A while back I posted this and some of you were disappointed in my decision. I have wrestled with this decision more than I have ever wrestled with a political decision. Normally I am totally sure who I am going to vote for, normally I vote party lines. However, something happened to me between 2004 and today. Something that changed how I view politics.
My post about why I would vote for John McCain still stands. Foreign policy experience is why I would vote for him. However, last Sunday when Collin Powell announced he was endorsing Obama, things changed for me. Powell was the only voice of reason in the Bush Administration, he was the sole practitioner of “diplomacy before invasion” policies and he was completely shut out and then dismissed. I have always respected Powell, he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and he is a Four Star General, which gives him major street credentials in foreign policy.
As I sat and listened to Mr. Powell’s brief explanation of why he was voting for Obama, I realized that I had a decision to make yet again. As a Christian and a long time Republican, I have always stood for the following principles:
- small government
- reduced taxes
- limited government interference in the private sector
- limited use of “choice” i.e. - health of the mother, rape/incest
- energy independence i.e. - the use of multiple sources vs. oil/gas only
- states rights -meaning the right of each state in the union to decide on certain policy issues for themselves
- no “nation building” foreign policy exercises
The above list is what traditionally the RNC has stood for - until the Republican rise to power in 2000 and the complete hijacking of the party by the “religious right” and Karl Rove. I know, you are wondering why I would be concerned about the religious right when I proclaim to be a Christian. The answer is simple - I don’t believe those in the religious right have my beliefs in mind. I think they are fundamentalists who wish to preserve a certain way of life, not a Biblical perspective. They have hijacked the Republican party and just like any other lobbying group - became drunk on the power. Karl Rove knew that Christians have certain “hot button” issues like abortion and he completely extorted the Christian community by making us all believe that if you are a Christian you can only vote Republican because of this issue and a few others. My friends, this simply isn’t true. George W. Bush proclaims to be a evangelical Christian. He appointed two judges to the Supreme Court. He and his party had total dominance in Congress until the 2006 election. NOTHING HAS CHANGED ON THE ISSUE OF ABORTION. It is a total falsehood to think that if you elect a Republican the issue of abortion will be dealt with.
So, here I am, lost in a sea of political confusion and turmoil. I keep going back to a book a I read a few years back called Blue Like Jazz. Donald Miller is a writer I look up to for so many reasons but mostly because he challenged my worldview. When it comes to churches and government - really what would Jesus do? What would he think? Was he not most concerned about the needy, the helpless and the lost? Where are those people in today’s politics? In today’s churches? Have we as Christians been completed co-opted by the Republican party to think there is only one way to represent our God? I call shenanigans on that.
Let me be clear that I don’t believe the Democrats are any more sincere or moral than the Republicans. The truth is, politics are ugly and the people elected to higher office are mostly self-involved. They may not have started that way but the system leaves you very little choice - trust me, I’ve seen it firsthand. What now you ask? Throw up your hands and walk away? Don’t vote? Absolutely not.
This election has caused a deep and visceral reaction from America - we must be growing as a country because it appears that we are going to split at the seams. Since my vote for Bush in 2004, I have been in a confusing and awkward slow dance with politics. I love it but I am sick of my feet being stepped on. I am sick of being led in a direction that I fear is wrong. So, I am going to do what my heart has told me since the beginning of this election when I bought that t-shirt and sparked a controversy at Starbucks in Washington, D.C.
I don’t think that Obama will change the system or the world. I don’t think he will always represent me and my beliefs. I do however, think that he has the leadership qualities that this country is currently lacking and I think his ideas are worth a shot. We have had 8 years of failed policies - policies that frankly don’t even represent true republican beliefs. I am ready for change and I am ready for Obama.
