Doug Jones for USA Senate in Alabama

Doug Jones for USA Senate in Alabama November 10, 2017

photo-1474663898126-6f6f19a48b1d_optWhen corrupt crook Edwin Edwards ran against David Duke for the Senate, reasonable Christians voted for Edwin Edwards. The law would take care of Edwards, but Duke would have harmed the state more.

How?

Changing our values for money, power, or temporary victory makes a mockery of our standards. The Party of Lincoln could not consistently embrace the candidate of Jefferson Davis.

We cannot do this, not because we are perfect, but because even if we try to live up to our standards, we will be imperfect!

We all fail our standards. I have. However, if we back a person who has made a career of failing our standards just for political power, then we have no standard other than political power. Our standards turn out to have been nothing but marketing ploys. Let’s be honest, that’s always a risk. We all get tricksy and pretend that we are principled when we are really just posturing.

As a result, we cannot flunk the hard tests. I am a Reagan Republican, pro-life, and for small government, but if I could vote in Alabama, I would (God help me) vote for Doug Jones.

Why?

Think of the David Duke Rule.

I have never voted for anyone who was not a sinner, but David Duke embraced his sin and made it his platform. A few years of political favor were not worth selling out. Not only is it wrong, but it is bad practical politics. The political fallout for a David Duke lasts generations, cutting a party off from voters it will later need.

When a thing is wrong, that is enough for a good man to stand against that error. When a thing is wrong and imprudent, run the other away fast and fight.

David Duke was such a case.

Doug Jones of Alabama has many flaws as a senate candidate, but did do one great good deed: he convicted evil men in the Klan of killing fellow Christians. I think his views on abortion morally wrong, but abortion is not the only moral wrong. I advocated voting “none of the above” early in the Alabama race, but that is not good enough now.

The Alabama Senate race is less like Trump-Clinton and more Edwards-Duke. In Edwards-Duke, I advocated for the crook over the racist and in Alabama I support a decent man who has serious errors in his views over a man who ostentatiously agrees with me on some things, but lives a consistent life of exploitation and grift.

I felt both Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump failed to pass the minimum standards to get a vote in 2016 and voted for a third party candidate. In this case, we have moved beyond two bad candidates to one wrong man running against an existential threat to our witness.

We don’t have to judge anybody, including the Judge. We do have to say: “Not with my vote.” Nobody has a presumption to a US Senate seat.

There are many reasons to say this ethically, but the best is this: we must be true to our standards. There is, however, another reason, if you need one. Doug Jones is a one term Senator in a state like Alabama. Six years will pass and another election will come. Let’s keep our integrity intact for that race with a better candidate. Better, as Alexander Hamilton said, to have the errors come from their house than to vote to put a lifetime pattern of wickedness in our house.

Doug Jones for Senate.

So help me God.

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In addition to pointing out an error, Dan Middleton notes that Jones will only fill four years of a six year replacement term.


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