The Greater of Two Evils

I've never read Ann Rice, but Drudge linked to her statement, so I shall proceed to tear it apart. It's one of those things I do.

I have come to feel that my Christian conscience requires of me a particular political statement at this time.

This will be good. You know it's going to be good when you see this because, Ron Paul excepted, there isn't a single candidate who meets the basic criterion for a Christian vote. Paul is opposed to egregious violations of the just war doctrine, such as the first Persian Gulf War, the current war on Iraq, and any and all other future incursions such as that pending against Iran and other middle eastern nations. He is not alone in this, but he is also opposed to abortion, which no Christian can tolerate. The God who knew the prophet Jeremiah before He formed him in his mother's womb is not appeased by ending lives before they reach legal personhood.

To a Christian, the right to life must trump all. There can be no compromise on this issue. Other issues, such as whether we should give government largesse to help the poor, or whether that duty can be met by the private sector, can be debated. Indeed it is worth nothing that even as Jesus Christ told us to give to those less fortunate than us, "the poor you will always have with you".

This is not to say that a Christian must be a libertarian. But I find it interesting that none of the democrats dare break faith on the abortion issue, while even those republicans who are members of the religious right, and as such opposed to abortion, nonetheless support very obvious violations of just war doctrine.

Back to Anne, who I learn has recently returned to the Faith which I share after an almost lifelong hiatus:

Let me say first of all that I am devoutly committed to the separation of church and state in America.

I applaud Anne for her return to the Faith, but she still has some learning to do. Allow me to arrogantly pontificate. I keep interrupting here, but what Paul Johnson calls the Total Society, which was delineated by Augustine in The City of God and which Johnson traces from the crowning of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne in 800 to the high Middle Ages, wearing substantially during the Great Western Schism, and becoming irrevocably broken during the Protestant Reformation and the fallout therefrom, is the Catholic ideal. It is worth mentioning because the separation of church and state provides a model, and one with which me may work, but one which presents certain problems to the Catholic conscience.

I believe that the separation of church and state has been good for all Christians in this country, and particularly good for Catholics who had a difficult time gaining acceptance as Americans before the presidential election of John F. Kennedy.

Ah yes, John F. Kennedy, that paragon of Catholic virtue. See Johnson's treatment of one of the most overrated presidents in U.S. history in his magnificent A History of the American People. While personal virtue is not required to be Catholic--correct belief is--Catholics would be wise to create serious separation from such a man.

I am also keenly aware that we have only two parties in this country. Only two. This point can not be emphasized enough. We do not have a slate of parties, including one which is purely Christian. We have two parties, and our system has worked with two parties for generations. This is what we have.

I feel strongly that one should vote for one of these two parties in an election. I suspect that not voting is in fact a vote. I suspect that voting for a third party, when such parties develop, is in effect voting for one of the major parties whether one wants to believe this or not.

To summarize, I believe in voting, I believe in voting for one of the two major parties, and I believe my vote must reflect my Christian beliefs.

So if Rice was faced with Stalin and Hitler she would obvious vacillate toward Stalin. If both candidates are unacceptable to Christians, then Christians should vote for a third party--or avoid voting all together. Such idiocy is appalling.

She's right when she says that not voting is a vote. It's a vote for sanity and moral absolutes. It's a vote against this nonsense that we must plug our nose on the way to the ballot box and mark a check next to the least offensive candidate.

Bearing all this in mind, I want to say quietly that as of this date, I am a Democrat, and that I support Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.

Though I deeply respect those who disagree with me, I believe, for a variety of reasons, that the Democratic Party best reflects the values I hold based on the Gospels. Those values are most intensely expressed for me in the Gospel of Matthew, but they are expressed in all the gospels. Those values involve feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting those in prison, and above all, loving one’s neighbors and loving one’s enemies. A great deal more could be said on this subject, but I feel that this is enough.

I can't wait to see Anne's reaction after Hillary demonstrates her love for enemies by continuing the war in Iraq--and bombing Iran. And infanticide isn't behavior one would engage in with the progeny of one's worst enemy; it's deeply telling that democrats campaign in earnest to allow women to do such evil to their own children. But aside from these two small matters, the democrats fully encapsulate the message of the Gospel of Matthew.

I want to add here that I am Pro-Life... And much as I am horrified by abortion, I am not sure -- as a student of history – that Americans should give up the right to abortion.

In other words she's not Pro-Life at all. Being Pro-Life means working to end the evil of abortion and trying to prevent other impingements on the right to life which is sacred.

Words are worth little if not followed up by action. By endorsing a candidate who will only perpetuate evil, Anne Rice is doing a tremendous disservice to her readers, her Faith, and her soul. We may pray that her conversion continues to bear fruit; may that fruit be less rotten than this endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president.