Why I'm not voting for president

One less religious extremist to worry about. Happy Days.

Rod--Like you, I won't be voting for Obama or Mccain. Instead, I'll be writing in Alan Keyes (in Virginia). He's a brilliant man of strong principle (even "Joe the Plumber" thinks he could fix this country in two years). Will he win? Probably not. But check out his views on http://americasrevival.com. And no, I don't think I'm throwing my vote away to stand on my principles.

News flash - "pro-abortion zealots" don't have children of their own like Obama. And as for the "sanctity of life" let's remember that Mr. Dreher voted for George W. Bush and his deadly wars. Not once, but twice, despite the wise counsel of other conservative Christians to the contrary.

Just skip the petty moralizing Rod and admit that you're having a temper tantrum over your benighted role in the destruction of modern conservatism.

Another news flash, Will--there's no such thing as a "pro-abortion zealot." That kind of person exists only in the minds of power-hungry Republicans who want to win at the expense of the truth.

They continue to flog the abortion issue because they're totally out of ideas; the only way they can win is to keep convincing people that they really really care about the unborn, even as they write bills which grant waivers to multi-billion dollar polluting industries. How many miscarriages are caused by mercury in fish, or by toxic particulates in the air? No one knows, 'cause for the "pro-life" folks, those fetuses don't count.

All good points on why not to vote for McCain. You second many of those raised by Colin Powell. Throw in some of the points Powell made about McCain that you did not and you have a very good case why not to vote for him. If you really want to put "Country First," I don't see how you could vote for McCain.

They continue to flog the abortion issue because they're totally out of ideas

That may be true as far as the Republican party goes, but the Democratic party also "flogs" the abortion issue in its own way. When they tone down their pro-choice rhetoric (I think the 2008 party platform made it worse) and welcome pro-lifers into their "big tent", I'll consider voting for them.

I'm with Rod. Between a baby killer and a warmonger (yes, yes, a wee bit of hyperbole there), I can't vote for either. But rather than vote for no one, I cast my (early) ballot for Ron Paul's endorsement, Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.

Linda,

A lot of us "flog the abortion" issue because we see a Biblical mandate to care for the "least of these" and are concerned about the impact on a society that can abort 48,000,000 unborn children.

We fight for a correction to Roe's over reach, we donate money and supplies to encourage mothers to make the right choice in the meantime, and we open our homes and adopt ... because we also have a biblical mandate to care for the "fatherless."

While we're at it, we do seek to care for the environment and care for the poor ... (albeit we believe private action is more effective than forced public action).

Some Republicans may flog abortion or tax cuts, etc. because they are power hungry and have no better ideas ... but there are plenty of us with plenty of ideas left to share, who authentically want to serve the society within which God has planted us.

Boy, the end of the political season sure is flushing the chumps. Getting real heated real fast, isn't it?

Not voting becuase not every issue lines up the way you want it to - not voting because you are on a higher more plane that 300,000,000 other Americans who have the courage to take a stand - what does that say about you and courage, conviction, leadership, trust. This is exactly why the right wing conservative movement is dying away in America -

So let the socialists take over cuz you can't vote McCain, way to go there Dreher.

You'll likely end up someday in a nice little world of your own creation where your life can be defined by the evil enemy outside. Maybe some sort of gated community made of only of Orthodox Christians, though you'd have to weed the liberals out even from among them, I'm sure.

As an american, it is my duty to vote. There are so many countries, that do not have the privliage( can't spell) to choose who will be president, or political leader. One vote can make a difference in this world. I also believe being able to vote, is a gift from God. Back then People had no choice but now we do. I also think, the people who don't vote, lose there right to complain about what is going on in the use, why well like i said before one vote makes a differents, and that person who didn't vote could have help change the United States for the better. God did give us the right to have a choice, by voting it also lets us practice it. When it comes to the president, THis is anoothe time to practice prayer and to listen to God for who might be the right person for the job.

What do you think of Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr, who are on the Constitution and Libertarian tickets, respectively?

There has definitely been a lot of controversy surrounding Obama and his abortion policies. I disagree with him most of the time, however I am impressed with his desire to reduce the number of abortions in America. Whether or not his plan will work, time will tell.

Were I American, I would probably vote for Obama. The only grounds I would have against doing so are:

1. Abortion: But are the Republicans honestly prolife, or is a vote-catching con??

2. Ihe middle name "Hussein". I'm being serious about this. I don't mean that Obama is actually a Muslim, but that his failure to formally change his name shows that he has not rejected the Muslim side of his background in a sufficiently wholehearted manner, and may be sympathetic, in some measure, to some aspects of Islam.

Not voting at all sends NO message at all. Vote for Chuck Baldwin, vote for Bob Barr - that sends a message. But given that a huge chunk of the electorate sits out every election, how will your choice NOT to vote be heard in the slightest? You can argue that a vote for a third-party candidate is a "wasted vote," but compared to not voting at all?

The decision not to vote is, I think, the silliest way to not make a point that I've ever seen.

The US is already a mix of socialism and capitalism. If socialism is always evil then I guess not only are you against the recent government action to buy into private banks and bail out the economy (by the socialist Bush administration) but you also want to get rid of social security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Education. Is any government intervention wrong i.e., Iraq and Afghanistan? Why would you stop anywhere left of Adam Smith? Heck, why have his “limited government”? What not privatize the military and local government? Hey, why not get rid of all government? Can't the market self-govern? How far do you folks want to go with this? You seem to throw these terms around as some sort of code words but I would like to know how far you want to go with the direction you imply. Where would you stop and why? It is always easy to make negative statements but much harder to think through the ramifications of your implications and make positive statements of your ideals.

Everyone needs to take an objective step back to analyze both their faith and whats really going on in the world. This is a FAITH based website, hopefully founded to foster the very idea of the word. Leo Virtus will not be voting for president this year or any, not because of some left field republican view or some reluctantly optimistic liberal notion. No, instead I leave the fate of this country, and world, into the most suited hands for the job- -its creator. Do any of you think for even ONE second that your vote, your voice, matters in the political scheme of things?! The Bible tells us we cannot worship God and money. What do you think makes the world tic, tic, tic? $$$ Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Know the following: The president for this coming term and the following terms to come have ALREADY been predetermined and are selected looong before their candidacy even comes to fruitition. This world is not governed by THE people but rather CERTAIN people. What we, as God's creation, can do is remain steadfast in our faith and our virtues. Liberate your mind to the truth and not worldy dramas that only defer us from what we should be preoccupied with, like elections that are merely intended to "proliferate the illusion of balance" among people. How many of you are familiar with the 7 years of peace prophesied to occur? It will most definitely get better before things come to a head. (ie. return of Christ) It was planned that way in hopes of weeding out the non-believers and shaking the indifferent from the ignorance which they grasp so tightly.

Revelations proclaims, with no grain of salt, that it is not a matter of "if" the time will come but WHEN. This is not intended to frighten the masses but rather prepare them. Which, in all honesty, is like having a cheat sheet in a class full of morons- -no one knows how to use it properly.

Do not concern yourself with the ways of this world. Prepare yourself for the departing of it...for IT WAS WRITTEN.

At the very least I can vote for the lesser of two evils.

Or the evil of two lessers, as it's often rephrased. Actually, in this case I'd argue you're choosing between the different of two evils (like Rod, I don't think I'll be voting for president, though I will be voting, if only to cast my vote against Jim Moran, the congressman given to Northern Virginia for her sins).

I'm with you Rod, in that I can't vote for Sen. Obama due to his views on abortion, and that I likely won't vote for Sen. McCain for various other reasons.

However, I have to question your claim regarding "traditional marriage." Did not Gov. Palin and Sen. Biden basically agree during their debate that same-sex couples should be granted legal rights?

And isn't it Sen. Obama who is still with his wife, not his former mistress? I am by no means standing up for Sen. Obaman, but I think there needs to be serious discussion amongst conservatives about our country's high divorce rate likely posing more danger to "traditional marriage" than civil unions ever will.

I also can't vote for a presidential candidate this year, for different reasons. My political conscience is pretty hard-core libertarian (small-l), so I usually vote for the big-l Libertarian candidates when they are available, and not completely nuts. But I remember Bob Barr being a typical southern Republican hack in the 90's and early part of this decade, and his libertarian epiphany of just a few years ago is too little, too late for me. The absolute deal-closer is his vote for enabling Bush's Iraq misadventure. I will never vote for anyone who made that possible, no matter what extent they try to repent later on.

Rombald, part of what makes me proud of this country is the potential that, seven years after 9/11 and two wars in Iraq, we have the ability to look beyond the name Hussein and elect someone President with at least a small Muslim background. I am proud of an America that does not try to ascribe some sort of intrinsic evil to a name or a religion.

Yup, you got it, Rod.

I can really feel your pain; refusing to vote is not always apathy, and I've done the very same thing in the past. I follow the logic of refusing to help support a corrupt, dysfunctional system.

FWIW, I'm voting for Barak Obama with hope and guarded optimism. I don't see any 'runaway liberalism' in the near future, as some of those voting the way that I am are moderate Republicans who feel their party left them -- Sarah Palin being a stellar example of what they do NOT like about today's lobbyist-run, Wall Street enabled GOP.

With that said, I'll be turning my attention to methods that can better track, monitor, and assess 'performance of public elected officials'. I think that Obama's claims that we do NOT need 'more government' but we URGENTLY need 'better government' is pretty much the concensus of those in my network(s).

How to engineer better government is a big, big task.
But it can't be done if people don't realize "it's not about me." It's definitely about 'us.'

I respect your views and look forward to your analysis as the conservative movement rebuilds. The left needs opposition that's sane, challenging, and has integrity. If you can help get the rot out of the GOP, then my very best wishes go your way.

"To every thing, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."
This season, let's hope for renewal, a focus on personal integrity, and more decency in our discourse. Thank you, Rod, to you and to beliefnet.com for your courage in trying to build a more civil discourse on policy topics.

Rod, you've put your finger on something really important.

For years conservatives have spent time contributing to political causes, not committing to changing the culture of our homes, neighborhoods and communities. Your post on Evangelical teens and sex makes that point pretty clearly.

Being out of power might allow conservatives to focus on that real change, which would be a better use of time than simply plotting a better marketing campaign for a brand that has put America in deep trouble.

At least the market has already evaluated the effects of the election.

The Markets Are Weak Because the Candidates Are Lousy
The good news is that an Obama victory is already priced in.
By GEORGE NEWMAN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122523927108878301.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

"The market is forward looking. If it is unhappy with a president, it does not wait almost eight years before the numbers reflect it. If it really anticipated good times under Mr. Obama, the market would have gained 40% in anticipation of the transition. By losing that much, it seems to be saying the opposite."

Voting for Obama and simultaneously increasing my support of local crisis pregnancy centers and organizations like Feminists for Life, who pour energy into actually helping women and children, without judging them, and who try to promote real choices for women so they might have some hope of overcoming the overwhelming pressures to abort. I don't think abortion will be solved by presidential politics. I wish I could vote for a pro-life Democrat, but you go to the polls with the candidates you have, so to speak. And I trust Obama on most other issues more than I trust McCain.

Having said that, I still think it's appropriate for us pro-lifers voting for Obama to be plenty vocal about how we want him to make good on his promise to promote adoption, and how we want him to be more open to listening to pro-life Democrats. And remind him, vigorously, of how many many people who would have liked to support him could not do so because of his views on abortion. And to keep in his face about how this one united nation that he so eloquently envisions includes a lot of people who disagree with him on abortion even as they appreciate his "Yes We Can" vision for the nation in so many respects.

Vote Third Party. Vote Chuck Baldwin. Man.

Remember Rod,

when you sit back and allow Barack Obama the presidency, you forfeit your right to be heard among the discussion of rational people who voted for or against him. You give up your voice willingly and therefore any critique of yours holds no water because you didn't speak up when you had the chance.

Every election is the battle of which candidate you think is the least likely to screw things up - and there are plenty of choices.

There are many third parties out there and it is of course not allowed to write in a candidate in Texas - but do it anyway. Then you at least have your conscience. Write in "Bugs Bunny" for all I care, as long as you do it while standing for your political convictions. There is no such thing as a conscientious objector in an election, Rod, you can't check the "I don't like any of these choices so I'm goona sit at home and cry about it" box. You don't show up and you are categorically the same as dead-beats sucking at the teet of society. Always complaining about how the world got them down... "Feel sorry for me... it wasn't my fault."

Sorry if I sound insulting or insensitive - wait, I'm not sorry. Get your ass out there and perform your civic duty.

ReaderOfTeaLeaves,

""To every thing, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."
This season, let's hope for renewal, a focus on personal integrity, and more decency in our discourse. Thank you, Rod, to you and to beliefnet.com for your courage in trying to build a more civil discourse on policy topics."

Thanks for making me look like a jerk. :-)

I agree wholeheartedly, but I still don't take it back. You really should consider voting Rod. It's only once every four years and you'll feel better about the situation if you do.

Not meaning to match your tone here, Matt, but you express an incredibly narrow view of the duties of citizenship. The list is a bit longer than the singular "cast a vote on election day".

Abstaining from voting is a valid act, albeit a vain one when there is no mechanism to record and convey it to the Parties That Be. Do some research: here in PA, one cannot cast a write-in vote unless the person named registered as a candidate prior to a deadline. As I recall, many (if not most) other states have similar restrictions on write-ins.

In the end, though, I am in agreement with the principle behind your "in"civility... ahem. Eligible voters should be doing much more than not voting. They should raise their voices in protest about the two-party stranglehold on the electoral processes. They are legally and morally members of the constituency of their representatives whether they voted them into office or not. When one calls a representative's office to offer comment or complaint, no one is there asking one to prove that one voted in the last (or any) election.

You should vote for Chuck Baldwin who has Ron Paul's endorsement. He is a Christian, anti-abortion, non-interventionist like Paul.

Rob G., I agree with you... also consider this:

Sen. Obama supports U.S. expansion of tax-funded partial birth abortion, a barbaric procedure that involves piercing the skull of an infant at full-term delivery and vacuuming-out the child's brains, a child that could be born that instant and survive perfectly on it’s own. Worse than this, Barack Obama voted over three straight legislative sessions to kill Illinois ' Born Alive Infant Protection Act (BAIPA) – which requires that a baby who survives a late-term abortion receive protection equal to that granted other newborns. One of Sen. Obama's Illinois votes was against a version of this lifesaving bill passed unanimously, bipartisanly, and in essentially identical form at the Federal level, with the support of John McCain.

An Illinois nurse testified to Obama how, at a suburban hospital, "One night, a nursing co-worker was taking an aborted Down syndrome baby who was born alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not want to hold him, and she did not have the time to hold him. I couldn't bear the thought of this suffering child lying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived."

Here is what Obama didn’t like about the Born Alive Infant Protection bill on the Illinois Senate floor on March 30, 2001: Senator Obama: "...[W]hat we're really saying is, in fact, that they[babies who survive abortions] are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a – child, a 9-month-old – child that was delivered to term. ...the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this [a baby who survives an abortion] is a child, then this would be an anti-abortion statute.”

In other words, the reason that he opposed saving these little babies, who at times were living for as much as ten hours after these botched abortions, was because to protect them would amount to a chink in the armor of abortion rights. I’m sorry, but this level of callousness and political calculation regarding a tiny defenseless baby (aborted simply because he had Down Syndrome!) is worthy of a Hitler or Stalin, but not an American President. If you are a Christian or anyone for that matter who cares about children, how in good conscience could you vote for someone (or neglect voting for the opposition, in this case, McCain/Palin) who voted for the continuation of the barbarous practice of that Chicago Hospital?

You do realise that abortion may be the "shibboleth" of the culture wars but it isn't the only issue at stake? What about the care of the weakest after they are born? Why does the overwhelming concern of the right for children appear to stop at birth?
Why so concerned for the unborn but not the rest of us? Don't we matter?
Sorry to be a bit facetious, but the criticism appears utterly unbalanced. To go on a tangent, abortion is a necessary evil and tragedy and making it legal and as safe as possible is another necessary evil. Making it as rare as possible, by helping the mothers rather than demonizing them would be another. Please stop arguing over other people's bodies as if it were the only interesting thing they could do. What about, lets say, allowing workers to unionize or enacting anti-pollution laws, allowling legal entry to the country, what taxes should be spent on etc. Just for a change.
@ Rob G. you do know what a Marxist is? I've met one or two and - trust me - Obama really does not qualify (whereas of course, the Bush administration with it's nationalising of the means of production in the form of banks, hmmmm). As to him being undemocratic or a totalitarian, as you seem to imply, again after providing a government that actually ran secret prisons and torture facilities, the party you plan to support doesn't have a leg to stand on.
If I may suggest, consider who would actually help you and the rest of the planet get out of the mess of the last eight years of Republican government, as opposed to supporting your pet theories.

Just for Justin (well for all of those who are unaware of history).

: Reich Central Agency for the Struggle against homosexuality and abortion

Just google that and you will find that Hitler was opposed to abortion for Aryan women. They actually kept track of miscarriages and investigated if they thought it might have been an abortion. They also locked up homosexuals. Hitler did support abortions for those of inferior races.

Steve

Hello Brian,

"Linda makes a great point. Come to think of it, I've never known any anti-choice folks who adopted. It's all just a lot of hot air."

I know lots. Including, well, John McCain.

I love your idea about writing in Wendell Berry, but is Obama a pro-abortion zealot, or pragmatic constitutionalist that realizes there is no shot of overturning Roe v. Wade, and therefore wants to mitigate the amount of abortions. If you were president how would you stop abortion from happening? This is a question I would like an answer to, because it doesn't seem like you provide much grace on this topic for anyone. I do understand your theological, moral, and emotional standings on this issue, but you aren't very clear as to how such a thing as devastating as abortion can stop, and you are very critical of people who support Roe v. Wade on any grounds. I desperately want to seek common ground with you, but you beat the dead horse on this topic and your arguments merely become wishy-washy and arrogant the more you address this issue as purely a theological and moral problem. Yea, we know, abortions are horribe and should never happen, but what are you going to do to stop them? I wish we could sit down and have lunch to talk, because a conversation is necessary for me to understand your point of view. I am very disappointed that you were willing to vote for George W. Bush both times, but you can not find it in your heart to vote for either of these men in this election.

I have already voted. I voted for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.

The Republican Party lost my support long ago, because they are Socialist Party B, while Democrats are Socialist Party A. The bloated budgets under G.W., and the pork barrel spending by the likes of Ted Stevens and others, are symptomatic of a party of pragmatists that will never get my support again, even though I was in the trenches for 20 years.

I see glimmers of hope when I see the enthusiasm of grass roots Republicans, but the reality is that the Republican Party, like the Democrat Party, is controlled from the top by big moneyed interests. They patronize the ordinary people like you and me, who give our time, our talent, our energy, our enthusiasm, and our zeal. I know I was used for 20 years. They gave us patronizing pats on the head and made us think we were being heard. It wasn't true. They've lost me forever. I'll never be back.

While I hope that Republicans *win* this time around because, as you noted Mr Dreher, Democrat social policies are wrong to us social conservatives, I also believe that it's time we dumped all those so-called moderate conservatives. As much as I hate to say it, Republicans do deserve to lose.

We republicans need to forget catering to moderate or undecided voters. McCain's campaign has had no energy. Imagine being a rock star or other stage performer having to calibrate your performance to people who were sort of indifferent for 1 1/2 years. No "fans", no ardent support. After about 6 months, yeah I'd be confused about what it was I was supposed to be doing and saying too. Appealing to undecideds was the first strategic blunder.

Being a compromiser is terrific quality in an ambassador or a Senator or Representative. Bringing people together at the table is an awesome talent. But to be a President requires a clear vision, a desire to be president. Some former presidents describe it as not so much them *wanting* to be president, but more like a calling. Something, they felt, needed to be done. I don't see that or hear that in John McCain or in any of the current Republican crop except maybe for the guy who stormed out of that emergency budget meeting where we got the 700 billion. That was gumption, daring, had "up yours" written all over it. Didn't work, but that's not the point.

Republicans: be who you are! Draw a line in the sand and dare to say "this is wrong" and "that is right". Be a person who lives and dies and is willing to sacrifice for what you believe to be right. If you believe abortion is wrong in all cases, don't compromise with the people who say "it's right in 50 percent of cases". Hold your ground and, once and for all, forget those undecideds. You will draw them -- or, yes, repel them by being who you are. But you can't waste energy on them. It'll leave you sapped, dry, unfocused.

Republicans, in other words, grow a pair!

If you don't get out and vote for McCain, you might not have a chance to make any choice at all in 2012. The Weather Underground hasn't changed its goals, just its tactics. They still want to overthrow the US government. They've just decided to do it from within, quietly and behind the scenes. And Barack Obama is their guy. They've been grooming him since college. Read the report at Zombietime. Zombie needs to get a prize for investigative journalism.

Obama in the White House is the Weather Underground in charge. And that's worse than just a bad President.

Rod,
Sitting out is a vote for Obama. That means it is a vote for the Freedom of Choice Act, for unlimited abortion. I cannot understand how anyone pro-life, or any truly thinking individual, can stand by and allow that to happen. Think of late term abortions, partial birth abortions, young girls getting abortions without their parents knowledge, babies born alive being allowed to die in a closet. That will be the Obama legacy. A vote for McCain is a vote for the unborn and the women and girls who are victims of abortion!

If nothing else, aren't you scared of a government controlled by the Obama-Reid-Pelosi brand of liberalism? There will be no balance, no bipartisanship in that government.

Honestly, I can't understand your reasoning. There is so much more here at stake than teaching the Republicans a lesson. I hope you change your mind and can influence others to do the same.

Good job with the comments and the column, as long as the disgust, corpution, and bad jobs they contuine to do. I probally won't be voting for anything for sometime, Last November would have been my 1st preisdental Election to vote in. (I turned 18 about 6 months after the 2004 election) Neither side as our intrests in mine and a lot of them are their to benefit themselves. I want to see new parties emerge to challenge the Republicans and Demorcats and have more indendepents see sucess. If we had several canadites to choose from, then it's worth it. However, as long as we only have 2 canadites and both them are just evil, I will contuine to stay out of the voting booth for good.