Single-Issue Voters

Politics has been a major topic of conversation in the break room over these last few months, and I’m very happy of that. It’s said that you can never, in company, talk about sex, politics or religion. Personally, I think that once you’ve eliminated those three topics of conversation, pretty much all that you’re left with is the weather. And I HATE talking about the weather.

So anyway, I overheard one guy in the breakroom say that he had voted for Bush in 2004 simply because of Bush’s simple-minded views on abortion and evolution. When I heard that, I think that I figured out a big part of our democracy’s woes right now. Single-issue voters. This guy was willing to perpetuate the most unconstitutional, undemocratic presidency of all times, simply because the “president” in question believed that God literally created the world in six days and promised to do everything that he could to overturn a woman’s right to have a safe and clean abortion.

Look, I don’t expect anyone to agree fully with everything that a presidential candidate says, ever. I, myself am a little troubled that Barack Obama won’t come right out and clarify his views on gun control. I do, however, agree with most of what the man says, therefore I’ll vote for him.

So that got me thinking about these single issues, what they are, and how they might be resolved. So let’s start with the first one that I mentioned here.

1) Abortion. I honestly don’t believe that a woman’s right to a safe and clean abortion will end under any president in the foreseeable future. I think that the narrow-minded idealogues who want that had their chance under GWB and didn’t get it. He tried, but it didn’t happen. I, for one, would love to see the court revisit Roe Vs. Wade and address some issues in it that weren’t addressed the first time around, such as the FATHER’S rights when a woman wants an abortion. We keep insisting that men have a greater role in the lives of their children, while denying them this vital role. The woman didn’t make the baby alone, and you can bet that if she has it, she’s coming after the father for support, so he really should be a participant in the decision whether or not to terminate. But I digress. Yes, this is an important issue. No, it is not the only issue upon which to cast your vote. If you’re pro-choice and the pro-choice candidate doesn’t want to do anything about the pathetic state of American health care, do you vote for him or her anyway? And what if you’re anti-choice, and your candidate wants to continue rewarding corporations for outsourcing American jobs?

2) Religion. Oh, holy God! Religion! As a Christian, I gotta tell you that this is the BRICK-DUMBEST reason to vote for a candidate. As I stated when I wrote about the acceptance speeches at the conventions, I wish that politicians would quit attaching God’s name to every piece of crap pet peeve and dragging it through the mud. Guys, the first amendment prohibits Congress from interfering with or being influenced by religion when it comes to pass laws. The Constitution prohibits ANY religious test from being required for elected office. Also, you really can’t be sure if what a politician says in public is the same thing that he practices in private. Abe Lincoln said something that most modern politicians would do well to remember… that it is less important that we believe that God is on our side than it is for us to endeavor to be on God’s side. I think that the last president that we had who truly understood the role of religion in a president’s policies was Jimmy Carter. Carter, a southern Baptist, found both abortion and the death penalty to be in conflict with his personal religious views, but bowed to the will of the American people in both instances. And I think that the last president that we had who, blowjob notwithstanding, truly understood Christianity was Bill Clinton. When a woman asked him if he was “born-again”, he said “Ma’am, only God gets to make that decision.” Mr. Bush, on the other hand, talks ceaselessly about what a good Christian he is, while disregarding the poor and leading our country into an unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion and war.

3) Guns. No president CAN OR WILL take away your guns. Ever. It would take an act of Congress to overturn the second amendment and it WILL NOT HAPPEN. EVER! The second amendment places the possibility of regulation on firearms in America and some presidents (like Bill Clinton and the assault rifle ban) act to institute new regulation. THAT’S IT. It both tickles and distresses me that the candidates who talk most boldly about state’s rights say that states have no rights to control the firearms of their citizens. I remind you that in the so-called “wild west”, TOWNS were allowed to regulate their citizen’s firearms.

4) Small government. Every president from Jefferson through GWB that has run on a platform of small government has acted to increase the size and power of the federal government exponentially. Whereas President Clinton, who didn’t make this a campaign issue, reduced the size of the federal government considerably. Given that information, I would say that if you are TRULY interested in smaller government, then vote for the candidate who doesn’t make it one of the planks of their platform.

I guess that what I’m saying here, folks, is to take ALL of a candidate’s views into account when voting. Don’t just pick one issue and ride it to death.

Peace.

Randal