I see that while I was trying to open the door to an informed Christian vote for a pro-abortion candidate, I didn't properly respect the third party protest vote. The bishops stated clearly: "We recognize that the responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election." I think there was some confusion on this point of individual responsibility in the last election.
I personally can't see casting a protest vote, but that's because I subscribe to the idea that politics is the art of the possible, as was taught me by a smart Basque priest when I was young and still impressionable. (I realize he stole the quote.) I have some skepticism about an immediate political solution to the prolife crisis, as I elaborated in my post "Reclaiming Life the Hard Way."
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While I do not admit being an idealist exactly, I set the bar pretty high for a person to receive my vote and the higher the office they seek, the higher the bar. I, too, believe that politics is the art of the possible. I also believe that POV is far too often held in a cynical way. Put simply, I think we are often willing to short-change ourselves about what is possible. I also believe that it is just this short-changing of possibilities that alienates people to the point of not wanting to participate. I think there are quite a few citizens who refuse to even participate in the process, not out of laziness, but quite deliberately. I think only candidates not representing one of the two major parties are the only hope of energizing many of these citizens.
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