Do you support Donald Trump? Are you one of those MAGA disciples?
I hate those questions.
In President Trump, I can think of more likeable people. Recently, his initial leadership during this coronavirus pandemic was lacking. He also does not articulate like a civil statesman. And it would be better if he stayed away from Twitter.
Support Trump? It is hard to, personally.
Vote for Trump? Does any conservative have a choice? No. And if the voter is a practicing Catholic, there’s not even a question. Trump gets the vote.
In 2016, I knew several friends, acquaintances, and family members who said their conscience prevented them from voting for either Trump or Hillary Clinton.
But the reality is that either the Democrat or Republican will win. Who do you agree with more? The Republican wins, even with all those warts.
With Joe Biden – Uncle Joe – the likely Democratic nominee, the party is rolling out a more likeable candidate than Clinton.
But, his aw-shucks ways aside, Biden sounds like a man who will say anything to get elected; never a unique trait in political circles.
In his recent debate with Bernie Sanders, Biden declared that his vice president will be a woman.
Why say that? If you know who your running mate will be, make the announcement. By declaring a specific sex, Biden is not saying he will pick the most qualified candidate, but only check off a box. Whoever the running mate will be, Biden did her a great disservice.
In the debate, Biden and Sanders both said police should not turn over illegal immigrants to immigrant officials. Biden said he would not deport anyone his first 100 days as president – a campaign promise that accomplishes nothing. Biden said, “we can both be a nation of immigrants as well as a nation that is decent.”
But immigration is not the point; illegal immigration is. This is a problem that has been talked about by plenty of Democrats, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Chuck Schumer.
Biden really moved away from the center – whoever called him a moderate? – with the subject of abortion. We already know the position of Sanders, who previously said there was no room for pro-life advocates in the Democratic Party. Biden has said he’s personally opposed to abortion, but could not vote against a woman’s right to choose – a position called the “straddle,” allowing politicians to say they cannot force their religion on others.
But abortion is a religious issue only in that most religions oppose the deliberate ending of a human life. Abortion is about science, ethics, and a human being’s right to life.
Still, somehow, pro-abortion organizations like NARAL have perfected the propaganda that opposing abortion is simply a religious opinion.
And that is what Biden’s selling. No wonder that during the debate he bragged of his 100 percent approval rating by NARAL.
Biden also promotes himself as a practicing Catholic. But of course he has heard the Catholic Church’s frequent condemnations of abortion. Just one example from the many: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops declaring that “the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.”
Lives destroyed. It matters little to Biden, who has an election to win. Biden will say what he has to. According to a Catholic News Agency particle, Biden “has reversed himself a number of times on the issue of abortion.”
Another recent CNA article spoke of Catholics voting for Trump, but not wholeheartedly. Or, as Andrew Walker of National Review wrote of conservative Christians, “they will vote not so much for Donald Trump – with his uncouth speech and incessantly immature tweets – as they will vote against the worldview of the Democratic platform.”
The Democrats overestimated the appeal of their platform – and their candidate – in 2016. And 2020 looks like a repeat, even with Uncle Joe.
Kevin Thomas is a writer and teacher living with his wife and children in Standish, Maine.
