A recent letter to the Rochester Post-Bulletin editor challenged "values voters," code words for evangelical Christians, to vote Democrat "for a change." According to the author, the alleged failings of the Republican party swing from the vapid charge that evangelicals have been "played for saps" to the ludicrous and dismissive assertion that abortion, flag burning and school prayer are "emotional" issues.
Evangelicals value innocent life, are deeply patriotic and believe the Constitution gives them the right to exercise their freedom of religion in the public arena. Republicans are the party which embraces those values and therefore it's natural that values voters should gravitate to the Party of Lincoln.
Democrats, on the other hand, defend abortion-on-demand including the gruesome procedure known as partial-birth abortion. They also promote embryonic stem cell research, which evangelicals object to on moral and ethical grounds. It is difficult for me to determine exactly how patriotic Democrats are since I hear more criticism of than either praise or appreciation for America from their camp. Democrats also come across as opposed to religious expression, particularly the Christian brand. The Boy Scouts seem to be a favorite whipping boy of theirs and their surrogates in the misnamed American Civil Liberties Union.
So, Mr. Michael Fields, the author of the letter, should forgive us value voter "saps" if we continue to vote for the candidates and party which acknowledges, honors, respects and promotes the civic and faith values we hold so dear. We will leave the getting mad and getting even to Mr. Fields and his party.
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