Question for one-issue voters

[seeker63]

Now there are many people in the right to life movement who are one-issue voters. To them a candidate’s stand on abortion is the only thing that matters and the only criterion they use in selection.

My opinion is that abortion is pretty much here to stay, regardless of the opinions of a group of Americans. Too many other Americans are addicted to the idea of abortion on demand and sex without consequences. The forces of the sexual revolution won in a big way and their values have saturated the nation. I cannot imagine anything reversing the sexual revolution for centuries.

Once people have things the “easy” way, they’re not gonna go back. The time to close the barn door is not after the horse has run out. Culture tends away from morality and towards license, and it calls that license by the misnomer of “freedom.”

Now, if politicians aren’t going to do anything about abortion, if they’re just going to mouth pretty sound bytes and stir up emotions but not really do anything, then why support them, why vote for them, why follow everything they say and decide in lock-step, then declare these men and women to be great leaders?

If they’re not going to do the one thing you voted them in for, then why waste your vote? And don’t tell me, “Because it’s the moral thing to do,” or “Because I can sleep well at night knowing I did God’s will.” If these people aren’t going to lift a hand or do more than a token gesture towards supporting your issue, perhaps you ought to consider the many other pressing issues facing us today. If this people have been elected to do one thing and they don’t do that thing, then is there really a democratic process in action here?

Personally, I am disgusted by all politicians and all political parties, and this is based on 25 years working in the thick of it on local, state, and national levels. I don’t think the system works. I don’t like the Republicans or the Democrats or any other party. And I’ve said it before on this site and will say it again: I think the GOP is playing Christians for suckers, mouthing their support for the pro-life cause, doing nothing about it, and using us as a voting bloc.Pro-life rhetoric is their particular brand of bread and circuses, used to keep us in the crowd happy while they go do their thing.

What say you?

Please read this thoroughly before you attack as a lefty.

 

[KathleenElsie]

Vatican Cardinal: Catholic Voters Can Never Be Justified in Voting for Pro-Abortion Politicians

lifesite.net/ldn/2005/oct/05100602.html

I think this says it all for me. If the best I can do is go by a persons past deeds and history, then that is what I will continue to do. The politicians will be standing before the same GOD I will at judgment and have to answer for their personal choices just as I will need to do.

 

[Lady_Cygnus]

That same logic is used to influence people not to vote at all. Why vote for someone who is just going to do what they want when they get into office, no matter what the issue?

But then I don’t suppose I’m qualified to answer as I’m not a one-issue voter. I vote on many issues, it’s just abortion is weighted more heavily than the rest.

 

[seeker63]

*"Vatican Cardinal: Catholic Voters Can Never Be Justified in Voting for Pro-Abortion Politicians

lifesite.net/ldn/2005/oct/05100602.html

I think this says it all for me. If the best I can do is go by a persons past deeds and history, then that is what I will continue to do. The politicians will be standing before the same GOD I will at judgment and have to answer for their personal choices just as I will need to do."

Inever said anyone should support a pro-abortion politician. But why support one who gives lip service and does nothing? I don’t think anyone will actually try to get rid of abortion, regardless of his party, though some are vocal about not getting rid of it.

"That same logic is used to influence people not to vote at all. Why vote for someone who is just going to do what they want when they get into office, no matter what the issue?

But then I don’t suppose I’m qualified to answer as I’m not a one-issue voter. I vote on many issues, it’s just abortion is weighted more heavily than the rest.*"

I think we need a viable party of our own, but I also despair of our system allowing for there to be a viable third party. There are many third parties out there, but the system makes sure they are marginalized. Of course, things are so messed up now I can hardly see what difference it makes whether we vote or not. It’s already a fixed fight.

 

[PLAL]

Seeker63,

Just because Roe v Wade has not been overturned yet does not mean we are losing the war on abortion. In fact, pro-lifers are now winning the war. The tide has turned – the younger generation is now becoming more & more pro-life, the issue of partial birth abortion showed everyone how extreme the culture of death has become & the lies of Planned Parenthood, NOW & NARAL are now being learned. Our churches are now teaching more & more the Theology of the Body/Humanae Vitae. God’s Natural Law is now finally being understood. Yes, we are winning the war and must continue to fight.

Everyday there are important Pro-Life issues being decided in our political arenas. Just visit LifeNews.com or LifeSite.Net on a daily basis. Heck, at one time Fr. Peter West was tracking President Bush’s Pro-Life Record on a daily basis freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1140835/posts

Keep up the fight! Keep up the prayers! We will ultimately win & 4,000 unborn lives are murdered every day. There is no other issue or combination of issues on a daily basis where so many lives are counting on us!!!

 

[aurora77]

Personally, I see it as standing up for what is right. I think if a person does not have a basic respect for human life, their judgement in all other areas is suspect. This is probably overly simplistic, but when weighing my options in the last presidential election, it came down to one thing–who more greatly respects the right to life. I don’t intend to take this off-topic, but I personally feel that a person that supports the death penalty is not pro-life. Neither Bush nor Kerry is truly pro-life in my eyes, but I felt that at least in the case of the death penalty, these are people who at least had a chance at life, they weren’t killed in the womb. So, I voted for Bush. I can’t in good conscience vote for a person who supports abortion.

 

[seeker63]

PLAL,

Are we winning or just preaching to the choir, winning converts among the converted? I’ve sure not noticed any change in the secular and popular culture on these issues. It’s pretty much assumed now that kids will have sex once they reach a certain age, and most couples that don’t cohabitate before marriage are looked upon as odd—not in conservative Christian circles, but certainly in the mainstream culture.

Studies are showing younger and younger kids are having oral sex and regard it as no big deal. And other immoral activities are becoming more mainstream. I personally knew a couple who took their baby to an orphanage as soon as they learned he tested positive for a mld case of Down’s Syndrome.

When I talked to non-conservative Christians they tended to side with Michael Schiavo in the Terri Schiavo case, and thought him the injured party, being pestered by his in-laws. and the media in general seems to paint right to lifers as wild-eyed fanatics.

All these and other reasons contribute to my pessimism on this matter.

 

[seeker63]

*Personally, I see it as standing up for what is right. I think if a person does not have a basic respect for human life, their judgement in all other areas is suspect. This is probably overly simplistic, but when weighing my options in the last presidential election, it came down to one thing–who more greatly respects the right to life. I don’t intend to take this off-topic, but I personally feel that a person that supports the death penalty is not pro-life. Neither Bush nor Kerry is truly pro-life in my eyes, but I felt that at least in the case of the death penalty, these are people who at least had a chance at life, they weren’t killed in the womb. So, I voted for Bush. I can’t in good conscience vote for a person who supports abortion.

*And my deal, Aurora, is I don’t believe any of them are being up-front. a politician can talk and talk and still never actually intend to do anything about the issue. When someone nags me, for instance, and I either say nothing or just and and say, “Yeah” or “Uh huh,” that doesn’t mean I’m agreeing with them or that I’m gonna do what they want. I’m usually just trying to move things along so they’ll shut up. My experience with politicians is that they’ll say anything to make the constituent walk away feeling satisfied. No politician is going to really stick his neck out and do anything that’s too unpopular.

 

[PLAL]

aurora77:

but I personally feel that a person that supports the death penalty is not pro-life.

In theory I agree with you on the death penalty but you know this is not the position of the Catholic Church. I will have to double check my Catechism Book but I believe the position is the death penalty is OK if the person on death row is a serious threat to taking the life of someone else.

Now I thought all we would have to do is isolate those who are a serious threat from the rest of the prison population and we would no longer need the death penalty. But later I found out a prisoner is not kept in isolation all day & those who were high status gang members can order other members either inside or outside the prison to kill. There are also many other ways an inmate can be a serious threat.

 

[PLAL]

QUOTE Seeker63

*PLAL,

Are we winning or just preaching to the choir, winning converts among the converted? I’ve sure not noticed any change in the secular and popular culture on these issues. It’s pretty much assumed now that kids will have sex once they reach a certain age, and most couples that don’t cohabitate before marriage are looked upon as odd—not in conservative Christian circles, but certainly in the mainstream culture.

Studies are showing younger and younger kids are having oral sex and regard it as no big deal. And other immoral activities are becoming more mainstream. I personally knew a couple who took their baby to an orphanage as soon as they learned he tested positive for a mld case of Down’s Syndrome.

When I talked to non-conservative Christians they tended to side with Michael Schiavo in the Terri Schiavo case, and thought him the injured party, being pestered by his in-laws. and the media in general seems to paint right to lifers as wild-eyed fanatics.

All these and other reasons contribute to my pessimism on this matter.*

-----------

Response

I am seeing the opposite of what you are seeing. I saw an article on WorldNetDaily about 6 months ago which took a teen survey and 70% of the teens stated they felt abortion was wrong.

Generations For Life is now teaching abstinence education only in all our area schools (even the public schools) and their feedback from the youth is very encouraging.

Our church is now setting up a women’s center to sway women not to abort their unborn, promising to drive them to the doctor, give them diapers/supplies, throw baby showers for them, talk on the phone with them daily as a good mother/father role model in case they did not have one growing up. We have an awesome fired up woman heading up Project Rachael for post abortive women & Project Gabriel for pregnant women. Our community is really alive in helping others & those being helped are converting to Catholicism in droves. I could go on and on but the Culture of Life message is working. Stick with it!

 

[seeker63]

Plal,

Well, praise God, I hope things are going that way.

 

[PLAL]

seeker63:

And my deal, Aurora, is I don’t believe any of them are being up-front. a politician can talk and talk and still never actually intend to do anything about the issue. When someone nags me, for instance, and I either say nothing or just and and say, “Yeah” or “Uh huh,” that doesn’t mean I’m agreeing with them or that I’m gonna do what they want. I’m usually just trying to move things along so they’ll shut up. My experience with politicians is that they’ll say anything to make the constituent walk away feeling satisfied. No politician is going to really stick his neck out and do anything that’s too unpopular.

I will actually be changing my voting strategy in the future. Judie Brown from the American Life League has finally swayed me. I will only vote for 100% Pro-Life Politicians (against abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, etc). I will no longer vote for the lessor of two evils. This will never bring about change. If it means I vote for a 3rd Party candidate who will not win; then so be it. I can at least tell God on Judgement Day I voted for the individual who would best represent him.

I think its easy to see lip service in the elections. If the politician just states he/she is pro life, then its lip service. If he/she shows passion on the topic with great examples, then its not lip service.

This coming up Presidential Election will be tough. All the leading candidates from both parties are Pro-Abortion. Here is the prime oppurtunity for a Third Party Candidate who is pro life can sneak in & get only 34% of the vote and win the Presidency.

 

[MikeinSD]

PLAL:

In theory I agree with you on the death penalty but you know this is not the position of the Catholic Church. I will have to double check my Catechism Book but I believe the position is the death penalty is OK if the person on death row is a serious threat to taking the life of someone else.

Now I thought all we would have to do is isolate those who are a serious threat from the rest of the prison population and we would no longer need the death penalty. But later I found out a prisoner is not kept in isolation all day & those who were high status gang members can order other members either inside or outside the prison to kill. There are also many other ways an inmate can be a serious threat.

There are some political groups who believe in the death penalty and are pro-life.

thenewamerican.com/tna/2002/06-03-2002/vo18no11_fallacies.htm

 

[aurora77]

PLAL:

I will actually be changing my voting strategy in the future. Judie Brown from the American Life League has finally swayed me. I will only vote for 100% Pro-Life Politicians (against abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, etc). I will no longer vote for the lessor of two evils. This will never bring about change. If it means I vote for a 3rd Party candidate who will not win; then so be it. I can at least tell God on Judgement Day I voted for the individual who would best represent him. .

I really like this approach! We’re having trouble in Missouri–our governor is a Republican and calls himself pro-life. But, there’s an issue before the General Assembly to ban human cloning. The governor is actually coming out in favor of cloning. It really ticks me off–I feel like he just lied to us about being pro-life. I’ve always gone with the lesser of the two evils approach, but I may not do that again. If we keep supporting the big two parties, how will real change ever happen?

And, to the death penalty thing–that’s just my opinion. I wasn’t trying to cite anyone else in the matter. But, it’s not an automatic issue for me, where abortion is.

 

[Courtneyjo]

seeker63:

Personally, I am disgusted by all politicians and all political parties, and this is based on 25 years working in the thick of it on local, state, and national levels. I don’t think the system works. I don’t like the Republicans or the Democrats or any other party. And I’ve said it before on this site and will say it again: I think the GOP is playing Christians for suckers, mouthing their support for the pro-life cause, doing nothing about it, and using us as a voting bloc.Pro-life rhetoric is their particular brand of bread and circuses, used to keep us in the crowd happy while they go do their thing.

I agree with this, which is why I vote independent. But as for the rest, Life comes first and foremost. Without the right to life we have nothing. Washington has two senators and a governor who are all pro-abortion, and women to boot. This makes them traitors to their sex.

 

[byHisGrace]

Seeker,
I certainly understand your pessimism and frustration with politicians of all stripes. But, IMHO, I get the feeling that you run the risk of a “why bother” attitude, because of a lack of success so far. I am reminded of when Mother Teresa was asked by a reporter if she really thought her work was making a difference in eliminating hunger…she replied…and I’m paraphrasing here…that we aren’t called to be “successful”…we are called to be “obedient.” I always loved that statement. We need to always strive to do the right thing…regardless of the odds…and leave the rest to God. I also believe, particularly with the young…that taking this strong stand for life is helping to mold good consciences in the next generation…one life saved through all our efforts makes all our efforts worthwhile. Don’t give up!

 

[mdzialo1]

Some political groups are in favor of the death penalty and at the same time pro-life? Hmmmm.

Well, yes, the theory is called punish the guilty and cherish the innocent.

 

[PLAL]

mdzialo1:

Some political groups are in favor of the death penalty and at the same time pro-life? Hmmmm.

Well, yes, the theory is called punish the guilty and cherish the innocent.

What are you trying to say? Do you know the Catholic teaching on Capital Punishment? Would you feel safe spending time in the U.S. prison system today?

In theory I am against Capital Punishment but I feel our U.S. prison system still has problems protecting all those within the system. Don’t let the Pro-Aborts try to use Capital Punishment to divide Pro-Lifers. This is a tactic they often use so they do not have to defend 4,000 innocent babies each day being killed in the womb.

Here’s a Thread you need to read…

Your Response to Those Who State You Cannot Be 100% Pro-Life & For the Death Penalty?

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=1007504#post1007504

 

[Hildebrand]

seeker63:

What say you?

Please read this thoroughly before you attack as a lefty.

Well, we will find out soon. If a certain nominee turns out pro-Roe, you will see many Christians leave the Republican Party. The Supreme Court was the “one issue” many voters went to the polls over. Most of them (us) will not tolerate another O’Connor, another Souter.

The whole debate over Bush being pro-abortion in the case of rape, incest, life of mother, blah, blah, blah is completely irrelevant. Bush cannot overturn Roe v. Wade and protect the unborn, and protect marriage, and protect property rights, and protect faith in the public square, and protect… His SC justices can. His promise to nominate justices in the mold of Scalia and Thomas was what got many behind him.

If Miers turns out to be pro-Roe and the Democrats play this right, 2004 could have been the last presidential election that cultural conservatives support the Republican candidate in such large numbers. We will not be used every two/four years like black voters are by the Democrats. 2008 may be the year millions leave the Republican plantation for some third party.

 

[Hildebrand]

PLAL:

Do you know the Catholic teaching on Capital Punishment?

From the Roman Catechism:

Another kind of lawful slaying belongs to the civil authorities, to whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious exercise of which they punish the guilty and protect the innocent. The just use of this power, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this Commandment which prohibits murder. The end of the Commandment? is the preservation and security of human life. Now the punishments inflicted by the civil authority, which is the legitimate avenger of crime, naturally tend to this end, since they give security to life by repressing outrage and violence.

cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tcomm05.htm