My Choice - Posted 01/10/08
An open letter to home school Republican voters from Dennis Smith, Founder and Executive Director of Information Network for Christian Homes, an organization serving home school families and support organizations in Michigan since 1984.
I’ve been following the notes home schoolers have been forwarding around with much interest. I’ve been reluctant to respond to any of them because I don’t like to give “endorsements” in a primary. My thought is that everyone should listen to the candidates, visit their web sites and get informed, then vote their conscience come primary election day. Then, once the primary process is completed, get behind and support the chosen candidate whether he was their choice or not. Unfortunately, a lot of Republicans, including some top names in Christian circles, don’t see it that way. Like the spoiled child who takes his bat and goes home if you don’t play the game by his rules, they will just stay home and not vote on National Election Day if their candidate is not the one who came out on top in the primaries. They would rather send the Republican Party a “message” by letting a Democrat win, than getting behind the chosen Republican candidate and helping the Republicans win. My greatest fear is that this may well happen again this election season.
Having said that, here’s how I see the Republican candidates shaping up for me personally.
It’s actually easier for me to eliminate who I would not vote for and then choose from those remaining. I must say also that my process involves a combination of evaluating each candidate’s positions on the issues, their record as an elected official, their leadership experience, and their elect-ability on a national ticket. When I look at a candidate’s current positions I try to see if it closely matches their record as an elected official, or is their current position one they’ve only recently adopted in an effort to appeal to the broadest audience in a national election. When I look at a candidate’s leadership experience I give considerably more weight to those who have governed a state, or in the case of Giuliani a large city, as opposed to those who have only ever held the positions of Congressman or Senator. And, finally, when it comes to elect-ability, while I may agree with a candidate religiously and postionally, if that candidate stands no chance of being able to win either the primary or national election, I consider it a waste of both my time and my vote to support that candidate.
Without a lot of comment, I can tell you I will not vote for Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Fred Thompson, John McCain, or Rudy Giuliani. Hunter, Thompson, and Paul all fail my leadership experience and elect-ability criteria. McCain has been wrong on issues like campaign finance reform and immigration, has an un-presidential nasty temper, and I just don’t like him. Giuliani just isn’t conservative enough for me.
That leaves me, and apparently the majority of Republicans, with Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney.
Mike Huckabee has become a bit of a conundrum for me. As governor of Arkansas he meets my leadership experience hurdle. I’m being told by HSLDA leadership that he is a Christian and has their endorsement, which should make him my hands-down favorite. But I see a fair amount of disparity between what I’ve heard in his campaign rhetoric and his record as Governor in Arkansas. He says he’s for lower taxes, but he raised taxes in AR. He says he supports homeschoolers and that they should be left alone, yet he signed into law a bill that imposed new restrictions on homeschoolers in AR. There are numerous other discrepancies upon which others in blogs and emails have elaborated. One very insightful article was written by Mary Pride and can be read at www.home-school.com/news/huckabee.html Another site that provides pretty extensive analysis on Huckabee is www.spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/ I think the underlying issue is that Huckabee doesn’t seem principled enough for me. It seems to me that he is more calculating and interested in telling people what they want to hear, or what he thinks will propel him to victory, than in telling people those things that are principles on which he will not waver. I am concerned that, if elected, he would calculate and do whatever is the most expedient at the moment on important issues rather than standing firm on core principles.
That leaves me with Mitt Romney. I know there are many Christians who will not vote for Romney because he is a Mormon. To me that’s as foolish as voting for Hillary Clinton just because she’s a woman. I doubt any of those same Christians who won’t vote for Romney voted for Bill Clinton when he was running because he is a Baptist! I also doubt they wouldn't vote for George H. W. Bush when he ran in 1988 and 1992 because he is Episcopalian, which is hardly what most of us would call a gospel preaching denomination. Say what you want about Mormon doctrine, of which I’m not in the slightest agreement, but I have yet to meet a Mormon that is not a person of high moral conviction and integrity, which, unfortunately, is more than I can say for many Christians I’ve known over the years.
While no candidate ever perfectly matches one’s personal criteria, I have to say Romney comes the closest for me. He is strong in his faith and his faith has driven him to develop strong core principles with which I agree. He is consistently pro-life and steadfastly strong on marriage and the family; believing that marriage should be defined as being between one man and one woman. As a conservative Republican governor in the liberal state of Massachusetts he demonstrated the ability to remove their 3 billion dollar deficit, balance their budget, created a 2 billion dollar rainy day fund, and lower taxes while doing it. He has principled convictions on education, marriage and the family, our military, keeping America strong, stopping illegal immigration, and continuing the fight against radical Islam; all of which are important to me and with which I am in agreement with him. Finally, and probably least important, I find him highly elect-able. He’s solid on most conservative Republican issues, likeable, has a presidential demeanor, and for the all important female vote—is handsome:)!
I don’t write this in an effort to sway people away from a candidate for whom they feel great passion. Nor do I wish this to be construed as an endorsement of Mitt Romney, though I suppose it will be taken that way. Rather, I write this because people have asked where I stand on the Republican candidates for president, so I felt it was time I shared who I will be voting for in the primary and how I arrived at my decision, which I actually feel is more important than knowing my final choice. I hope all voters will take the time to find out what they like or dislike about the candidates and what they have most in common with the candidate they are supporting. That’s hard to do if people rely only on 30 second responses in a debate or radio commercial, or the nightly network news to form their opinions. We truly are blessed in this country to have a political process that provides us, the citizenry, the opportunity and responsibility to select our leaders. I find it disheartening that oftentimes people, including Christians, put little time or effort into determining which candidate best magnifies the issues and ideals they hold dear and then vote accordingly.
Well, there’s my two cents worth. If you decide you want to share this note with others, that’s fine. Just know I don’t care to be flamed with Mitt Romney “hit” pieces from Ron Paul supporters or ‘Homeschoolers for Huckabee’ on why I should be voting for their candidate instead of Mitt Romney:). I doubt it would change my mind.
Best regards,
Dennis