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I was
really irritated when I recently heard conservative talk radio host
Hugh Hewitt praise Rudy Giuliani as a "great" presidential
candidate. Hewitt, a host on L.A.'s KRLA radio station, made his
comments in an on-air conversation with a listener who called in to
ask him his opinion of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.
Hewitt responded to the question in a way that made it clear he
considers Paul little more than a barely relevant distraction in the
presidential race. Obviously annoyed by this, the caller then asked
Hewitt what he thought of Giuliani, and incredibly, the outspoken
conservative praised Giuliani - who is essentially a pro-abortion
liberal - as a "great" candidate. And this is the same Hugh Hewitt I
saw speak boldly against abortion at a fundraiser for a local crisis
pregnancy center last year. I shook my head and wondered what planet
I was on. Unfortunately, this seems to be epidemic among many
conservatives these days. Conservatives seem to be willing to
compromise their values to vote for the perceived winner or "lesser
of two evils" instead of finding and nominating a candidate who
actually has a record of supporting conservative values. No matter
what he says on the campaign trail, Giuliani's record makes it
evident that he is far from being a conservative. He was the
mayor of a big, liberal city and he has a record of supporting
abortion rights, gay marriage, gun control, and is at best
indifferent to illegal immigration. And what of his character? He
has had several marriages, one of which ended amidst allegations of
him cheating, and he has publicly dressed in drag on several
occasions to show his support for the gay community. Is this really
the candidate conservative Christians want to be their next
President? Folks, conservatives can do better than this. It
is astonishing and embarrassing that Giuliani could be leading in
the
polls and that prominent conservatives such as Hewitt could back
him. And Romney - the former governor of one of the most liberal
states in the union - isn't much better. If conservatives are
willing to throw out their principles for the sake of "electability",
then they don't really have any principles. When one votes for a
candidate, he is endorsing the values of that candidate - and
I for one cannot endorse the "values" of left-leaning candidates
like Giuliani and Romney. If you don't believe that Giuliani is
really a liberal, see what Dr. James Dobson
wrote about him. Romney is a slightly better candidate,
but Joseph Farah
points out that his conservative credentials are suspect as
well.
When deciding which presidential candidate you vote for in 2008,
please consider a few things. First, does the candidate's record
prove that he supports your values? If not, how in good conscience
can you vote for him? He is your representative, and by voting for
him you are saying that he largely shares your values. I believe
that Christian conservatives have a deep responsibility to vote for
a candidate that supports and upholds God's laws. How could God
possibly be pleased and glorified when we knowingly cast our vote
for a candidate that will intentionally undermine God's standards of
morality? Founder Noah Webster addressed this issue:
When you become entitled to exercise
the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on
your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who
will rule in the fear of God. The preservation of a republican
government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the
citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office,
the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for
the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt
or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the
public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights
of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican
government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it
must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands and elect
bad men to make and administer the laws.
1
It is extremely important to vote for
representatives with true character, as Webster explains:
When a citizen gives his suffrage
[his vote] to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust [civic
responsibility]; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that
of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country.
2
Did you catch that? Your vote impacts
your neighbor and the welfare of the nation as a whole. How could it
not be considered an act of Christian love to not only vote, but
vote to defeat bad candidates and elect good candidates? God is
glorified when His people are responsible citizens and vote for good
leaders. His command to the nation of Israel regarding this is just
as relevant to modern America:
Furthermore, you shall select out of
all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate
dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them, as leaders of
thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- Exodus 18:21 (NASB)
If you have ever grumbled about the
corruption in Washington, know that you get what you vote for. Our
government will remain corrupt for as long as citizens are willing
to tolerate corruption.
Second, is the candidate
a person of good character? During the Monica Lewinsky scandal,
liberals tried to assert that President Bill Clinton's private life
was irrelevant to his public duties. More recently, Los Angeles
mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attempted to make a similar argument when
it was revealed that he was having an affair with
Telemundo newswoman Mirthala Salinas. "I don't believe that the
details of my personal life are relevant to my job as mayor",
Villaraigosa said. 3
The truth is that a person's private character does matter to
their public life. If a man is dishonest in his private life, how
can he possibly be expected to be honest in his public life? Founder
Samuel Adams explains it well:
He who is void of virtuous
attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all
regard of his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty
of betraying his country who had not before lost the feeling of
moral obligations in his private connections . . .[P]rivate and
public vices are in reality . . . connected . . . Nothing is more
essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all
persons employed in places of power and trust be men of
unexceptional characters. The public cannot be too curious
concerning the characters of public men.
4
I believe that citizens should
never tolerate anything but the highest standards of conduct
from our public officials. This is why I think Idaho Senator Larry
Craig needs to resign. Regardless of whether or not he committed an
actual crime in the recent Minneapolis-St. Paul airport bathroom
incident, his actions are indicative of a lack of character and
discretion. I don't think citizens should tolerate such conduct from
a U.S. Senator. The man has embarrassed his state and his nation
with his conduct.
Finally, what are the
practical consequences for issues dear to Christians if we elect a
President who has little true regard for Christian values? Our next
President will likely nominate at least one or two new Supreme Court
justices. If the President lacks deep conservative and
constitutionalist convictions, how can he be trusted to nominate
justices that will uphold the Constitution and the traditional
values it espouses? Whether we like it or not, many of the issues
important to Christians, such as abortion and gay marriage, are
being decided in the courts. A Supreme Court justice can have an
impact that can last for decades, therefore conservatives must not
jeopardize their influence on these issues by electing a
left-leaning President that will nominate left-leaning activist
judges.
I really hope that this
election will be a turning point for conservatism in America. The
low approval
ratings for the President and the loss of Congress in 2006 are
indicative of a deep dissatisfaction among conservatives for the
state of the Republican Party. I think there is a lot of
justification for that dissatisfaction, and I hope that
conservatives will not make the mistake of compromising their values
just to defeat a Democrat in 2008. If we are striving merely to
defeat a Democrat and succeed in doing so, we likely will get
something very similar to a Democrat such as a Romney or a Giuliani.
How would that be good for the issues that Christians care about?
Conservative Christians, I cannot emphasize this enough: vote
your values in 2008. Let's finally elect a President we can
trust to carry the conservative banner for years to come.
-M. Roberts |
