The Non-Vote Vote Option

The results of Super Tuesday are in.  Stick a fork in Mitt.  He's done.  Mark Steyn best represents my take on yesterday.

So, McCain is the guy.  Or not.

Dobson dropped several bombs yesterday.

“I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are … I cannot, and will not, vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience,”

“I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can’t vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life,” he said.

Let's face it.  Not voting is a type of vote.  It is a vote that all of the choices are unacceptable.  Pragmatically this throws the election to the Dems of course.  But maybe the long term effect of conceding to the Dems in 2008 is better than allowing the party of conservatives to be redefined in the likeness of McCain.

As a Christian, the thought of not voting in a presidential election has always been unthinkable.  It might as well have been a sin.  This unusual election, however, has caused me to rethink this option.  As Christians, we are called to be the best of citizens.  Maybe being the best of citizens means exercising the non-vote vote option.

I would like self-professed Christians to weigh in on this question.  I will absolutely not publish comments from commenters who I know are not followers of Christ (by their own admission).

Comments

[Nick]

Theologically, Christians are all over the map on this issue. In my church, we have some people who believe that voting is our civic duty, part of what we are commanded to "render unto caesar." Others, some of whom I admire greatly, consider it unthinkable for a Christian to vote. Those latter consider voting to be a faustian bargain with a caesar who already demands too much allegiance.

In other words, I think you, your conscience, and the prompting of the Spirit are on your own with this one. This is one of the non-essentials in Augustine's famous maxim: "In Essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love"

One other thought: Being the "best of citizens" might require you to vote in Australia, were IIRC failure to vote is illegal. Since the U.S. does not require its citizens to vote, I don't see that you are failing in your duties, civil or religious, if you don't exercise the right (not obligation) to vote. After all, I doubt you participate in every local township or city government meeting, but that isn't a failure of your Christian duty is it?

[Carl Holmes]

I can not believe you are thinking this, but I have not thought through it fully. Here is my 2 cents worth though.

Not voting means more potential precious state delegates going to the other team. That other team being the Democrats. Neither Democrat gives me ANY reason to even think voting for them. McCain, I am still a little put off about, but he is better then the other guy. Should I not go for the lesser of the two evils?

Remember that all authority is given by God... ALL of it. He has a plan here, not engaging is just throwing our hands up and saying we will not engage in the political process because we did not get our way. It makes us look a little bit like a whining baby.

Our focus now needs to be on electing Senators that are friendly to the causes that Define us as Christians. Abortion, the War, etc etc. Love or hate the president, they can not get much done if we have good local representation that will take a stand.

[Matt]

What is it about McCain that irks you as a Christian?

The fact that he's against torture? or his pro-life voting record? his belief in free-trade? his favoring of private SS accounts? his support for school vouchers? capital punishment? His support for the Iraq war?

Maybe you don't like McCain because you think he's a liar, or because he's snubbed the party on a few occasions, or some other character defect? Firstly, all politicians are liars, McCain is no worse than Clinton or Obama in this area. And as for going against conservative issues on occasion, when have Clinton or Obama ever gone for conservative issues?

As a Christian I feel I should vote for McCain over Clinton or Obama, even though I personally don't care for the man. His positions are much much closer to my own than the positions of Senators Clinton or Obama. I feel they would be much worse for this country and for issues important to me as a Christian were they to be elected.

Not voting is sort of a vote, however, even if more people don't vote than vote, the result isn't that no one wins or the parties are required to come up with some better candidates (it'd be nice if it was that way). The candidate with the most votes for, wins; regardless of whether they are also the candidate causing the most 'non-votes' Just like choosing to not choose is a choice, in such instances you just end up with someone else choosing for you.

Every presidential election I've been able to vote in has always been (for me) a choice between the lesser of two evils. ALWAYS. This election is no different.

[Mr. Dawntreader]

Ok everyone, calm down.

Take two steps back, take a deep breath, and consider this.

Suspend debate about McCain for a second ...

Assume McCain, for the sake of argument, is not conservative ... assume he is a centrist ... assume he is a non-conservative who is lying about his conservatism to appeal to conservatives in the primary just so that he can get enough votes to get elected ... but that he truly does not represent conservative principles and will veer sharply left once elected.

I realize all of those assumptions could be dead wrong ... but follow me on this thought experiment regardless.

If all of those were true ... then a non-vote for McCain is really a vote for the future of conservatism, is it not?

Does it mean a loss in November to a liberal?

Absolutely.

Is that the worse thing that could ever happen to this country?

Maybe.

Is the loss of a conservative party for the forseeable future worse than losing to a liberal in November?

Possibly.

If conservatism can be redefined to mean anything, then it has reached the point of meaning nothing.

This kinda falls into the same problem as redefining marriage to mean anything you want it to mean ... pretty soon, it means nothing at all.

So ... go with me on my thought experiment. We can debate McCain later ( I intend to ). For now, assume McCainism <> conservativism ...

Is the non-vote vote ok for the Christian? Or, is it a sin? Or, is it just a bad idea but not a sin.

[The Interface]

Excellent question and one of highly practical significance. Shooting from the hip a little here, I do believe we can biblically say not voting is not a sin, but in this case, just a bad, no, a very bad idea. Why? Because although McCain may not be a conservative or represent conservatism, neither is he a Marxist socialist (a charge that could be defended and proven, but not in these comments) as are the Democratic candidates. The President does not define what it means to be a conservative. But he will be responsible for, for example, selecting Supreme Court justices who will set the cultural milieu for decades, and you can be sure a Democrat president will not appoint judges that we as conservatives would want. He is also responsible for defending the country and the Democrats have repeatedly demonstrated their lack of touch with reality on that front. To hand the control of the country's defense over to such fecklessness would be tantamount to handing it to the Islamofascists, who are hardly "user friendly" on Christians. If we are to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence," (1 Tim 2:2) it is sometimes necessary to do more than pray but to also "contend with the wicked" (Prov 28:4) and voting to oppose an agenda that would make being a Christian increasingly less quiet and peaceable seems like an excellent way to do so. And as Carl says, there are other battles to be fought in the House and Senate composition to which we may turn. The balance of powers the founding fathers created can be wonderfully comforting!

[Carl Holmes]

Sorry if I chased the wrong rabbit earlier.

Jesus did not come straight out and tell his disciples to engage in the political process. However, he did tell them to be subject the rules and governing bodies that are out there because they are ordained by God. (Romans 13:1) We are called to be good citizens in any culture or circumstance we are in. I believe that part of being engaged as good citizens means that we should vote, we should be willing to serve in the military (if called upon), and we should be willing to submit to those in authority in the government.

God did not leave us on this earth to be ruled by just anyone. He allows us a voice. Every year we are allowed to vote, and take place in a process whereby we can make our voice heard. Working in international relief makes me realize that most of the people I work with around the world do not have that voice. They take what they are given, good or bad. We have a gift that is given to us by the government that we serve that allows us to shape and mold public policy. When we do not exercise that voice we are given, it is not a sin, it is not violation of God, but it is a failure to exercise your duty and right as a citizen.

I believe voting is an act of love. God tells us that the greatest commandment of all is to “LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF” (Matthew 22:37) Our neighbor is the one in the apartment next to us, the cubicle next to us, and a the grocery store in Texas. Everyone is our neighbor. The one who can not vote, the one that can vote, the one that can not get to the polling places because they are invalids; the list is endless. We have a charge before us to love them unconditionally. We must go and make our voices heard knowing that we represent not just ourselves, but our friends, and most importantly we are laying down a legacy for our children, our childrens children and on and on down the line.

All is not lost in the political arena. We still need to elect Senators, City Councilmen, and a whole host of other people to represent us to the powers that be of the government. When we look to the local level we still have a lot of influence. That influence properly applied will change the course of any nation. I can not in good conscious do as Dr. Dobson has decided and not vote.

[deb]

Good evening, Mr. DT!

You know, there could be a third choice. What if some did decide to run as an independent. I mean, Ron Paul has like 20 million dollars. Do you think he and his groupies are going to go away just because John McCain gets the nomination for the Rep Party? I could totally imagine him running thru November but switching to an independent ticket. Not that he is an ideal candidate, but he is definitely the polar opposite of John McCain.. so who knows??

[Susannah]

Right now, my thinking is: slightly better is still better. I could change my mind if persuaded.

I still haven't gotten over McCain-Feingold; however, I was brought up to do my civic duty, so I will. I know lots of people who don't plan to, though.

[Steve Clarke]

Blankley makes a similar point, although not in the context of Christians and voting:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/02/the_strange_gop_nominating_vic.html

[Matt]

I don't think it's a sin to not vote. I do think it is foolish.

I also do not think that a conservative elected president then defines conservatism. How many conservatives are against amnesty, but Bush was for it? How many conservatives will change their opinion on abortion, just because a president McCain might do so?

Are conservative principals built on sand or on solid ground?

Deb, while I like Ron Paul, I can't vote for him because of his Iraq position. I can't vote to abandon those people.

[Rachael]

It seems to me like it wouldn't be a sin to not vote; however, if you don't vote, you don't really have a right to complain about the government. I would agree with deb that you could vote for an independent candidate. If you like an independent more than your current options, you would still be voicing your opinion and giving your vote to the candidate you think is best. It is better than giving your vote to someone you absolutely do not like. Elections have been affected by independent candidates before...