Sunday, December 2, 2012

Being a Democrat is the Christian Thing To Do




Nearly every evangelical Christian I meet identifies with the Republican Party. I believe that most Christian Republicans are being led into a political party by red herrings such as gay rights and abortion. I want to explain here why I believe the way I do about politics and religion. This topic will continue over the next week as it is far too dense to be covered in one blog entry.

I know that many readers will want to argue with my reasons, but I do ask that you read this with an open mind.


Abortion – the hot topic. I think this is largely the determining factor that many marginally-informed voters choose their political party. The Republican Party is anti-abortion (generally), and I am anti-abortion. Therefore, I must be a Republican.

Consider the facts, though. Abortion became constitutionally legal in the Spring of 1973. I was at that moment, an embryo. My mother could have, legally, aborted me. Clearly, I was not in a position at that historic moment to prevent the law. I had nothing to do with it and nothing I can do, say, or believe will ever change this law. Electing a Republican to power will never make abortion illegal.

Also, the fact that I believe abortion is wrong – and, I do – does not give me the right to legislate what others do. That is sad. And, in theory, we should fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. But it is a fight in vain. There is nothing that will change this sad fact.

Do you want a government that decides what is morally right and wrong? What about religious freedom? What if we elect a Mormon president who decides to make alcohol and coffee illegal? This country was founded on religious liberty.

Gay rights – another hot topic. The Bible says that the gay sex act is a sin. Republicans (in general) are anti-gay rights. So, I must be a Republican. This goes back to separation of church and state.

Your personal religious beliefs cannot legislate what others do. God gave us freedom to choose right or wrong.

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
                                                                                           1 Corinthians 10:23

Allowing gay couples to marry does not mean that you have to accept this as a morally correct life choice. If you don’t believe in gay marriage, you are free to not marry someone the same gender as yourself. It doesn’t have to affect you at all. In fact, there are many good things that can come from legalizing gay marriage. One thing is that it creates a path of monogamy for a group that has, historically, been seen as promiscuous. It also creates good will in the gay community toward the Christian community, thus allowing evangelism and outreach into a previously unreachable people.

Gun control is another hot topic between Republicans and Democrats.  I am personally against handguns for the general population. The second amendment of the United States Constitution reads:

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

I believe this covers the militia: the police and military, not the everyday citizen. I do not believe the average, fallible human is fit to carry a handgun. It’s just too easy for someone to lose his/her temper and shoot. I do believe citizens should be allowed to purchase hunting rifles.

Despite my dislike of handguns, I realize that (like abortion) there is nothing I can do, say, or believe that will change the fact that handguns are in the hands of the general population - both law-abiding and criminal.

Immigration - when times are tough – as they currently are – folks look for someone to blame. And it’s easy to see the unprecedented growth of Hispanics in all areas of the country. When I was growing up, there were almost no Hispanic people in and around Oregon City. The population has exploded and many white Americans assume that these folks are illegal.


I don’t know what the statistics are, but it’s true that many Hispanic people enter our country illegally and attempt to survive here in the United States. I have worked with many of these folks – I spent a year teaching English to adults – and have come to know many of their stories. The illegal adults I have gotten to know, do not live well here in America. They share homes with other families and work for less than minimum wage. Many have children and spouses back in Mexico. Most send money home to help their relatives.

If the reality of these people does not affect you, then consider the decision they had to make. If you had a family and children you couldn’t feed, would you go to any lengths to change that situation?

Another key point to be made is that Hispanic people are a mixed race of Native American and Spanish. Therefore, their ancestors are Native to this continent. They have more “rights” to this land than any of us legal citizens, in my opinion.

Redistribution of wealth – this is a Republican term, but I will briefly address it here. Democrats do not seek to make all people equal financially. That is against the ideals of a capitalist country. Democrats do want to help those who cannot help themselves – the widows and orphans, women and children who have been abandoned by their providers. Those who, due to disability, cannot work.

Democrats – Bill Clinton specifically – are responsible for creating laws which have made college education attainable for any United States citizen (note: illegal immigrants are not included in these liberties).


Is it a Christian attitude to proclaim survival of the fittest? To whine about paying taxes which help the less fortunate? I don’t think any intelligent person can say that Republican financial policies and platforms lie within the Christian ideals of charity and love.



Well, this is just a start of the reasons I am a Democrat. I will continue to address this issue on Wednesday. In the meantime, I welcome your input on this subject.

54 comments:

  1. I have only applause. These are my feelings to a Tee. I was, for years, a right-wing, Bible thumping, Conservative. I spent years making money and complaining. I spent years looking at folks less fortunate and judging them...saying things like; "get a job", "take some meds for that", etc.
    I had the opportunity to talk with some folks that weren't as well off as I was and after much prayer, decided that I wasn't a Republican, after all. I know in my heart that what I'm doing and being are right... right for me.
    I wish I could better convey my thoughts as this would make sense to some who read this.
    I am a Compassionate Christian.

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  2. From a British perspective I have always found it very odd that Christianity is so widely identified with the political right in the USA.

    In my country the Christian Socialist Movement is the only overtly political Christian organisation. Two of our three 21st Century Prime Ministers have been members of it(Current PM is a Conservative - he is not known to be religious).

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  3. To be a Christian is to be a monarchist where Christ is King and we are not driven by the ebbs and flows of political repartee. Pray for your leaders, obey the law to the extent that it does not conflict with the Word of God, but GOD is your Lord and King, not Barack Obama, or whomever happens to be the president at the time. This false dichotomy of Dems vs Reps is how the US is being divided and conquered.

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  4. Made me feel good and thoughtful on things you have pointed out quite clearly. Now I have some chosen thoughts from you to use telling those people that have come across me with their "Hate" in our arguments.. ~This is between with friends~ about things when I have no other say. So, its to only accept what has been said or told to me. Thank you for the words to share and probably help in these people to understand a bit more.

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  5. I came to the same conclusion a few years ago. I didn't care about or even want to understand politics for the majority of my life. When I started to pay attention I couldn't deny being a democrat any longer. There are things about the demos that are hard to stomache but the republicans only represent the love of money, IMO. Other than touting their own charitable giving, they don't want to contribute to the public good. Not to say that there are not many good republicans that do good to others as an individual, but democrats for the most part, don't have the means as an individual , so we do collective good. If that makes any sense. The republican willingness to shut down programs that do good for less fortunate individuals was the final nail in the coffin for my republican aspirations.

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  6. You have to ask yourself " which qualities of a party can I identify with"? If you care at all,( and you really don't have to to function), that's the biggest red herring of all. The biggest thing is what do you want from the government. Conservatives want them out of their way so that they can do as they please. But they also want it to legislate your morality, sounds pretty conflicting to me. Government should stay out of religion and the bed room IMO. How much business" job creating" doesn't get done in congress because they're wasting time legislating behaviors that are beyond their control. The misunderstanding that America is a Christian nation is the root of the problem. America is full of Christians, but constitutionally it's pro individual liberty to be a heathen, or a saint. Freedom doesn't mean that you only have the freedom to act just like me, and enjoy only the set of morals that I do. Once I wrapped my head around that I had an easier time identifying as a democrat.

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  7. I pretty much agree with your political and religious views as expressed here. However, with respect to abortion and gun control, the interpretations of the constitutional principles affecting them are influenced by the Supreme Court. The President nominates people to fill vacancies on the Court, and the judicial philosophies of the justices matter, as we see in the number of 5-4 decisions in some important cases. Before Roe v. Wade, abortion was criminal in every state. Overnight it became a constitutionally protected privacy right. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment extends to private individuals, not just well regulated militias. Supreme Court justices serve lifetime appointments, and unlike other judges, there is no mandatory retirement and no judicial commission to oversee their ethics. So whom is appointed to the Court has a very important and long-lasting affect on our laws. That is also why, as a morally conservative Christian who is politically liberal, I want to see Democrats choose the next few justices.

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  8. Personally I am nonpartison and tend to only vote on issues that are definitely defined as moral issues. A Christian who has an opportunity to cast a vote and support the causes of Christ ought to. An example is the recently popular gay marriage laws that have appeared on ballots. These are no-brainers for Christians. Jesus said, "if you love me, keep my commands" and also not to teach others to break them. You can not support such things and be for Christ.

    As for candidates, we are commanded to "lay hands suddenly (which means to endorse) on no man." We are sojourners on this earth according to Christ and need to consider that our citizenship is in a greater kingdom.

    Historically though the COTFB/FOC groups have refused to meddle in politics, at least in points where the sword is used by the state.

    Darren

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  9. I think it is ridiculous to say that abortion is the deciding factor to most peoples political affiliation. The truth is that people vote mostly with there wallets.

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    1. You are correct when it comes to middle class and wealthy voters. I believe that "marginally-informed" voters are commonly swayed by moral pulls. The vast majority of poor people I know consider themselves Republicans.

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    2. "Most people" is probably incorrect. But I cannot begin to list how many people I know on the right who will never vote for a pro-choice candidate, and how many I know on the left who will never vote for an anti-choice candidate. For a lot of people, the question of unborn rights/female bodily autonomy is important enough to defend above all others.

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    3. Why does this always come up as an issue in politics anyway. It's the law, they only do it to stir up their base. Shouldn't we be demanding that our politicians be addressing more relevent issues like hunger, and lack of medical care for anyone? I don't consider myself a socialist, by some things should be socialized. Medical care is number one. Military, police, and fire departments should take a back seat to medical. What good is a popo to show up at a shooting scene, call an ambulance, then haul you to a doctor where you don't have any way on this earth to pay the bill for them doing their job. Republicans love talking about "the magic of the free marketplace", in the free market , where things cost what they're worth, no one can afford to see a physician. Lets do away with insurance all together, then we will have to pay doctors what they're worth. If no one can afford to see you for your services, ever, then you might lower your price to a level of sanity.

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  10. Your right about the wallet voting comment. People do, the abortion thing is what the right uses to turn voters their direction. Give them credit for not promising to change it, they know that they never will, but they "support" whatever will get them votes. It's used as a "wedge issue" to contrast themselves with democrats.

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  11. So you don't think either Republicans or Democrats should impose the existing laws on murder? Murder is a moral issue. There are laws enforcing that moral issue. Therefore Democrats and Republicans alike are legislating morality.

    The issue with abortion has never been legislating morality (which is already a done deal - see existing murder laws), or just legislating what others do. If you're going to go with that argument, then you need to go all the way and argue against speeding laws, laws prohibiting theft, and all manner of wrong doing. The fact is Suzi, you aren't really against legislation that tells others what to do, none of us are. Because the second they tried to do it to us or one of our children, we'd be like, "You *cannot* treat me that way, I'm a person, and I'm protected under the law!"

    The issue with abortion is personhood. It always has been, and it always will be.

    Think of every possible justification people use for abortion, apply it to a human who's outside the womb and see how it sounds. For the health of the mother? Well, why not kill a child to save an adult? Aren't Mother's supposed to sacrifice their lives for their children? What about rape? Do we kill the other children the rapist might have so they won't serve as a reminder of the rapist? Of course not, they're *people*. Well, what about women who can't afford to raise the kids? If a woman has a live baby she can't afford to raise, do we recommend she give guardianship to someone else, or do we recommend just "off-ing" the kid? Of course we wouldn't recommend killing the kid someone can't afford, they're a *person*. We would lock someone up for killing them though (see: Legislating morality and making people do things).

    Why is everyone so afraid to call a spade a spade on abortion? We're denying them their personhood, plain and simple. That's a person, and the person is being murdered. In any other case, whether it be genocide, war, shooting in a theater, killing because of a hate crime, etc... we have *zero* problem legislating morality and making people do things when they harm another person.


    Unborn babies are persons. I'm not for anti-abortion laws, I'm for declaring personhood to every human, born and unborn (because they are), and letting the laws that already exist against murder and abuse do their jobs.

    Chris Bodnovits

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    1. Do you feel the same way about how you have a birth performed. Should it be law that you only have children in a hospital? That's where the person inside of a new mother has the best chance at being born healthy. Should it be law that the baby has the best care possible? Should a mother be arrested for smoking while pregnant on assault charges? What if her diet isn't up to snuff while she's pregnant? Abuse charges anyone? We all have to decide how much government intervention into our most personal lives that we can stand. And then "do into others as we would have done to us".

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  12. I should also add, I'm neither major party. And yes, I think granting live person's the legal status of personhood (while redundant because they already are a person)is a possibility. What is impossible for man is possible with God. There is no righteousness without faith.

    Reality check on Planned Parenthood from a former director, who quit after witnessing an abortion on ultrasound: http://youtu.be/uOcLCvggvtQ

    911 call from a family member of a girl who had an abortion, the baby lived through it, and the abortion clinic wouldn't allow her to call for help: http://youtu.be/6LP3XkeeZuk

    Chris

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    1. Abortion is terribly legal, terrible, but legal. If you and I think it's wrong, then we shouldn't have one, or cause one.

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    2. Let's apply your sentence to things I'm fairly certain you wouldn't have a problem outlawing: "Murdering illegal aliens is terribly legal, terrible but legal. If you and I think it's wrong, then we shouldn't murder an illegal alien, or cause the murder of an illegal alien.'

      "Assaulting a person because they're black is terribly legal, terrible but legal If you and I think it's wrong, then we shouldn't assault a black person or cause the assault of a black person."

      Again, you proved the point that this has nothing to do with respecting a current law, and the answer to bad laws is to just "not engage in the activity that has been legalized". Your point is hypocritacal because I'd bet any amount of money you, as well as myself, would never look at these acts as something that's terrible, but legal, and as long as we just don't do them we shouldn't do everything in our power to over turn these laws.

      Again, this is a recognition of personhood. You wouldn't want to legalize murdering illegal aliens, because they're *people*. You wouldn't want to legalize beating up people of a different race because they're *people*. Be honest please. You don't believe unborn children are people, other wise you never would have written what you did.

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    3. On what planet is it legal to murder illegal aliens, or black people. That's the worst false equivalent that I've seen. "Legal" means that you won't go to prison for doing it. I've been told that a life begins with the first breath. You can take it or leave it, but that's what I was taught. If you want to overturn roe v wade, I don't dispute that it would be a good thing. But changing that law is a really tall order. With Obamas election you will probably end up with two liberal leaning( at least leaning) appointments. The Supreme Court will be changed for the foreseeable future to the liberal side, for better, or worse.

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  13. Again, I agree with your moral outlook on the subject. But overturning roe vs wade is not going to happen. Legislating what goes on in a persons bedroom isn't going to happen. The federal stand on gay marriage for instance is that it's between a man and woman. But states can and have accepted it the majority voted for it, now it's law in that state. You can be for or against what you like in your life, but legislating what someone else does based on your own beliefs is the issue. The constitution guarantees rights that we as Christians don't get a say in. Talk about overturning abortion, or gay rights is nothing but a distraction from the fact that they're picking our pockets.

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    1. Why can't Roe vs Wade be overturned? Other decisions and laws have been. At Jesus' appearing it will be moot anyhow!

      Darren

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    2. Your letting them lie to you Darren. They drum up support by pretending that it will happen. It's completely false. There are two Supreme Court justices about to retire. Obama is going to be nominating them. The court is about to swing to a liberal side. I'm not sure how I feel about that until I see some decisions come out of it. But your dreaming if you think it will be overturned. Number one the world is getting more liberal as a whole. It isn't getting more moral is it? And if you think any politician can keep any promise about putting gays back in the closet, then your believing another lie. All of these things add up to the fulfilling of the scriptures IMO.

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    3. I will agree that the world in general is worsening and it is a fulfillment of scripture. That it is inevitable is beside the point. Jesus said, "offenses will come, but woe to him by which it comes."

      What we have here in the U.S. is a spirit of lukewarmness, apathy, where persons are shelving their beliefs under the guise that it is not changeable. This only creates a self-determined result since Satan and his emissaries are hard working advocates of evil competing against a very pacifist type of Christian who allows themselves to be on the sidelines.

      Darren

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    4. I love your opinions Darren , no sarcasm implied. But on this one I have to disagree. Everything that you stated is correct, on a person to person level. If we're falling short " Luke warm" I believe it's in the personal exhortation to the truth that we're capable of. The word also speaks of the futility of trying to convince an adamant unbeliever also. The constitution guarantees the right to religion, or none at all. If liberty is to survive in America for anyone then it needs to be in place for everyone. That's not any easier for me to accept than it is for you , but if I enjoy my freedoms, then I have to recognize the importance of someone else's.

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  14. The poor have more to lose from republican policies than any other force on the planet. If they were informed the poorer right to work states would never vote republican. It's not an insult to the intelligence of low income people, it's an atta boys to the slimy fast talkers that dupe them with wedge issues.

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  15. Sorry Suzanne, I originally came to this blog after reading an article about the FOCC; I wanted to know more about their beleifs and specifically from the point of view of a former member. But unfortunately, you have gone completely off the resrvation. Your obvious fear of Mormons is telling in and of itself. Your political views are yours alone and every point you made can be argued on the other side just as easly.
    I am reminded of the main character in the Wedding Singer who stated, "because I have a microphone and you will listen to every damn word I have to say!"
    My freedom of choice allows me to delete this link from my favorites and never return.
    And so I shall.

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    1. I would respond to these various accusations, but since you're never coming back...

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    2. Who's blog did he think it was? He didn't have any trouble speaking his mind,,, did he?

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    3. You are right, Suzi is not writing any more about the FOC (blogs do this to die)… because it has all been said. Everyone has heard everything, seen everything. They haven’t had the desire speak to each other in decades. There’s nothing left to say.
      Suzi desperately needed amusement, because she could find none at the FOC, that is why she left.

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    4. I have plenty to say about the FOC. I have written a book about it (that does not include what I've written about here on this blog). I have enough material to write about the FOC for years, if I choose to do so.

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    5. Fair enough Suzi… I can get a good look: at every detail, of Sodom, & Gomorrah, by sticking my head in a horror house, but I think the genteel summary, is enough for me, to know every thing about it.

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    6. Didn't you say your book was about you not the foc?

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    7. My book is about my life in and out of the foc.

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    8. We really should have a moment of silence for anon 3:34,,,, the poor thing was auto corrected to death. They didn't know when to drop the crow bar.

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  16. I, too, am a "Christian Democrat" who feels conflicted and doesn't believe any party as a whole stands for God's plan. I do have to wonder, though, why people with conservative positions on issues like abortion and marriage (like me) are always framed as "forcing" our morality on other people, while those with the opposite positions are not subjected to the same treatment. Are social liberals not also trying to reshape society in the image of their beliefs? Is the idea that a person isn't a person within the womb, but is one once they emerge, not a radical change imposed on the definition of a person that has existed since time immemorial? (Exodus 21:22-23, which mandates the death penalty for a criminal who is responsible for an unborn child's death). I'm not trying to eradicate the notion that I believe society should reflect these moral ideas; I'm wondering why both sides of the debates aren't always scrutinized equally.

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  17. The libs are shaping society to a no belief system. Where laws and beliefs are separate. The reason that they're not scrutinized equally is because they're not equal. Their system allows you to believe what you like, and do what you like. The Christian system is to write laws that you have to live by based on what I believe. Ironically it's the same right wing rhetoric that throws around words like freedom and liberty. Someone touched on the fact that America adopted laws against murder, or stealing under the assumption that those riles are based on a Christian belief. But really they are based on preventing you from taking life or property from someone else, they are human laws that all can enjoy the benefit of. They enhance liberty rather than taking it away.

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  18. Suzanne drunk driving kills as many people as handguns. Most handgun deaths are suicide. So since you do not like hand guns do you also dislike cars since by your logic cars kill more people than hand guns?

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  19. The murder by auto rate is skyrocketing in urban neighborhoods. Check out www.onehasnothingtodowiththeother.com

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  20. To believe that being a democrat is the Christian thing to do is a lie… there are no democrats… there are no republicans…

    There’s the rich there’s the poor... They all get into power by buying it with “MONEY”!

    Both parties cheat and lie.

    Facts of the matter are Richard Nixon did nothing that the democrats were not doing to him; he just got caught doing it.

    Stupid cattle do not know any better. Hamilton was right about that.

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    1. Hamilton is amazing indeed, but Weatherford is far far deeper.

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    2. “vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty;”
      ― Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers

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    3. 9:07, Romney had a lot more money than Obama. Are you just mad that it didn't buy the election for his side. Of are you just an angry person in general?

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  21. I don't think the republican would hate Obama as much as they do if he wasn't serious about doing good for the middle class. I'm voting with my wallet I guess.

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  22. While I believe you have made a lot of good points, one that you have neglected is fiscal policy. Looking back in history will quickly show that cutting taxes leads to prosperity. However, as now, the raised taxes (including the healthcare mandate which was ruled a tax) cripples an economy. I understand your feelings on not legislating morality, however the bible says you shall reap what you sow, and now there are simply too many people reaping on the backs of the sowers. This is something you might want to research and add to your list before the next election.

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    1. Fiscal responsibility is important, and personal responsibility on the part of our president. The only time In modern history that our budget has been balanced, plus a surplus, was under Clinton. George bush took a surplus, and turned it into a deficit by starting two wars, and coming up with Medicare part D. Medicare part "D" was an unfounded mandate, that means he demanded it without any way to pay for it. I'm not even knocking George bush, but we have to understand how we got to where we are. Presidents do this, demo and repub alike. The health care law is not one of these. It's funded, and it's necessary, we've been paying for the destitute forever. Take a look at your insurance premiums. Before the law they( blue cross in particular) were increasing their annual premiums by 50% a year. Now it's 30% in 3 years. Not great but better. Obama put the wars on the budget, a huge expense that has since now been completely ignored. No other prez wanted to answer for that cost. And again, demos and repubs alike. He promised change, not change we would fully understand, but I think it's changing for the better.

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    2. Sorry, that's un-funded

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    3. To 5:30 AM, Ronald Reagan did cut taxes. Then he saw that it was going to further destroy the economy so he raised them. The economy came back, and he left office a somewhat successful prez.

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  23. I live in new york, land of democrats where they try to tell you what you can and cant eat. lawmakers have banned trans fats, salt and supersized soda. they take away personal responsibility every chance they get. you talk about a mormon banning coffe and alcohol. that is silly, this is real. as a homeschooler, my rights are in jeopardy every day because my state government (run by democrats) isn't sure if I know what's best for my kids. This is not the Christian way.

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  24. The nanny state leadership is getting out of control. The obesity epidemic in America is getting even more so. Americans are great at one thing above all else, excess! We started with guns to use to feed our families, now they are used to settle a "hard look" on a street corner. Food and water are needed to survive, a gallon of sugar water and 5000 calories is what is considered lunch by way too many people. Left to our own devices we will self exterminate ourselves and our children if someone doesn't try to raise awareness. But let's go back to liberty for a second. Are you truly offended at being told what you can or can't eat? But fine with telling a rape victim to have her fathers baby because you think abortion is bad. You can see where this is going, so I'll wrap up with remember the golden rule.

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  25. I am both for and against abortion, as strange and impossible as that may seem. Abortions are, unfortunately, a necessary evil in this society.

    Something that I am aware of at my age that apparently a lot of people are either not old enough to remember or else wish to forget is that the legalization of abortions has ended the days of so-called "knitting needle" or "coat hanger" abortions, from which an inestimable number of women bled to death or were made vulnerable to other life-threatening complications.

    More poignant than the fact that abortions will not become illegal is that "other" fact that underlies it - people will always do stupid things, and conceiving children via unprotected sex is one of those things. It isn't right, and nothing can make it right, it just is that way - people apparently can't figure out how to properly operate a condom when under pressure. The sad fact is that those who can't prudently think ahead and thus choose effective contraceptives before that crucial moment should never be trusted with the prudent implementation of prophylactics because, well, they aren't prudent people to begin with. Outside of possibly forming a staff and dubbing them something akin to The Safe Sex Police and granting them full license to intrude in all private liasons wherever they may occur (bedrooms, bathrooms, boardrooms, parked cars, etc...with perhaps a Special Forces Division to apprehend would-be members of the Mile High Club) so as to verify whether or not you are practicing safe sex, have the maturity and material means by which to raise a child and so on, then there really can't be any other solution except dissemination (pun intended) of information, contraceptives and devices, preferably along with a certain measure of social accountability. In other words, our society has got to reach the point where we expect people to act their age and to behave responsibly and accept the consequences of their decisions and actions.

    In this day and age, with the wide array of preventative methods available to everyone, no one should ever have an unwanted pregnancy. Not ever. That's a fact.

    But it's also true that so long as women WILL seek abortions even with full knowledge that it is, indeed, the killing of their own closest relative (and an innocent and defenseless one at that), it must also be remembered that there is the life of the mother to be considered, no matter how misguided or wrongful her thinking may be. To make abortions unobtainable is to pass a death sentence on all such women, who would then be sent to someone that a friend knows, who claims to have performed a couple of "procedures" on his dining room table before, and for a price will do the same for her.

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    1. Christianity and abortions for a mistake made are completely incompatible. Some of us Christians have far more concern about protecting the innocent and defenseless unborn child than for the woman who made her choices, bad or otherwise, and then wants to escape the consequences.

      In the "old days" there was a severe social and economic stigma attached to being an unwed mother and it was a lot easier to understand why desperate women would resort to dangerous abortions. There is virually no stigma attached anymore and there is a ton of financial help from private and public sources and free contraceptives everywhere, yet abortions are as common as grass. The reality is that abortions are FAR more often used as a form of birth control for the woman's convenience than anything else.

      The dangerous abortions you call inestimable were anything but - their numbers grow in direct proportion to the the teller's determination to keep abortions legal. I can quote you a valid statistic however - 50 million abortions in this country alone since Roe v Wade.

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  26. That's a really great point. Many people of voting age have no idea what a woman had to go through, other than what they've seen in the movies. 50% of them are men who can't really relate to the prospect of having a baby in the first place, regardless of the circumstances of the pregnancy. When we're casting votes, and judgement, we should have a bit of empathy for someone who has to make that decision.

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