Pre-Election Musings From A Moderate, "Swampy" Policy Wonk, & Provisional United Methodist Pastor10/28/2020 I'm ready for Nov. 3 election results to come and go. How about you?
I wanted to write a few musings or thoughts from my perspective as a moderate, insider, and provisional pastor, as we prepare for the election. As a starter, I'll disclose again that I've publicly said I would describe my personal political leanings as a "compassionate conservative." What does this mean? It's rooted in the early administration beliefs of George W. Bush. My definition would be: Compassion it means we owe it to fighting poverty in our own country and in others. Compassion means that I value people where they are today, a universal human dignity. Conservatism means that I believe in the partnership between government, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector (secular and faith-based) to solve community problems at a local level. It's conservative to believe in accountability for both governments, private industry, and nonprofits and holding high standards. Needing to Empower The Moderates What does a moderate mean today? I think it's where compassionate conservatives would fit. In the 2020 presidential election, I think it means: we are trying to find who we want to vote for. At a local level, it means I pay particular attention to how people run and the language they use. Where does a compassionate conservative (or another form of a moderate) fit in today's political context? It's weird that only 18 years ago a compassionate conservative viewpoint was probably viewed as "hardcore right." Today, we don't have a place. And it's sad. President Trump's policies have offered little to no compassion, both abroad and in the USA. Vice President Biden and Senator Harris both represent coastal states where the culture is very different from my midwestern roots, and I see little "conservatism" or this idea of ensuring that government's role can be controlled and limited. My message to you moderates out there: it's okay to feel conflicted. It's okay to vote your conscience. It's okay to speak out on social media that you wish both sides would moderate out instead of going toward the far right or far left. Politics won't change until moderates speak out in voice and in voting---from the top level---down the tickets. Empowering the moderates will likely also bring an inherent, natural civility back to the forefront of our policymaking world. Until we have to talk about nuance or a middle ground, it will always be more convenient to try to out a bigger turnout in the base of one side or another. It's time for the moderates to rise up. Why do moderates need to rise up? Our social media is filled with anger, hate, frustration at the other side. Our social media perpetuates our own feelings with algorithms to make my opinions stronger instead of challenging and encouraging understanding of another viewpoint. Does this mean the US will become an authoritarian dictatorship if we move to the middle? No. Does this mean the US will become a socialist country if we move to the middle? No. Swampy Politics I admit it. I'm the swamp. I am a lobbyist, have been a lobbyist for years. I believe that everything I have advocated for has been needed, is a good thing, and that lobbyists in fact...are needed. Do you want an elected official changing laws around your work who have no idea how your job actually works? In a nutshell, lobbyists work to educate elected officials on the impacts of change. Lobbyists often work to protect status quo, yes. Is this a good thing, always? No. President Trump calls people like me the "swamp" in which needs to be drained. Vice President Biden has been a US Senator for 45+ years (10+ years longer than I've been alive!). In an election campaign, we hear and see lots of things used as scare tactics: X person is supported by a group who supports abortion. X person is supported by white supremacists. X person is in the pocket of the big corporate interests. X person voted to defund the police. The list back and forth goes on and on forever. Let's be real for a minute. Politics is swampy. In the state House, there are hundreds of votes taken during session (likely thousands). Between committee votes, amendments, and multiple floor votes -- it's incredibly easy to look at one vote, one snapshot in time and criticize it. Let me take two examples. Judy Baker's (D) campaign locally noted Caleb Rowden (R) "opposed Medicaid Expansion" and sited HB 2011. HB 2011 is the funding bill for the Dept. of Social Services, which included a policy rider/note that funds in that budget at the time could not be used to implement Medicaid Expansion. So, Caleb is a darned-if-you-do and darned-if-you-don't. If he votes FOR the bill, he votes against Medicaid Expansion (as he voted). If he votes against the bill, he voted against funding Medicaid funding for kids, child care for families, and against supporting funding for foster kids. See how these votes are catch-22s and can be spun either way? I love this parody on political ads because it's so true. Likewise, Republicans have said that Lauren Arthur has voted to "defund the police" and voted for "rioting" because she voted against funding HB 4 in 2017. Similar to the other example, HB 4 is a funding bill to fund the Public Safety Dept, including the Highway Patrol. I have no idea why she voted against it, but it could be because of a policy rider which was added like: MODOT shall not spent to encourage enactment of primary enforcement of seat belts. So, by standing on a principle (potentially, I don't know the her rationale) that you shouldn't put a policy in a funding bill that she thinks needs broader discussion---she's all of a sudden for defunding the police and rioting? So: don't put weight in the silly attack ads from either side. They can be spun and there's always more to it. They call it the "swamp" because it isn't a clear, simple, easy pond. In fact, it's muddy, views blocked with trees and even clear water blocked with marshy grass. Policymaking is not clean and simple. There are lots of shades of grey. Attack ads are the worst at taking one random vote and taking the context it's in out of context. Think about your work or life and think about if it was taken as a snapshot. Something like: you own a restaurant and a convicted felon of manslaughter comes to be served. You serve them as a paying customer and later, your competitor says that you support manslaughter because you served the customer. This is swampy politics translated in the business world. It's not okay in either circumstance. I work with the people who are being attacked on both sides of the political spectrum and both sides have amazing, great people who have done good things for the state. It's important to remember this. My Christian Faith & The 2020 Election In a few weeks, I will go before the Board on Ordained Ministry of the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church as a candidate under consideration to be ordained as a deacon. My Christian faith are the roots of my being. Since January, I've been progressing through the Bible in an audio format. We finally got to the New Testament in October! In just a few weeks, we'll be finished with the gospels. The last month has been a huge breath of fresh air. Jesus' compassion, anger at the righteous, work to bring people into the faith, and wants to be 100% in sync with God and God's plan for his role as the Messiah. My faith and the 2020 election makes me be introspective to ask the following questions with my answer below:
What questions do you have about faith and the election? Comment below and I'm happy to offer my thoughts! Concluding Thoughts I will say the 2020 Election is really difficult. My politics has changed as I've grown and been exposed to more people, ideas, and have traveled the world. My values remain the same or are even more firm. Does that mean I vote straight ticket anymore? Nope. Is that okay? Yes. A candidate should earn my vote. A party doesn't earn my vote. Our current politics combined with the heavy influence of social media in our lives to believe we are incredibly divided. I remain convinced we are not as divided as some of our political leaders or social media wants us to believe. Some say a civil war may be on the verge of starting if one candidate or another wins. I refuse to give into that talk. Our country is strong and I believe those of us who believe we are stronger than those working to divide will come out on top. My Christian faith teaches me to have hope both in this life but to place my allegiance not to a candidate or party but to Christ as my Savior. As you enter the ballot box, I hope you also carry this attitude with you. We are better when we work together to solve our problems. Voting is a way we do that. We live in a fallen world, but are all made in God's image and I will continue to work to see God's love and grace in each candidate, each neighbor, and each person I interact with. I hope you join me. Thank you for reading. Craig
1 Comment
Donna
10/30/2020 06:30:21 am
There is another way to choose who you could vote for and that’s by looking at the party platforms. Every 4 years there are party delegate committees who meet well ahead of the elections and put together a statement of beliefs about what their party stands for. These are well thought out and even sometimes contentious within the committee but in the end they have a cohesive and comprehensive statement of beliefs. Check out the Democrat and Republican platform if you’re undecided and discover which party aligns more closely with your worldview and beliefs.
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AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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