Responding To Anonymous

So I got an anonymous comment extolling the virtues of voting Republican, as apparently this is the Christian thing to do. Normally I don’t put much stock in anonymous comments. I have the balls to back what I write up with an email address and an established location on the Web. I have little patience for people who leave comments without doing the same. It strikes me as cowardly. That said, this anonymous commenter managed in three paragraphs to satisfy nearly every stereotype about conservative U.S. Christianity’s relationship with Republican politics. To whit: As a Christian, I will support the Republican party every time I head for the polls. And I don't really feel like I need to research the candidates. The reason is, like it or not, Republicans best represent the moral values of Christians. Which moral values? Election fraud? Lying? Tax cuts for the rich? Unjustified wars based on falsified evidence? Adultery? Fearmongering? Racism and xenophobia? Torture? Increasing the national debt by trillions? Or do the ends justify the means in such a way that all these things are acceptable and necessary to accomplish the greater good of ending abortion? There is no such thing as a pro-life democrat! Because you say so? You should speak to Tony Campolo, Billy Graham or Jim Wallis. Or my mother. Or my grandmother. They would all tell you differently. The abortion issue, I think, is the most important issue to be considered. I may not agree with all the policies of a particular party, but one that endorses the killing of innocent children purely out of self-interest is not a party I can endorse, no matter what other issues. Except, apparently, the killing of innocent children who live in Iraq. Who will support heterosexual marraige? You tell me. Christians have higher divorce rates than non-Christians. Many of the Republicans who will be in the ’08 presidential race are divorced. Massachusetts, that immoral blue state that supports gay marriage, has the second lowest divorce rate in the country. Maybe conservative Christian Republicans should be taking marriage lessons from godless liberal Democrats. Who will protect unborn children from abortion and being sold for stem cell research? Stem cell research can be done on fetal tissue that is already earmarked for destruction. It’s not as though fetuses would be harvested specifically for the purpose of stem cell research. It is tissue that will be discarded anyway. It sounds like you should start doing research. Most Republicans will support the Christian values which are most important. What are Christian values? Do they differ from regular values, or are they special? Perhaps these values have been saved? Democrats will not. If the current Republican administration represents Christianity, I’d rather be an atheist. And don't talk to me about social justice issues either, because Democrats play that card to get votes. But Republicans play the abortion card because they are so virtuous and moral? Funny that in 33 years of standing up against abortion they haven’t been able to do a damn thing to stop it. Funny, too, that abortion rates dropped more significantly under Bill Clinton than they have under George Bush. And funny that Jesus talked about those social justice issues all the time, but didn’t have a thing to say about gay marriage or abortion. Government assistance is handing out so much money to generational welfare recipients, it is rediculous. That’s the Christian position, is it? I seem to recall Jesus saying to sell your things and give the money to the poor. He didn’t qualify that position. He didn’t say give your money to the poor only if they deserved it, or only if they could prove they were looking for work.