Thanks David for a nice Catholic perspective. It is reflecting what is taught by the USCCB here:
Voting someone you know will not win is helping Obama. The important thing is to get Obama out of the office so he will not continue to damage our country. Not voting for Romney does not serve that purpose. This is a time to do good for the nation, not a time to insist on personal preference. We need to put the end result in mind and know the consequence. If you don’t vote for Romney and let Obama win, it will be the end of great America. Do you rather that happen? Or could you vote for Romney even he is not your first choice? This is a life or death election, your vote can gear the future of our nation.
Every election in the history of the U.S. has been “the most critical election ever.” Every election it comes out how letting the wrong person win is going to destroy America. I simply don’t believe that. Personally, I believe that voting for the most favorable major party candidate, even when there are serious problems, is prioritizing a short-term good. Sometimes that’s the right thing to do. But voting for a candidate that better represents the appropriate moral response is prioritizing the long-term good. It sends a stronger message that the political parties ought to pay attention to certain issues. Neither one of these is a mere personal preference.
Read my other posts. I cannot in good conscience vote for either Obama or Romney. Both will hurt our country I believe and I cannot support either. I will vote for who I feel is right, not someone who I believe is the wrong choice for America. I use to believe like you do, but as I get older, the less and less I feel that way. You are not changing my mind and I actually already voted, so too late anyways. I am saying no more on the subject, I voted in accordance to Church teaching and according to my conscience.
The interesting thing about this is that I can really see myself going that way in the future if I get fed up enough with politics as they are. I am still quite young so have not yet lived through nearly as much back and forth as you or others. Lets just say that while I am voting differently than you I am very sympathetic to your viewpoint. People from both sides have good reasons for what they choose to do. I just wish the voting system was different so that everyone could list the candidates in their order of preference rather than simply voting for one candidate. This is done, for example, in Ireland, and while it does lead to all sorts of recounts, it cuts out the frustrating aspect of feeling bad about voting for the candidate you really like best because you’re pretty sure they aren’t going to win. You put that candidate as your number 1 pick, if he doesn’t get enough votes to be a viable candidate then the votes of those who put him 1st get transferred to the person they put 2nd on their list. You can vote for who you actually want to vote for, send a message en masse to politicians about what kind of policies you really want, and help ensure that those you really don’t want in office do not get elected (by putting them at the very bottom of the list) all at the same time.
It is unlikely that any President will have any impact on the gay marriage issue, as it is being driven by the courts at this point.
You totally missed the points. The bishops are talking about non-negotiable issues, i.e. abortion, gay marriage and religious liberty. The next President will appoint several new supreme court judges. The President may not directly do something about abortion and gay marriage but whoever he appoints for the supreme court judges will have direct influence. The other things you mentioned are “prudential issues”, the church teaches that non-negotiable issues always come as top priority.
Obviously you cannot vote in an American election, so what is your investment in standing up for Obama?
I could ask similar questions about the complete immorality of bankrupting our country and so making it completely impossible to care for the poor and needy of the future.
It is helping Romney just as much. Saying that it only helps Obama is poor mathmatics.
Then why not stick to Catholic Church teaching. What you say here is more than the Catholic Church says. It is** not Catholic Church teaching. I linked the USCCB document in case anyone needs to read for themselves what the Church* really* says instead of this Republican spin an cheerleading. And yes, not voting is in the guide**.
Except, no Catholic can vote for Barack H. Obama, none should have the first time. With his record of support for abortion, and voting for denial of even basic medical care to a baby born alive during a botched abortion, he’s excluded himself as a candidate that Catholics can ever vote for.I could ask similar questions about the complete immorality of bankrupting our country and so making it completely impossible to care for the poor and needy of the future.
Reducing/eliminating debt is thenumber one priority for keeping ones finances in order/ sustainable. Whether you like it or not Obama has proved himself either unwilling or ultimately incapable of eliminating or even just reducing the debt and deficit and instead has increased them enormously. Whether or not Romney can do any better I do not know, but at least he hasn’t been proven incapable of doing so. How someone can vote for someone who has proven themselves unwilling/unable to reduce or even keep constant the debt and deficit of this country, and in so doing is putting in jeopardy the livelihood of future Americans is beyond me. But to each their own.
This is not the equivalent of a moral imperative to cast a vote for a major party candidate for president.
The OP did not ask how to vote, but whether there is a moral imperative to cast a vote for one of the two major candidates. There isn’t.
Slogans do not form consciences. One need actually read the document.
Thus we see, it is not a sin not to vote if one in good conscience can not vote for any candidate. Third party voting is totally moral and permissible.
Well, seeing as I was not intending to imply that anyone should, or could, vote for Obama I have no idea why you are bringing this up.