This Year I Am Voting My Convictions

Jonathan Grubbs

I just finished reading an article entitled “Vote with convictions, not pocketbook, Jack Graham says” by Michael Foust in the February 17, 2004 edition of Baptist Press. I agree 100% with Pastor Graham’s statement, “I’m not talking about Republicans or Democrats—I’m talking about conservative Christian values as compared to either no values or the liberal values.” The article goes on to say that rather than “voting pocketbooks” or political parties, Christians should vote with their convictions. Our nation’s first president, George Washington, warned us of the danger of blindly following any one political party in his farewell speech, but it appears that most voters either never heard his warning or have ignored it.

Richard Land said, “I believe this election will be one of the most critical elections not just in my lifetime but in the lifetime of our republic,” adding that it might well be the “most critical election since 1860.” The 1860 election saw Abraham Lincoln, running as a third-party candidate, defeat Stephen Douglas in a race that reflected the nation’s bitter divide over slavery.

I used to be a very strong supporter of the Republican party, but over the years the GOP has abandoned the conservative principles it once held dear in efforts to reach out to the moderates and to appear to be a more “compassionate conservative” party. In doing this I feel they have compromised on too many conservative principles and have started to quickly drift towards the left. We have pro-choice Republicans, “Log Cabin” Republicans, Republicans who support big government, etc. Just as “moral relativism” has ruined the school system and worldview of so many Americans, so “conservative relativism” has ruined the Republican Party that started out as a small third-party in the 1850s.

There are many reasons why, as a Christian, I cannot vote for George W. Bush. Dr. Patrick Johnston has done a great job of outlining these reasons for the Christian community, with endnotes to prove that his information is based on facts and not just opinion. You can find Dr. Johnston’s reasons in his article, “Why Christians Should Not Vote for George W. Bush.” In my search for a candidate, I have found someone whom I can vote for who has, as Pastor Graham said, “conservative Christian values as compared to either no values or the liberal values.” I have found the Constitution Party and Michael Peroutka, and I would encourage everyone to check out Mr. Peroutka’s website. I believe that by voting for Michael Peroutka in November, the four to five million evangelical Christians who sat out the 2000 presidential election campaign because they didn’t know that there was a Christian candidate they could support can “vote their values” in 2004.

February 26, 2004

Jonathan Grubbs is married, has two pre-school aged sons, and works as a Internet Consultant in Central Florida. He may be reached for comment here.

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