Thursday, October 04, 2007

The Values Test--by James C. Dobson, Ph.D.

The Values Test

 

by James C. Dobson, Ph.D., founder and chairman

 

Dr. Dobson says winning an election is important, but not at the expense of our core beliefs.

 

Reports have surfaced in the press about a meeting that occurred last Saturday in Salt Lake City involving more than 50 pro-family leaders. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss our response if both the Democratic and Republican Parties nominate standard-bearers who are supportive of abortion. Although I was neither the convener nor the moderator of the meeting, I’d like to offer several brief clarifications about its outcome and implications.

 

After two hours of deliberation, we voted on a resolution that can be summarized as follows: If neither of the two major political parties nominates an individual who pledges himself or herself to the sanctity of human life, we will join others in voting for a minor-party candidate. Those agreeing with the proposition were invited to stand. The result was almost unanimous.

 

The other issue discussed at length concerned the advisability of creating a third party if Democrats and Republicans do indeed abandon the sanctity of human life and other traditional family values. Though there was some support for the proposal, no consensus emerged.

 

Speaking personally, and not for the organization I represent or the other leaders gathered in Salt Lake City, I firmly believe that the selection of a president should begin with a recommitment to traditional moral values and beliefs. Those include the sanctity of human life, the institution of marriage, and other inviolable pro-family principles. Only after that determination is made can the acceptability of a nominee be assessed.

 

The other approach, which I find problematic, is to choose a candidate according to the likelihood of electoral success or failure. Polls don’t measure right and wrong; voting according to the possibility of winning or losing can lead directly to the compromise of one’s principles. In the present political climate, it could result in the abandonment of cherished beliefs that conservative Christians have promoted and defended for decades. Winning the presidential election is vitally important, but not at the expense of what we hold most dear.

 

One other clarification is germane, even though unrelated to the meeting in Salt Lake City. The secular news media has been reporting in recent months that the conservative Christian movement is hopelessly fractured and internally antagonistic. The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday, for example, that supporters of traditional family values are rapidly “splintering.” That is not true. The near unanimity in Salt Lake City is evidence of much greater harmony than supposed. Admittedly, differences of opinion exist among us about our choices for president.

 

That divergence is entirely reasonable, now just over a year before the national election. It is hardly indicative of a “splintering” of old alliances. If the major political parties decide to abandon conservative principles, the cohesion of pro-family advocates will be all too apparent in 2008.

 

(This piece originally appeared as an op-ed in today's New York Times.)

Source: http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000005632.cfm

 

Pro-life Votes Could Peel

 

While I and others have reiterated this week that social conservatives have no desire nor plans to launch a third political party, a Rasmussen poll released today suggests that almost a third of the Republican Party would desire such an option if the election came down-to-a head to head race between Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton. Twenty-seven percent said they would vote for a third party, pro-life candidate if it were Giuliani vs. Clinton. The poll also noted that most Republican voters consider themselves pro-life on the issue of abortion. I bring this up not to create more angst among conservatives but to point out a very important fact. The Republican Party has been successful when it combined the three key elements of the conservative movement, fiscal conservatives, foreign policy conservatives and social conservatives. While there is certainly overlap among these three distinctive constituencies, the movement fails unless all three are present. The views and values of each must be represented if conservatives wish to prevail in their bid for the leadership of the country.

 

Additional Resources

Source: http://www.frc.org

27% of Republicans Would Vote for Pro-Life Third Party Instead of Giuliani

http://tinyurl.com/2kou8d

 

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