or House of Representatives. Bill Frist announced in his first term that he would serve no more than two terms in the Senate.

    I am not overly thrilled with either Corker or Harold Ford, Jr. Corker is too hemmed in by the Republican stereotypes, and Ford has too little experience outside of Washington. He speaks well, but he has never held a real job.

    Tim Reynolds
     
  17. Timsings

    Timsings Member
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    We had a local election in Nashville several years ago where this kind of tactic was alleged against the winner.

    Tim Reynolds
     
  18. Jack Matthews

    Jack Matthews New Member

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    That's only your human opinion of maintaining Biblical principles when you vote. Actually, I don't see you prooftexting any scripture to back up your point. You can continue to think that single issue voting is related to maintaining Biblical principles if it makes you feel better, but if you've cast your ballot for the GOP, thinking that covered everything Biblically for you, you've been terribly deceived.

    It is nice to see a lot of Christians waking up out of their slumber and realizing that most politicians who claim to be anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage are deceivers and liars. Thank goodness they are waking up. I guess the kool-aide wasn't spiked after all.
     
  19. FriendofSpurgeon

    FriendofSpurgeon Well-Known Member
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    Good reply Jack. Many in the GOP use their claims of anti-abortion and anti-gay to keep the religious right in check, with absolutely no plans to actively legislate anything.

    There are a lot of important national issues -- national security, the war on terror, immigration, the economy etc. Personally, I don't see gay marriage at the top of the list.
     
  20. FriendofSpurgeon

    FriendofSpurgeon Well-Known Member
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    My voting habits have changed --

    Vote early. Vote often.
     
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