My voting district went for John McCain.
Our family was pulling hard for Mitt Romney which will surprise few readers of this journal. My kids have watched enough politics now that my thirteen year old can chant “Change” with Barack Obama on cue. Recently he had our cat Athena, frequently a character in his comedic enterprises, making a speech full of “change,” “true conservative,” and the name “Ronald Reagan.”
My fifteen year old has been in good discussions with her friends and as the reality of last night settled in she was discouraged.
“Does Mitt losing mean you were wrong, Dad?” she asked me. Now Mary Kate has no problem with my being wrong, since that happens nearly daily. (Hope, the fairest flower in all Christendom, being wrong would destroy her picture of reality, but that is another story.)
Here is my answer, minus the hug (which Mary Kate calls stroking her ‘ego-system’). You will have to get your own hugs from your own Dad or Mom.
“Yes, Mary Kate, it does mean I was wrong.
I was wrong that Mitt Romney could win over most Republican voters by Super Tuesday. He might yet win them over, but he has probably run out of time this cycle.
That is a “political kind” of wrong. In politics in a republic, you have to compromise in order to win. Even picking Mr. Romney is a compromise. If in theology, compromise is the language of the devil, then in politics, it is the language of the angels.
Compromise in politics means no tyrants. Only tyrants promise purity and only potential tyrants pretend they can incarnate the dreams of millions of voters.
In politics, this side of paradise, we must be careful that our errors do not cause harm to others. Christ’s kingdom will come, but is not yet fully realized. Given this, human beings must be careful not to confuse any other human being or political party with Messiah.
The Republican Party has been our own since Lincoln freed the slaves and saved the Union, but it is not always correct. Being part of a political party means, as long as you can, working with other fallible human beings to do no harm and some good. Ronald Reagan introduced your Daddy’s generation to politics and he reminded us of this and another important lesson.
Being a conservative, which is the very DNA of a Reagan Republican, means that you put “no trust in princes.” At times even Mr. Reagan let down conservative ideas or the culture of life in his long career. There is no Messiah who has run for President! Even in a great man you will always have to compromise.
I disagree with Mr. Romney, who is a fine and decent man, about the definition of torture. That is an important issue, but Mr. Romney who thought carefully about it came to a different conclusion than I did. I took that into consideration when I picked a candidate and then picked the best candidate I could: Mr. Romney.
Most people in our party, even some of our friends (!), have not agreed up to now.
In that sense, we were wrong. That does not mean, however, we were wrong to pick Mr. Romney. Our arguments in favor of his candidacy are still good, I think, but they were not persuasive. If it becomes time to move on, then part of the political process is doing so. Since we are members of a Party, we will look at the winner of the nomination fight and see if we can vote for him.
Some people will claim that it is best to work outside of a political party and “just vote for the best candidate.” That is attractive, but usually ends up isolating a person politically.
Working within a party is the best way to maximize your influence. By the time the candidates are on the ballot, it is often too late to have good choices.
At the same time if you are always leaving the party when your candidate loses, like a child throwing a tantrum, then you will gain the reputation of being unable to compromise. You will also risk being Utopian about politics. You are acting as if a political party is a church when even a church is an organization of fallible human beings!
If day-to-day people in the church fail, how much more true will that be of a political party!
Pick the best candidate based on his ideas or his actions and know he will sometimes fail you. All politics is risky.
The biggest risk is voting for a person who seems attractive when you meet him or when you see him on television, even if you disagree with his policies.
You are never going to agree with all of a man or woman’s policies, but you need to prioritize them and do the best you can. You simply cannot get through the media and contrived “appearance” (even at a live event which is very staged!) to judge the individual man or woman.
As conservatives, we assume that the candidate has feet of clay, but look for the best we can get.
Of course, sometimes as happened with Mr. Clinton, the candidate stamps on us with his feet of clay soiling the house political. In that case, we might learn enough to say, “No more. Voting for you would be supporting a bad man.”
Should we just vote for anyone who gets the Republican nomination? Of course not, but if we are going to be in a party he or she should be our default position.
If we knew a man to be bad, as we came to know Mr. Clinton was bad, and that he would keep on being bad, then we might not be able to vote for him. If we knew a man to disagree with us on issues of profound importance, and many of them, like Mr. Giuliani, then we might not be able to vote for him.
The good news is that Mr. John McCain, the present leader for the nomination, is not a bad man. In fact, Mr. McCain is the only real hero running for President. His private life, such as we know of it, has been mixed. He has a hot temper and he has made some bad choices. You know enough about people to know if we disqualified everyone that ran on those grounds nobody would be left.
He has been a real conservative in the Senate and has been for a culture of life there. He does not support torture and he wants to win the War against radical Islam.
He can also reach the good people in the Democrat Party as his support from that great American Senator Joe Lieberman demonstrates.
There is much to like about John McCain.
Does that mean we were wrong that he was the best choice of all the good men running?
I don’t think so still, but the moment where saying that is useful may be passing. When he is the “last man standing” politically, then that political fight will be over and I will gladly vote for him.
What of the other party?
I know some students and graduates really like Barack Obama. Polls show most kids your age like Mr. Obama. If we were electing the head of state, then I might vote for Mr. Obama. He is an excellent speaker and works hard to unite people (not unlike Mr. McCain) and he seems like a decent man. The sad truth is that we cannot be sure of his character, but we can be sure that his policy ideas are very bad or ill considered.
He wants to increase the size of government and raise taxes on hard working people. He runs with the kind of “class based” rhetoric that too easily turns into covetousness and hatred of others. His economic ideas would increase the size of government even more (one area where Mr. Bush also has done badly).
He wants to pull out of Iraq now which would undo whatever good we have done there.
He is the most radically pro-abortion person to ever run for president and believes that the Pope, Billy Graham, and the Ecumenical Patriarch are immoral, because they support traditional families.
It would be demeaning to Mr. Obama to support him for superficial reasons.
Mr. McCain is not young. He is old and not physically as attractive as Mr. Obama. He is not as a good a speaker as Mr. Obama, but he has a lifetime of public service including wartime heroism to match against the junior senators relative inexperience in government.
Mr. McCain will work hard to win the War. In fact, he was one of the first to support the successful “surge” strategy in that War. Mr. McCain opposes all forms of torture.
He is not inclined to increase the size of government or taxes. He will work with the Democrat Congress to get the best proposals he can on health care and education where voters demand change, even if they should not.
Finally, Mr. McCain will support a culture of life and traditional marriage. When justices on the Court retire, he will appoint better choices then Mr. Obama for those of us who want a “strict” interpretation of the Constitution.
Was he be our first choice? He would be my third. If I were still in a state with an upcoming primary, he would not get my vote, but in California that chance has passed for me.
We lost and our candidate, but not our cause, failed here in California. We will pick ourselves up and fight for the person that best expresses our views. Right now you are learning some hard political lessons.
Drink the bitter cup to the dregs.
Though you cannot vote yet, Dad is proud that you will make up your own mind, pick your own party, and develop your own ideas.
At this age, that is even more important than “winning” one race! You cannot inherit a Party really . . . and you cannot inherit ideals. I know you have been reading or will soon read Locke, Burke, Lincoln, and King. Study their words carefully and do the best you can to form a Christian view of government.
Disagree with me, something I am proud to say you do well, and follow the argument where it leads you.
You will fail often, but that is the best we can do.
Remember also to pray with all your heart: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven . . .”
If you think for yourself, love Christ, and vote the best you can, then your Dad will always be proud of you!
With love,
Dad”
