Why I'm Evangelical and Voting for President Obama in 2012

Culture
ByMeghan Alcorn

As an evangelical Christian, I am immediately skeptical of a candidate who makes an effort to appear to be on some sort of moral high-ground because of their stances on social issues like abortion and the death penalty, regardless of my views on either.

A candidate playing the morality card to appeal to the Christian right is an insult to my intelligence. This is not unlike in 2008, when John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running-mate to appeal to female voters. At least, I hope that's why he chose her. I mean surely he didn't really think she would be an asset for any other reason?

I'm not saying a candidate shouldn't express his or her views on social issues. More precisely, I am saying that perhaps if a moral high-ground is to be achieved, it is found in a place that affects a candidate more directly and personally: his/her wallet. A politician's stance on financial issues can quickly reveal whether someone supports  freedom and the greater good, or someone who is running for office for their own selfish gain.

President Barack Obama has made clear moves against politicians profiting from their position in office. Namely, in his State of the Union address, he called for a bill to stop insider trading by members of Congress. Support of the STOCK Act is a big Obama selling point for me. It has been around for six years and got nowhere because of petty actions like those of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who is great at coming up with ways to oppose 'anything' Obama likes.

I will vote for President Obama because I see in him a glimmer of authenticity and I have hope that he might actually be against some of the main causes of corruption and 'cronyism' in Washington, clearly exhibited in his strong opposition to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that allowed the formation of super PACs. Such unmitigated amounts of spending that this ruling has allowed (for funding of trash TV ads that rarely contain a grain of truth) is despicable and wasteful.

I'm worried about the outcome of this election because stances on the issues that might actually change the political landscape are more nuanced than others, and certainly illicit fewer heated emotions than the socials ones. Also, we are in the same journalistic-integrity climate as the last election, where the desire to see Obama's birth certificate received more coverage than most of the issues that really matter.

The causes for the unemployment rate and the dreary economy are complex and can be argued in endless directions, unfortunately for Obama supporters it is all too easy for a voter or Republican opposition to blame the President. I hope voters will give the President the chance to continue the change he has started.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons