Let Me Be Clear: Mitt Romney is the Obvious Choice This November for Faithful Christians

President Obama frequently uses the phrase; let me be clear, to emphasize a point.  Well now Mr. President, if you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow your phrase.  To all my fellow Christians and people of faith, let me be clear, this is a very important presidential election in November and the differences between the candidates are stark.  As with all things there are some grey areas and not any one politician or political party is perfect.  However, let me be clear, there is an obvious choice for faithful Christians this presidential election and the man we should all support and vote for is Mitt Romney.

Who are our choices for President?

• Barack Obama (Democrat)
• Mitt Romney (Republican)

I have heard from a couple people who have reservations about both candidates, and so they say that they will be voting for Ron Paul or some other third party candidate.  While I respect these people’s passion, the fact of the matter is that either Obama or Romney will win.  No candidate will be perfect, but these are our two options so responsible voters will look at the two options and decide which of the two will be better for our country. Thankfully we have one candidate that is pro-life, pro-marriage, and who respects our religious freedom.  As a bonus, Romney also has a great plan for improving our economy, which would be much better for the poor than government handouts.  So we have a choice: Obama or Romney?

What are the most important issues people of faith should consider when voting?

The USCCB has released a voter guide for the 2012 election.  While I understand why Catholic Bishops would not publicly endorse candidates, it is their job as our spiritual leaders to help form our consciences.  The document, called "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," lists seven major themes that should be on the minds of Catholics and all Christians when deciding on how we should vote.  The most important issues as follows:

• ·         Respect for Life
• ·         Respect for Family and Marriage
• ·         Respect for Religious Liberty
• ·         Concern for the Poor
• ·         Immigration Reform
• ·         Terrorism and War

Other issues are also important; the debt, the economy, healthcare, etc.  It is important to note the difference between issues that are intrinsic evils, things that are always wrong no matter the circumstance, and those issues which require prudential judgment.  Although I’m sure it is not the intention of the USCCB, sometimes I believe that they talk about so many issues that the faithful can become confused as to which issues are of the utmost importance.  Also, it is not always made clear that there can be disagreement about how to solve certain problems such as how to best serve the poor.  It is unquestionable that Christians are called to help the poor, but does that mean Christians must support a big and ever expanding government in the midst of a debt crisis?  Absolutely not!  However, abortion is an intrinsic evil that can never be justified.  Candidates who actively and enthusiastically support abortion should never be rewarded with our vote.  Thankfully, some individual bishops have spoken up and made this distinction.  Philadelphia Archbishop Chaput is one of those Bishops.

President Obama is not only supportive of abortion and the largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood, but as a senator he went so far as supporting the killing of a baby born alive after a failed abortion.  Sickening!  It is inconceivable to me that any person of faith could vote for a man with those values.  Connected closely to the right to life is the right of religious freedom.  As we have seen from President Obama, he has infringed upon our religious freedom with the HHS mandate.  Interestingly, he is quick to condemn anyone who criticizes Islam, but I never once hear him defend the rights of Christians.  One other major contradiction I would like to point out is Obama's message regarding Fatherhood.  If you think fatherhood is so important Mr. President, why do you no longer support marriage?  Obama is now "enlightened" and believes in and supports "gay marriage," which will confuse kids, diminish the role of fathers, and hurt families.  You would like to think that someone who professes to be Christian would act more Christian. 

I encourage you to read the document released by our American Catholic Bishops regarding faithful citizenship.  No candidate or political party perfectly aligns with the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Church.  Let that not discourage us, but rather motivate us to make our voices heard.  While we have a clear choice this election, we must continue to promote Christian values regardless of who wins this election.  My hope and prayer is that Romney will be our next President.  Let’s make this happen!  God bless you and God bless America! 

Your comments are welcome and encouraged.  Who are you voting for and why?     

Rick Santorum: Catholic or Conservative… or Both?

In her most recent column, Ann Coulter criticizes Rick Santorum for being a faithful Catholic and not conservative enough for her liking.  Here is a direct quote from Ann Coulter.

“Santorum is not as conservative as his social-issues credentials suggest. He is more of a Catholic than a conservative, which means he's good on 60 percent of the issues, but bad on others, such as big government social programs.”

My response to Ann Coulter’s criticism of Rick Santorum:

In the interest of full disclosure, let me start off by saying that I have never been a fan of Ann Coulter.  I have never ascribed to her brand of conservatism.  In addition, I have always found her to be an argumentative, arrogant, divisive, rude, and in general unlikable person.  However, I believe that I can make an objective response to her criticism of the presidential candidate whom I support.

“Santorum is not as conservative as his social-issues credentials suggest.”

Ann Coulter seems to concede that Rick Santorum is a strong social-issues conservative.  His strong defense of traditional marriage and the protection of the unborn are well known and unparalleled among his peers running against him in the Republican Presidential Primary.  He is passionately pro-family and pro-life, and he is the only candidate who frequently makes the connection between these most important social issues with the issue many voters determine to be most important issue; the economy.  He not only openly and publicly advocates for these social issues, but he shows consistency by living these values in his private life.  He is the father of 7 children, the youngest of which suffers from a very serious condition called Trisomy 18, and he has been married to his one and only wife of 21 years.  I have not met any of his children, but I have heard his oldest daughter and oldest son interviewed and they appear to be very impressive young people.  Rick Santorum and his wife, whom he humbly gives most of the credit, have raised a very impressive, inspiring, and spiritually strong family. 

“He is more of a Catholic than a conservative,”

This is a little like comparing apples to oranges.  Catholicism is a religion whereas conservatism is a political philosophy.   A person can be both a faithful Catholic and have a conservative political philosophy.  The two are not mutually exclusive, and in fact I would argue most often the two align themselves together.  However, Catholicism does not align itself completely with any political party or political philosophy.  Catholicism is the foundation for WHAT Rick Santorum believes, and conservatism is the HOW Rick Santorum believes government best addresses and preserves the “what” it is he and his religion believes.   Faithful Catholics point toward the Nicene Creed and the Catechism of the Catholic Church as guides to what we believe as Catholics.  Conservatism does not have such clear, distinct, and universal guidelines, and therefore it is open to more interpretation.  There are many different forms of conservatism as well; fiscal, social, etc.  Apparently, Rick Santorum doesn’t fit into Ann Coulter’s definition of conservatism.  I will discuss more on this later, but her above comment is more about a comparison between the beliefs of Catholicism and conservatism.  What drives Rick Santorum?  I believe that Rick Santorum does place more importance on being faithful to his religious beliefs than he does in politics or political philosophy.  He has proven this in his private life, public life, and political career.  He is not afraid to take politically unpopular positions on issues that are very important to him, his family, and his faith.  As opposed to this being a point of criticism and contention, I think this is one of the greatest reasons to support Rick Santorum.  His faith, not a political party or philosophy, forms his beliefs.  I believe many politicians and political correspondents such as Ann Coulter make their political philosophy their religion.  Not Rick Santorum, and to that I say bravo!

“Which means he's good on 60 percent of the issues, but bad on others, such as big government social programs.”

I am not sure how Ann Coulter comes up with the 60% number, but apparently she has an awful lot of criticisms of the Catholic Church.  Interestingly, her father was Catholic.  Ann herself is not very religious; she says she has general Christian beliefs but that she does not declare membership to any particular denomination.  I only point this out to get some greater perspective on her comments.  Ann’s conclusion is that Catholicism supports “big government social programs,” and leaves open the inference that there are other complaints she has with Catholicism.  The problem with Ann’s comment is that her insinuation that Catholicism supports big government is untrue.  As I noted earlier, the Church does not take political sides.  The Church is concerned about the poor and vulnerable among us, but the Church remains neutral in how best to serve the poor.  Some faithful Catholics may conclude upon their own deductions that big government social programs are the best way to support the poor.  I would disagree.  The great thing about Catholicism is that this is perfectly ok.  You see, faithful Catholics can disagree on HOW to fix societal ills and problems so long as we acknowledge and agree upon the problems themselves and that our intentions to solve the problems are pure and real.  Rick Santorum believes, as I do, that we can best help the poor by empowering them as opposed to making them slaves to the government through big social programs.  Rick Santorum’s record favorably supports his statements on limited government.  One of his greatest achievements as a member of the U.S. Senate was welfare reform, which encouraged poor people to work and helped lead to some of the lowest numbers of poverty in United States history.  Rick Santorum’s concern for the poor is especially refreshing considering that his party is often criticized for not caring about the poor.  “Santorum's driving interests: more efficient government and a keen interest in helping the poor — the latter motivated in part by his devout Roman Catholic faith” – USA Today.  There are ways to help the poor, such as welfare reform, that are not at odds with the conservative philosophy of limited government intervention.  In my opinion, Ann’s characterization of Rick Santorum as a supporter of big government social programs is a much distorted characterization of the man.  It is also very hypocritical and ironic.

What makes Ann Coulter’s criticism of Rick Santorum for not being conservative so hypocritical and ironic?  She is endorsing perhaps the most liberal Republican running for President; Mitt Romney.  Enough said.

God bless,

Mike

Romney Quits Race

Romney Quits Race

This is good news for Huckabee and the Republican Party. I give Romney a lot of credit and respect for making this tough decision when he clearly could have continued. I truly believe that Huckabee will gain strong support of Romney backers and give McCain a run for his money. I knew that this was the only way Huckabee had a chance, and it is amazing how things are falling in place for him. I never lost faith in Huckabee who has proven to be the one social conservative in the race. Like Romney says, the important thing in the end is that Obama or Hillary is not president. Although I did not support Romney, I feel he had lots of good ideas and hope that Romney supporters will now back Huckabee. If McCain is the one that the nation determines to be the candidate, I will stand behind him in his presidential bid. It is important to remember that neither Huckabee nor any other presidential candidate is a savior, and that regardless of who gets nominated it is up to us ultimately to make the world a better place and to spread the good news.

Taking A Step Back

My last several blog postings have been in reference to the republican presidential primary. I don't want you to confuse this blog with a political blog. I have concentrated on the primaries because I think they are important for us as Christians and as responsible citizens. I think it is important that we elect those people who best reflect our Christian values and will fight for those issues most near and dear to Christians. I believe Mike Huckabee is that man. I feel strongly about my endorsement for what it is worth. His lack of money has made him a long shot at the presidency, but I feel it is my responsibility as a Christian and a citizen to voice my opinion on this important event. That being said, I realize that I may have taken a harsh stance on some of the other candidates. It now looks as if this thing is a three-man race and I'm willing to consider the possibility of one of the other candidates winning the nomination.

I have come down hardest on Romney, but I don't think he is a bad man. He has good ideas for this nation and all indications are now that he is pro-life. It is possible for a person to have a dramatic change in the way they view things and possibly Romney has had that life altaring change of viewpoint on this issue. He has said that he only had that viewpoint because he could not win otherwise in a very liberal state of Massachusetts. I personally don't like that he would pander to those in Massachusetts and abandon his personal convictions, but that is done. He is a business man and he does know the life of the business world. He will undoubtedly be gaining support from several big business and the wealthy. He has attacked all of the other candidates pretty harshly including Huckabee, but McCain has also attacked him. In the current landscape, Romney has become the sole villain and I believe that is somewhat unfair.

John McCain deserves some of the heat he has been receiving. In the California debate a couple nights ago, he and Romney went at it for about 5 minutes. Their dislike for each other is obvious. Romney seemed to have the upper-hand in those arguments even though he did come off as a little arrogant, but my hope is that the real winner out of the McCain-Romney fight is Huckabee. Huckabee constantly reminded the interviewers that he was also part of this race. Both McCain and Romney looked bad as a result of this fight over wording and Huckabee sat idol. He doesn't participate in the normal political attacking and arguing. My only worry is that he appeared to viewers as a little disparate and impatient. Who could blame him if he was? The only way he can have a chance is if he is given a chance to speak and let his message be heard. I do think that Huckabee has made a slight political blunder by failing to challenge McCain's positions on several issues. He has challenged Romney, but he has not made a strong enough case against McCain and has since almost been labeled in the same camp as McCain and that is not accurate. He and McCain can be friendly towards one another and have differences of opinion.

I will be voting for Huckabee on Tuesday. I'm happy to report that Shelly and her mother have already voted for Huckabee. Her mother was undecided up to the last minute, but in the end she found Huckabee to be the best choice. Although she is not sure he will win, she voted for him because he was the best candidate. That is what we must do, because that is how we make our voices heard. If after Super Tuesday Huckabee does not do as well as expected and is forced to leave the race, I will still be proud of my vote for the man I see as the best candidate. I also want to say that I would support McCain or Romney in the upcoming Presidential election. Although I'd prefer Huckabee, both McCain and Romney are MUCH MUCH better than the alternative. Both, while not nearly as strongly or consistently as Huckabee, are pro-life in most cases and say they will appoint conservative Justices.

Once the primaries are coming to a close, I will focus more on other issues that I deem important or simply interesting and give you my take on from my Christian perspective. That is what this blog is all about. It is my attempt to spread my Christian views to those of you readers and hopefully you are spreading the message to your friends and the people you know. That's what we are called to do, and I hope that this blog is my small way of spreading the wonderful message of Jesus Christ. God bless you all and thank you for your continued support.

Mitt Romney Pic

I found a really good picture of Mitt Romney.