I might have once been a one-issue voter. When I was, it was much easier to find a Presidential candidate to support. After some self-examination, I have discovered that I am now a three-issue voter. You would think with only three issues I would be able to find a candidate that would line up with my views. But I cannot.
My views really are not that radical. Different candidates proclaim allegiance to each of them, but not one candidate has all three of them. Mike Huckabee has two of them. Barack Obama has two of them sharing one with Huckabee. Hilary and Rudy might share in one of them depending on whether they really have #3. Fred Thompson has none of them. I do not really know what John McCain believes. John Edwards appears to share two of them. Am I alone in caring about these three things? Is there nobody else that wants these three together? Why is it no politician stands for these three?
The three things:
1. Against abortion
2. Quick to negotiate and slow to enter a war.
3. Desires to implement programs to genuinely help the lower middle class and lower prosper.
These are actually very broad and a candidate could believe in these points and vary on the fine points.
A candidate could be completely against abortion, yet difer on how they would like to implement it. I would prefer a push towards a vast adoption system where nobody has to raise a child and incurs no cost besides childbirth that they do not want even if they made decisions that were irresponsible. I do not know of a single Democrat that holds this position. I wish there was.
In regards to war, I wish we would make an about face and become like Switzerland. I am studying WWI and there were Americans that were arguing for us to become neutral like Switzerland in regard to all wars prior to our involvement in WWI. Obviously, we have chosen to become intimately involved in almost every conflict throughout the world in recent times. It is a major change (and waste of resources) from who we were a century ago, but it is never too late to change course and become neutral in all wars.
Obviously, I am willing to give on this one a little since I do not believe that my view is politically viable. I pray that it will be some day. (Maybe I am a big compromiser.) What is politically viable right now is to be slow to go to war and quick to negotiate. Sharing rhetoric like Huckabee did the other night when he proclaimed that Iranians would need to be ready to see the "gates of hell" is an example of what I am not looking for. In another sense, it does not seem all that Christ-like since Huckabee does wear his Christianity on his sleeve.
In regards to taking care of the poor, this is the broadest category. Most Republicans have the attitude that people should take care of themselves, which I agree with in principle; however, many people are out there in our nation that do not have the training to take care of themselves or the support system to help them get back on their feet when they fall. People who desire to help the poor will disagree on how that should be done. Recognizing that many people are in situations where they need help and it is the responsibility for the people around them to take care of them is what I am looking for. The government is just the collective people around them.
Many Christians say the church should take care of the poor. I agree with that, but until the poor are being taken care of by the church I cannot argue for the government to get out of taking care of the poor. Obviously, there was a need in the past or the government would not have stepped in. This situation was probably caused by a failure of the church to do what they claim should be done by them. Maybe it was caused by parishioners desiring that non-tithers also share in the expense. One would have to spend some time researching poverty in America and the church to see if this holds true.
Issues that are close to being on the list. I could explain each of these but I do now want to bore anyone.
- Protection for individuals against multi-national corporations
- a school voucher system
- tax system reform
