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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I am not a one-issue voter. I do consider a candidate’s position on certain issues to be disqualifying.
Kamala Harris’ and Tim Walz’s position on late-term abortions is disqualifying for me. That a baby’s life could be snuffed out days before birth is an abomination. My conscience would never allow me to vote for either of them.
My choice is informed by my faith.
And yet at least once a week I get letters here at the radio station that fall into the same category: “Mr. Conley, you claim to be a Christian. (I am.) How can you vote for someone (Donald Trump) who is divorced, an adulterer, who calls illegal immigrants rapists and killers, does not appear to be a regular church goer, who promises mass deportations, and announced that ‘Two Corinthians’ is his favorite book of the Bible.”
Rarely does the perfect candidate appear. It’s always an imperfect choice between one or the other.
Is Donald Trump an imperfect Christian? Aren’t we all. I certainly am.
Would I be more comfortable with Trump if he were more humble, more repentant? Honestly, it’s not for me to say. Each person’s faith manifests itself within them differently. I don’t know anyone else’s heart but my own. Maybe Trump is changed by narrowly surviving an assassin’s bullet. I’ve never had such an experience; I couldn’t really say.
And, ultimately, my vote was sealed on a non-religious issue. The Biden-Harris Administration lost my vote with their policy of requiring employees to get a COVID shot, or be unable to hold a job. Only a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling prevented me from having to get an experimental vaccine that I did not need or want. And, yes, I remember that I was called unpatriotic and dangerous for my resistance. There were others who told me that Jesus would want me to take the COVID shot. I was also told that good Christians wear masks. No, I doubt that. It would be left to my own conscience and my own free will.
I reject the argument that a Christian can’t vote for so-and-so because of such-and-such. I assure you that the church vote is diverse. This Sunday I am certain to worship with some people who will vote with me, and others who will vote against me.
Chris Conley
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