This is not a religious discourse but maybe something conservatives like myself can understand and accept. We do not live in a perfect world and we do not always have perfect scenarios when making a decision. Every day we chose to overlook or live with something we find not in agreement with our basic principles. We don’t have to endulge or engage in those activities but we do have to live in the same world with them.
Solomon held the baby up and with great stage presence made the announcement that he was going to “split the baby” in half. The result was not unexpected. The woman who was not the mother accepted the decision and was willing to sacrifice the baby for whatever reasons she had but love was not one of them. The true mother of the baby would rather give the baby to the other woman than have it put to death. Solomon recognized the sacrifice the mother was willing to make and gave the child to her. How the child turned out we will never know but there is a lesson here for Republicans and conservatives.
On one hand, we have conservatives who are not willing to accept the fact that McCain is a moderate conservative if that label is more accurate. Republicans who are loyal to the party are willing to accept McCain because on the core issues, Iraq and his promise to appoint true constitutionalists to SCOTUS, continue with Bush’s tax cuts, and a few other conservative initiatives important to the base is just enough to make him acceptable.
No one is happy with his McCain-Feingold bill which is totally unconstitutional, his close alliance with the Democrats and several other issues that would be out of the Republican/conservative mainstream.
The unfortunate thing is that true Republicans/conservatives only have half a candidate to get behind. Which half is more important at this point? Which half are we willing to sacrifice and which half is most likely to finally drive a stake into the heart of the Republican/conservative party?
Like it or not, admit it or not, believe it or not, biblical prophesy is accurate. All of the prophesy of the ancient prophets is slowly being fulfilled as each day passes. If we ignore history and especially biblical history we do so at our own peril. Perhaps the most telling of all prophesy was the one that foretold about the Nation of Israel coming back to existence and those scattered across the earth would return one by one. This is not fantasy but fact. It cannot be disputed.
And for those who like to impose religious beliefs into the equation, Jesus Christ understood that He lived in a time and a land under the oppressive rule of Rome. When asked about tribute, His reply was one of civil obedience. “Render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar’s” were His instructions to the disciples to obey the law of the land.
With that said, if Republicans/conservatives do not go to the polls on election day and vote for McCain, we will be guilty of handing the future of this country over to a party who is determined to undermine every principle this country was founded on. While those principles may not be written anywhere, for centuries we have lived with basic honesty, decency, and justice attributed to the average citizen. We have practiced a self-imposed seperation of church and state without the necessity of activist judges enacting legislation that could not muster enough votes to pass in an elected body of representatives. We have endured wars, civil strife, a depression, recessions, natural disasters, and we have survived.
W. Keller made some great points in his comments. I agree with most of them and understand his anger and frustration. In some ways I am an optomist but maybe this time a futile one. I still believe in America and if voting for McCain can preserve just enough to start a rebuild of a true conservative movement during his presidency, then we will have an opportunity to minimize some of the damage that will be done with a Democrat controlled congress. Of course McCain will do things to outrage conservatives but so has George Bush and every president we have had over the past 50 years. Even Reagan had his moments.
I am not a McCain supporter but I have to support someone in this election with my vote. I cannot sacrifice the baby and kill off the future of the Republican/conservative party in an act of selfishness and denial of the fact we live in the real world. McCain and his supporters can have the baby for now and I will vote for him in November. There is just too much at stake to make a pointless gesture. Is this the most important election in the history of this country? Maybe not to some but when you consider the impact of an Obama or Hillary win along with a greater majority in congress, the potential damage to this country is far greater than any enemy bomb could ever do. We do need someone who presents some degree of resistance, no matter how minor we may think it is.
