I’ve shared here before my personal pilgrimage from a longtime supporter of the Republican Party to now being a full fledged supporter of the Constitution Party. (You can read here and
here if you’d like) But I continue to receive questions from well meaning friends about how I can be so foolish as to support a third party when everyone knows they can never win.
So I felt compelled to share a few thoughts once again. First of all, I refuse to agree with the “they can never win” mantra. As I’ve said before, if good and godly people would stop looking at the “pragmatic” way to vote and would vote their conscience, a third party, or any candidate could win in a landslide. It’s been done before. Remember that the GOP was a third party at one time.
Furthermore, I’m simply tired of throwing away my vote. I know that there are many who say voting for a third party is throwing away my vote, but I strongly disagree. To “throw away” you vote means to cast it without meaning, in a worthless way. How much more worthless can it be to vote for someone who you don’t even believe in simply because they are part of one of the two dominant parties, or more accurately because they are NOT of the other party. Never mind conviction, we just vote because “well, it’s better than the alternative.”
I refuse to accept that. I refuse to give in to that “lesser of two evils” argument.
Charles Spurgeon once put together a collection of wise and witty sayings called Salt Cellars. One of the bits of wisdom he records there he places in the mouth of his fictional “John Ploughman,” the common everyday man who offers common everyday wisdom. He writes: John Ploughman says, Of two evils choose neither. Don't choose the least, but let all evils alone.
Of two evils, choose neither. We don’t have to chose one of the reigning parties just because it’s the lesser of two evils. We can man up and vote our conscience and make our vote stand for something; stand for principle; stand for right; stand for the Constitution that this nation was founded on.
Again, I’ve said before, I know not every person is worthy just because they run on the CP ticket either. But I would again urge you all to check out the National CP site, read the CP platform, get informed about any CP candidates in your state, and make your voice heard.
Along these lines, I found this wonderful piece that came out of Ohio’s state party. It fits perfectly with Spurgeon’s advice to choose neither of two evils and carries with it some profound food for thought. Consider these wise words:
Why voting for the lesser of two evils is always wrong!
(1) God does not want us to be in league with evil! The lesser of two evils is still an evil. Instead, God wants us to embrace what is pure and good and then simply to trust Him with our future. If the worst candidate wins, so be it. Perhaps that is needed to wake up more of us, or perhaps God intends to judge this nation. It would be a mistake to interfere in either case.
(2) If we vote for a bad candidate, we will be held partly responsible for the harm done by that candidate. This is true even if our sole intent was to defeat a worse candidates. One evil does not justify another. It would have been better not to vote at all.
(3) Supporting the lesser of two evils tells politicians that it is acceptable for them to do likewise. If we won't stand for what is right and take the necessary hits, how can we demand it of our politicians?
(4) Pragmatic voting always results in a downward trend in the quality of candidates. Politicians won't change if they know we'll vote for them anyway. Good candidates seldom receive the support they need to become viable. The problem of bad choices is thereby perpetuated, and the nation continues to deteriorate until the day when our choices will be an Adolf Hitler or a Joseph Stalin.
(5) The argument that the lesser of two evils will buy us time to get our act together and field better candidates is wishful thinking. What invariably happens is people again become apathetic, and the greater evil makes an even stronger comeback.
(6) Voting for the lesser of two evils is a defensive act. What team ever won playing only defensively? We need to move offensively! Vote for someone based on who they are, not on who they aren't. Vote FOR a good candidate, not AGAINST an evil candidate. Don't stoop to their standard - demand that they rise to yours.
(7) Principled voting means making sacrifices until enough people wake up, but it is necessary to get the ball rolling. Our nation's Founding Fathers sacrificed much to secure our freedoms. We too will need to make some sacrifices to regain some of those freedoms. What are we waiting for? Delay and compromise will only deepen those sacrifices.
from
The Constitution Party of Ohio
cpofohio.org
here if you’d like) But I continue to receive questions from well meaning friends about how I can be so foolish as to support a third party when everyone knows they can never win.So I felt compelled to share a few thoughts once again. First of all, I refuse to agree with the “they can never win” mantra. As I’ve said before, if good and godly people would stop looking at the “pragmatic” way to vote and would vote their conscience, a third party, or any candidate could win in a landslide. It’s been done before. Remember that the GOP was a third party at one time.
Furthermore, I’m simply tired of throwing away my vote. I know that there are many who say voting for a third party is throwing away my vote, but I strongly disagree. To “throw away” you vote means to cast it without meaning, in a worthless way. How much more worthless can it be to vote for someone who you don’t even believe in simply because they are part of one of the two dominant parties, or more accurately because they are NOT of the other party. Never mind conviction, we just vote because “well, it’s better than the alternative.”
I refuse to accept that. I refuse to give in to that “lesser of two evils” argument.
Charles Spurgeon once put together a collection of wise and witty sayings called Salt Cellars. One of the bits of wisdom he records there he places in the mouth of his fictional “John Ploughman,” the common everyday man who offers common everyday wisdom. He writes: John Ploughman says, Of two evils choose neither. Don't choose the least, but let all evils alone.Of two evils, choose neither. We don’t have to chose one of the reigning parties just because it’s the lesser of two evils. We can man up and vote our conscience and make our vote stand for something; stand for principle; stand for right; stand for the Constitution that this nation was founded on.
Again, I’ve said before, I know not every person is worthy just because they run on the CP ticket either. But I would again urge you all to check out the National CP site, read the CP platform, get informed about any CP candidates in your state, and make your voice heard.
Along these lines, I found this wonderful piece that came out of Ohio’s state party. It fits perfectly with Spurgeon’s advice to choose neither of two evils and carries with it some profound food for thought. Consider these wise words:
Why voting for the lesser of two evils is always wrong!
(1) God does not want us to be in league with evil! The lesser of two evils is still an evil. Instead, God wants us to embrace what is pure and good and then simply to trust Him with our future. If the worst candidate wins, so be it. Perhaps that is needed to wake up more of us, or perhaps God intends to judge this nation. It would be a mistake to interfere in either case.
(2) If we vote for a bad candidate, we will be held partly responsible for the harm done by that candidate. This is true even if our sole intent was to defeat a worse candidates. One evil does not justify another. It would have been better not to vote at all.
(3) Supporting the lesser of two evils tells politicians that it is acceptable for them to do likewise. If we won't stand for what is right and take the necessary hits, how can we demand it of our politicians?
(4) Pragmatic voting always results in a downward trend in the quality of candidates. Politicians won't change if they know we'll vote for them anyway. Good candidates seldom receive the support they need to become viable. The problem of bad choices is thereby perpetuated, and the nation continues to deteriorate until the day when our choices will be an Adolf Hitler or a Joseph Stalin.
(5) The argument that the lesser of two evils will buy us time to get our act together and field better candidates is wishful thinking. What invariably happens is people again become apathetic, and the greater evil makes an even stronger comeback.
(6) Voting for the lesser of two evils is a defensive act. What team ever won playing only defensively? We need to move offensively! Vote for someone based on who they are, not on who they aren't. Vote FOR a good candidate, not AGAINST an evil candidate. Don't stoop to their standard - demand that they rise to yours.
(7) Principled voting means making sacrifices until enough people wake up, but it is necessary to get the ball rolling. Our nation's Founding Fathers sacrificed much to secure our freedoms. We too will need to make some sacrifices to regain some of those freedoms. What are we waiting for? Delay and compromise will only deepen those sacrifices.
from
The Constitution Party of Ohio
cpofohio.org
1 comment:
I absolutely agree with you. I used to be a Republican until Schwarzenegger became governor here in CA. I didn't vote for Bush in his second term, either. I refuse to compromise either morally or spiritually with elections any more and I do believe they are spiritual issues (that is, abortion, homosexuality, and Mormonism). Now more than ever b/c of the Romney "option" I see this particular election to be a test of professing Christians---where does their loyalty lie? With a political party that is no different than the hated opposition (hate is not a reason to vote for anything)? Or with Christ? To vote FOR a man who is a liberal, a liar, and a blasphemer is beyond my comprehension, and yet so many who claim the TULIP and 5 Solas are totally caving into pragmatism. This grieves my heart greatly.
For encouragement, in case you weren't aware of other like-minded folks, check these out:
http://airocross.com/2012/09/24/why-im-not-voting-for-mitt-romney-with-a-clear-conscience/
http://thehallowedpath.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/the-gospel-alternative-for-this-election-by-pastor-don-green/
http://www.sardishour.com/cultural-matters/politics-voting-and-the-justifiable-means/
In Christ Alone,
Denise
Post a Comment