I’m a single issue voter. I don’t vote for any candidate that supports legalized abortion. I’ve heard many articulate, reasonable arguments against single issue voting.

Haha! Just kidding! What I’ve heard are not ‘arguments’ but objections expressed in ways that mainly fall into two categories.

• Category 1: “You’re an idiot.”
• Category 2: “YOU’RE A DANGEROUS, IRRESPONSIBLE IDIOT!!!!!!!”

While it may be true that I am an idiot, merely identifying my condition does nothing to help me change it. It’s like yelling at a naked man, “Put on some pants!” There’s no cure for nudity other than clothing. There’s no fix for idiocy except wisdom.

I’m not optimistic about wisdom coming from pro-choice advocates. As a whole, the “It’s-Sometimes-Okay-To-Kill-Babies” crowd possesses truckloads of passion and less than a pocketful of cognition. But it is my responsibility as a Christian to give reason for my faith whenever I’m asked. With that in mind, I will offer a response to some of the most common objections to single issue voting.

“Abortion is important but it’s not the only important thing in the world, you idiot! There are millions of other issues to consider when you vote!”

Abortion is legalized murder of babies. On the morality scale with ‘1’ being, ‘Opinions about the color of drapes,’ and ’10’ being ‘Chopping babies into pieces,’ I rank abortion at ’11.’ In other words, making it illegal to chop babies into pieces is more important than climate change, immigration reform, affordable insurance, women’s wages, economic inequity, systemic oppression, police brutality, anything LGBTQ, caring for the poor, and healing our divided nation.

“OMG! How can you be such an idiot? You don’t care about the poor! You deny access to healthcare! You support police brutality! So you’re a racist too! No surprise!”

Whenever I have several important things to think about I need to figure out which thing is MOST important. This is called, ‘prioritizing.’ Priorities help me know what to do first when there are many ‘good things’ to do. My number one priority when I vote is the candidate must be opposed to murder.

That doesn’t mean the other issues are not important. It doesn’t mean I don’t care about the poor. And it doesn’t mean children don’t matter after they’re born. (No pro-life person believes children don’t matter after they’re born! Suggesting they do is a cheap shot.)

Political parties have something called a ‘platform.’ It is a list of the issues they support. Neither the Democrat nor the Republican platform says, “We fully endorse police brutality.” Nobody says, “We care nothing for the poor.” And everyone who lives on Earth is interested in keeping the climate livable.

The Democratic platform emphatically endorses legalized murder. I can vote Republican and STILL care about other important issues.

“But Donald Trump is the worst human being ever! He puts kids in cages! I’ve seen pictures! How can you vote for the worst human being ever when it’s proven that he spends his weekends rounding up immigrant children, who just want a better life, and throwing them into cages? CAGES!!!”

This is why I prioritized what’s most important. It simplifies everything! My top priority is making murder illegal. If my top priority was voting for the most decent guy, I wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump.

“So character doesn’t matter?!! How can you call yourself a Christian and vote for the most despicable human who ever lived?!!! He’s a racist who hates women and he puts kids in cages!!!!!!!!”

I didn’t say character doesn’t matter. It is not my top priority. My top priority is voting for a candidate who doesn’t support legalized murder. I do not approve of everything Trump does. I approve of his pro-life policies.

“You’re so gullible! Donald Trump isn’t really pro-life! He’s pandering to ignorant people like you who make abortion their number one issue! He was pro-choice right up until he ran for president!!! Also he doesn’t pay taxes and puts kids in cages!!!!”

Again, this is why I’m a single issue voter. I don’t care if Donald Trump is really pro-life or not. I only care about making it illegal to murder babies. If Donald Trump secretly believes we should abort babies and grind them into dog food, I don’t care so long as he continues to support policies that outlaw murder.

I’m not responsible for what Donald Trump believes. I’m responsible for what I believe. Even if Donald Trump is, as you say, the most wretched, depraved, racist, homophobic, murderous, villainous, evil human being to ever live – it’s not MY fault.

And it is outrageous to use Donald Trump’s wickedness as an excuse for your support of murder. Trump is rude, arrogant, bombastic, and mean, and it is STILL wrong to kill babies. It’s not okay to be pro-choice because Trump is “bad.”

“OMG! OMG! OMG! YOU’RE WORSE THAN TRUMP!! YOU VOTED FOR THAT HORRIBLE MAN!!!!!! HE PUTS KIDS IN CAGES AND TWEETS AWFUL THINGS AND EVEN PUTS KIDS IN CAGES!!!!!!!”

We’re starting to go in circles now, so I’m going to wrap this up.

There has NEVER been a perfect presidential candidate. That’s why ‘character’ is not my top priority. Every person has character flaws. I don’t care to spend my time trying to figure out which flaw matters more than the others. Every flaw is bad. And I’m not qualified to judge a candidate’s heart.

I can judge what a candidate SAYS they support. I can judge the principles a candidate claims to stand on. Can a candidate lie to me? Sure! And I’ll remember that when it comes time to re-elect that person. (By the way, ‘truthfulness’ is my 2nd priority underneath ‘pro-life.’)

To me, the most wretched, depraved, villainous, evil human beings to ever live are those who vote in favor of killing babies. Shedding innocent blood is a thing that God says He hates. And so far, I’ve never met a pro-choice advocate who ‘likes’ abortion. Which means you are voting AGAINST YOUR OWN CONSCIENCE when you pull the lever for Democrats. That must make you feel terrible.

I suggest putting life at the top of your priority list before you vote. Then, vote your number one priority. It will make you feel better.

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I’ve gotten some requests for a way to share this article with non-members. Always eager to honor the requests of my fellow Clique members, here’s the link: https://www.evernote.com/l/AAovLOwrbklAiLvnLirCawJ2i5crwLtCCE8/

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