So where were you yesterday when you found out that McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate?
I was upstairs doing mom-type things—folding laundry, making my bed, tidying up our classroom. My husband phoned to say the word was out—and he gave me the name of a woman (a woman?) I’d never heard of.
Surprise! It wasn’t—as per the local speculation—our governor, Tim Pawlenty. Instead it was my dear friends in Alaska’s governor! What an amazing twist for McCain’s political path to take; what an awesome choice.
I know that most of my blog readers are in accord with me on this decision. What surprised and frustrated me was to take a look at some of the left-minded remarks being flung about. (Erin has a post up and you can see for yourself that things are getting ugly. Here is the link.)
Much of this commentary is mean and it is desperate. Sarah Palin is an excellent pick and they know it. However, she is also beautifully Pro-Life and this brings out the hatred (and fear) in our opposition.
I am a single-issue voter. I vote Pro-Life and that is that. I have to vote Pro-Life because I could not, in good conscience, vote for someone who thinks that it’s justifiable to kill our children. Ever. If you are willing to make this concession as a politician, what else will you be willing to do?
I’ll close with these thoughts from today’s Mass Readings. I found them highly appropriate. May we all consider our own calling in doing what we can to win this battle.
“Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God”(Corinthians 1:26-29).
Thank God for the grace of good politicians. They need our financial support and they need our prayers.
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
Updated to Add: I’m bored and lonely and tired of listening to crickets chirp. I know you’re visiting but you’re not saying hi! So how about an informal poll to start the conversation: Are you a single-issue voter? Why or why not?
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I completely agree with what the Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila wrote when he said, “The right to life from conception is the pre-eminent social justice and human rights issue of our time.”
I cannot in good conscience support any candidate who believes otherwise.
There are many issues at stake in this election, but the fighting for right to life trumps them all.
Yep, single-issue voter. Gotta be for life.
I am also a single issue voter. To be pro-choice is as absurd as a candidate saying “The world is flat.” I agree with you 100%. I don’t agree with the Republicans on everything, but the Dems are so wrong on this one issue that it makes all their other messages seem ridiculous. And don’t get me started on the phrase “reproductive rights” and the feminist take on Palin for I will start swearing and that’s something I swore (ha!) I’d never do online. Look at this woman – she is a successful working mother of five – she sounds like a feminist dream come true but they are hatefully dismissing her because of her pro-life stance which is INSANE.
ahem. I’m done for now. Sorry for the rant.
Pro-life – single issue voter. I’d really like the government to offer women better options than abortion.
Single-issue. I care about other things as well, but they pale in comparison to the single, most important issue: the right to life
I always say, “I’ll stop being a single-issue voter when the Democrats stop being a single-position party.”
Yes, I am a single issue voter. I am a mom and babies are my specialty! I felt a burden lifted when I stopped trying to pretend like the most important thing for me as a voter is the protection of the unborn. Thank you for this post and my family’s prayers are with McCain and Palin.
I’d say the Pro life issue is the number one issue. Then second, I just disagree with the whole democratic ideal. They give the poor JUST enough to survive, but not enough to thrive or be self sufficient.
Go McCain and Palin! (LOVE HER!!)
By the way, yesterday I thought of you, because I think Palin reminds me of you a little! Mother of 5, PTA to VP. It could happen to you Margaret 🙂
Oh honey, you know what I think! I don’t think I or my children will ever forget how I jumped up and down. (I posted about her too)
I wasn’t, but I suppose I am now. I don’t just think of that one and ignore all the rest, but if that one, real protection of children, born or not, isn’t there, well, then it doesn’t matter what else you’ve got going for you. I like McCain because he walks the walk. And so does Sarah Palin.
I am absolutely a one issue voter.
Nothing is more important than the issue of life!!! Couldn’t agree with you more!!!
Love,
Heather – Doodle Acres
I wasn’t a single issue voter in high school and college (I even campaigned for Clinton – shh…don’t tell any one). But the partial birth abortion stuff got me in the end. If the Democratic party demanded that its “faithful” members cave in to this horrendous practice that is NEVER medically necessary (the baby is already almost through birth!), then I could not stomach to vote for them, even if everything else would economically benefit our country (which I now doubt as well). What good does it do a man “to gain the whole world and lose his soul” after all! I think that this is the “issue within an issue” where the Dems lost a lot of people! After all most people in the US are against the practice, yet the Dems are stalwart defenders of it!
I love the Palin pick. And McCain is okay too. I would rather vote for a man who would only pass restrictions on abortion than vote for another who would want each person to declare it a glorious necessity for all woman kind. Progress can come in bits and pieces. And I love her anti-corruption bit!
Sorry to ramble…I can talk this stuff any time of the day 🙂
I am totally a single-issue voter and it drives my friends MAD. I also work in politics, so I am privy to all these wonderful political discussions everyday!
I watched the speech yesterday in my office (I live in OH and was SO MAD I wasn’t in Dayton), and I had goosebumps.
A lovely family, a great woman. I am so happy.
Side note–it kind of drives me nuts how some people are shocked that Gov. Palin had her baby even though she knew he had Down Syndrome. I have CF and I hate it when people talk like this, that we who might be born slightly differently have absolutely nothing to contribute.
OK, done now. 😀
Yep, another single-issue voter here, too. I do care about most of the other issues, too, but the position on life is the first and last deciding factor. Can I tell you disheartening and unbelievable it is to see cars in the parking lot of our parish and school with “obama ’08” stickers on them? ay yi yi….
I just got my voting card in the mail yesterday!! I’ll have to start looking into things more deeply now, but I know that if a candidate isn’t pro-life, then I’m not voting for him or her. So I guess that makes me a single issue voter. What could be more important than saving millions of lives, though?
Do I dare respectfully disagree? I am a single (Catholic) parent, grandparent who nursed 4 babies, have 4 little ones in heaven. I support LIFE – all stages of life. But I can’t in conscience be a one issue voter at this stage in my life. There are other issues too. I believe abortion is murder but I also believe legalized abortion saves mother’s lives. We are so blessed to live in a country where we are allowed to have more than one party – one view point – and can actually vote. Don’t dismiss everyone who does not totally agree with you as being not christian. Obama and the Democrats are not satan. They also are people with ideals – just different from yours. Just something to think about.
I agree with you too Margaret. I’m not big into politics but I do vote. This issue it very dear to my heart. My family does not understand but it is wonderful to know you do.
Single issue. Pro-life single issue. I’m quite sure I’m with God on this one.
I am not a single issue voter but the life issues weigh very heavily in my decisions. Mostly because I think a lot of so called Republican pro-lifers are just using passionate one issue voters to get elected but then really do squat to actually change anything. Also, and you may hate me for this, but I honestly don’t know if overturning Roe vs. Wade is THE answer to ending abortion. If it happens it will go back to the states and some abortions might be reduced but the horse is out of the barn and I think we need a cutural solution rather than a political one. So I am not clear on the strategy thing and that effects how I vote. If I feel that a candidate will have some impact on abortion (will probably be able to choose a pro-life justice for instance) or promises to make parental consent necessary to obtain an abortion than I tend to vote on life issues. On the other hand I think so called pro-life justices are reeking havoc on other constitutional rights so they scare me that way. So sometimes other issues trump if the pro life impact seems low or non-existent.
I was just sent this link today. Have never been a one-issue voter, but this one does weigh heavily. You’ve convinced me to find out any candidate’s stance on the issue.
There are many issues to be concerned about, obviously, but the right to life trumps all. As another commenter said, if a candidate can look me in the eye and tell me that he’s for partial-birth abortion, or for letting those who survived an abortion die on the table, then he has nothing more to say that I could possibly listen to. If someone is willing to go there, I can’t trust him.
What I have heard about Sarah Palin is most encouraging, and I am cautiously optimistic for the first time about this election. I pray that God will have MERCY on our nation and allow us to have a leader who will direct our nation correctly.
“For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!”
Being in the UK where no one party is significantly more pro-life than any other, being a single issue voter is close to impossible. I am in the fortunate, but sadly rare, position of having a local Member of Parliament who is strongly pro-life and pro-family. Giving him my vote is a no-brainer. But chances are that in the future there will be times where I have no pro-life option. In that case I would vote based on other issues rather than not vote at all.
Incidentally, Obama is getting good press over here. McCain is getting none.
I've always been a prolife voter, and loving the stances of the republican party. I've even taken online tests where after a Q&A it tells you the candidates you match up with. – Republican every time. (I was a Huckabee voter earlier on.)
What I am very thrilled about with Sarah Palin, is that she is a union member. That makes a huge impact for my family and my husbands co-workers – union members. He's been speaking up at his union meetings recently (which is a big deal in itself) to let them know he's a republican and he's sick and tired of having the democratic party campaign shoved in his face year after year – as if it were some obligation or something for all union members to vote democrat. I think he finally set them straight, I pray.
I’m a single issue voter… this election anyway. However, if I don’t believe the “pro-life” candidate has any intentions of acting on the issue, then I’ll have to consider the others. Obama is reprehensible on the issue of life, so I definitely can’t support him.
By the way, I also wanted to comment that when I heard your gov. say on Friday morning that he’d be at the state fair rather than with McCain, I thought, “hey I know about that fair. Margaret’s family was there.”
Hello!!
I am Canadian, and yes I am a single issue voter like you. I was very excited to read about this Govenor from Alaska. American politics affect us Canadians and Obama really SCARES me. I reread aug 30ths reading from the Corinthians and I got all “tingly”!!!!!!!! Thankyou for your wonderful effort with your blog Mrs Minnesota Mom. You and your blog are like the “ripple effect” like when a person throws a pebble into a still pond.
My name is Theresa and I live in Alberta
Hey Everyone,
We have to remember that the term “single-issue-voter” is pejorative, and is generally used to shame pro-life voters into considering a pro-choice candidate. It is not often used in good faith- can you remember it being invoked against a pacifist. environmentalist, or homeless advocate?
The reality is that we are “priority” voters. When we get a cold we try not to let it distract us from the rest of our lives- we push through and avoid letting our discomfort dominate us. However, if we get cancer we have to put everything else down and prioritize getting well. This does not mean that our friends, careers, commitments are important. That is a false and unnecessary dichotomy. We simply think that government sanctioned murder of innocent babies is a more important and pressing issue than everything from school districting to the best way to provide for the needy.
Someone might say (and many often do say) that decisions concerning war also “life or death” and therefore are equally, if not more, compelling to them. Fine, while the official teachers of the Catholic Church disagree with you, you can at least admit that you are acting a whole lot like a “single-issue-voter”!
The real problem is that we might feel like politicians use the single important issue to get us on board for all kind of lesser disagreeable policies. C’est la vie! That’s why we need to stay involved and hold politicians accountable.
Yep! Single issue voter here. It all begins with life, literally and always!
Locally I vote for the one most likely to make family life easier— easier for Mom to say Yes to Life. I’m in Mass and almost every election hald the Dems do not have a Republican (or liber or anything)opponent.
Nationally I try to be ProLife but how? The Republicans are Pro- Capital Punishment! And many of their policies hurt families.
However I’m thrilled with the McCain- Palin ticket. Its a good option.
I once heard someone say…If there was a candidate who was “perfect” on nearly every issue…had the perfect health care plan, could fix social security, best tax plan, etc. etc. etc. but wanted to give terrorists a free place to hide in our country – would you vote for that person?
There is nothing wrong with being a single issue voter when the single issue is very important to you.
So, yes, I am a single issue voter for life.
-Michelle
I wouldn’t call it being a single-issue voter, just having your priorities straight. After all, if it was a choice between two por-lifers, most of us would not close our eyes and just pick one. Life is the biggest priority though. If someone’s judgment is so skewed that they think killing children is okay, what else are they going to think. It is so ironic that Obama questions McCain’s judgment for thinking that President Bush make good decisions when Obama is the one who thinks infanticide is okay. What does that say about his judgment.
I think a couple of others have already explained it very well. Voting for more than one issue is very important, but other issues matter, too. Alas, pro-life MUST be the priority and we then end up with what I like to call:
Triage Voting.
God Bless,
Tracy
Hello from the South! I am not a single-issue voter, because there are several issues and qualifications that I feel our country needs. I am now a pro-life voter after many many years of being pro-choice w/limitations. I believe that experience is a major consideration, especially when this person will be running our country.
I live in a state that Obama is going to carry no matter what (NY), so I was thinking Third Party or write in, but the Palin choice has led me to decide to vote for McCain – and to send a donation. I feel energized by this ticket.
sure am! I don’t see how it be about anything else.
I agree. How can we vote for anyone that thinks it is OK to kill a little innocent baby. How can we trust someone to really value the lives of our citizens if they don’t protect the unborn! We must pray for their conversions! Our Lady of Guadalupe pray for us!
Hi Margaret – single issue, pro life voter in Massachusetts (how depressing!!) Actually in the not too distant past our state Democrats (at least) were pro-life. Now no such thing. It seems so futile to vote Republican in this state. (Although my own state rep is solid prolilfe Republican). Anyway as a registered Independent I look forward to voting our Senatory Kerry’s opponent in the democratic primary!! Don’t know if it will do any good other than send a message. How disgusted he must be to actually have to campaign here this summer instead of being with the beautiful people. I saw him in our town parade on the 4th of July and his expression was priceless. I am so psyched about Sarah Palin as VP what an inspiration!!!
Hi Margaret! I agree with you…I think the liberals of this country are shaking in their boots!!! Palin is a true woman with integrity.A loving, nurturing mother. America’s left better be shaking. Sarah Palin ROCKS!!!!!!
PS yes I am a pro life voter. We can not continue to let our children be murdered in the name of freedom.
Give me Life or give me.. uh…yes, I’m a single issue voter too. Gotta have life or nothing else matters. I LOVE SARAH PALIN!!!
Evidently, BOTH Sarahs from Alaska are going to Minneapolis this fall. I like them both, but I like mine better.
Happy Labor Day Margaret! Sorry, I am usually a day late and a dollar short but I am with you on the single-issue campaign. Since I have lost four little ones through miscarriages too I place an incredibly high premium on those teeny tiny living babies inside my womb. I was on retreat this weekend and when I climbed out of my hermitage (literally!) I arrived home to hear about McCain’s pick. I began to cry and have my hope rekindled. Let’s pray everyday for these good people and their families! God Bless you today!
Absolutely.
Here is a great quote:
“So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can’t, and I won’t. But I do know some serious Catholics— people whom I admire—who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them real pain. And most important: They don’t keep quiet about it; they don’t give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite—not because of—their pro-choice views. But [Catholics who support pro-choice candidates] also need a compelling proportionate reason to justify it. What is a “proportionate” reason when it comes to the abortion issue? It’s the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face to face in the next life—which we most certainly will. If we’re confident that these victims will accept our motives as something more than an alibi, then we can proceed.”
Archbishop Chaput
All I can say to that is AMEN!!!
The right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness… – the right to Life is a huge issue for me. I have yet to find a reason I would consider “acceptable” to vote otherwise when I consider that I will have to face the victims of abortion one day (mothers and babies). I have had close cousins “choose” abortion – and it destroyed one life, leaving the other seriously messed up. There’s no excuse for not protecting our young women from a horror that is obviously “allowed” because it pays — in reality it doesn’t do anything to help women at all. I’m tired of society lying to women about this issue, and when it touches your life and the lives of those you love — you just know where your priorities are. Plus, my husband was born just a couple years after Roe v. Wade passed (1975), and the doctors tried to force his parents into aborting him – they insisted he would be blind, deaf, never walk, never talk, he would be a “drain” on society. Well, they were wrong – he has no issues whatsoever, he is extremely intelligent, and a very productive member of this society and it scares me to think about how his parents almost killed him before he had the chance to breathe the air – the right to life issue is just too big for us to let it slip down the “priority” list of issues we vote for. These are real people with real abilities and gifts to bring to the world – they deserve to grow up and vote someday too. AND don’t get me started on the “no medical care for unwanted infants” — what is that all about?! So my husband was wanted so when he was born prematurely at 28 weeks he received medical care (granted it was a prototype incubator and the doctors had no idea what they were doing and they were sure he would die – he fought to survive though), but a baby who is aborted at 28 weeks and born alive would receive no care at all because he’s “unwanted” even though now we have the technology to not only save the child but save it fairly easily. Am I the only one who couldn’t vote for someone who believes this?
I’m so pleased over Palin being picked I almost started crying. 🙂
~Jenny
Yes, I’m a single issue voter, because that single issue is so important!
I’m with you, Margaret. I was feeling mighty grumpy about this whole upcoming election, but hearing that McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate was like a breath of fresh air. It is sad that it boils down to this (single-issue voting because of abortion), but it’s the way it has to be. When you crunch the numbers (# of abortions vs. # of death penalty executions or # of abortions vs. # of people killed in Iraq, etc.), there’s no comparison. I’m voting pro-life, this election and always!
Totally single issue voter ~ totally Pro Life! But, Sarah being added to McCain’s ticket, swayed me away from possibly pursuing a third party candidate. I’m not wild about McCain, but think Sarah Palin is TOTALLY AWESOME. She talks and WALKS!
I’m a prolife Catholic but not a single issue voter: here’s why.
Theologically- The official Church teaching is actually quite broad, including all life-death issues as well as ‘quality of life’ (abortion, death penalty, war, health care, workers rights…). See Bernadin’s seamless garment or any of the social justice encyclicals from the last 100 years.
Practically- this echos an earlier comment- many times it seems a party uses the abortion issue as a red flag to distract citizens from other policies that would not be helpful to our everyday lives. Local and national levels.
Personally- It’s “easy” for me to be prolife, as I’m in a sacramental marriage (first and only for both of us). It’s harder for me to be ‘green’ or pro-worker, because my everyday life doesn’t lead me to always consider how food/ clothes got to me or how my choices impact others in our country and world. And doesn’t God always call us to conversion? A gradual and continual turning of our hearts towards Him? If so, then I’m obligated to pay attention to those areas in which I need growth… So I see elections as times to learn more about the issues as well as the candidates, to challenge my own life in terms of God’s Kingdom, and to use my formed conscience as a guide toward choosing leaders who will help us build such a civilization of love: including, but not exclusive to, prolife ideals.