Joe Rigney: Questions about political candidates

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, October 9th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. Up next, WORLD Opinions commentator Joe Rigney on questions to help voters discern which candidates to “pull the lever for” on November 5th…

JOE RIGNEY: As we enter the fall election season, it’s good to refresh ourselves on what we are doing when we vote for a candidate for high office. When citizens in a democratic system vote, we are selecting the officials who will seek to pursue certain goods through particular policies.

In the 21st century, voters should consider that presidents have four primary responsibilities. First, representing the nation symbolically as the head of state. Second, overseeing the armed forces and foreign policy. Third, working with Congress on legislation by proposing and if need be vetoing laws passed by legislators. And fourth, appointing judges and the heads of the federal bureaucracy. Thus, when voting for president, we ought to recognize that we are voting for three things: a platform, an administration, and a person. That should prompt three major questions: What does this candidate want to do? Who will they appoint to execute their agenda? And what kind of person is he or she?

Concerning the first question, a candidate’s platform establishes priorities and proposals. In order to evaluate a platform, we must distinguish between issues of prudence and issues of clear moral significance. Many areas of public policy are about balancing competing goods. For example, the disposition to welcome refugees is good. So is upholding the rule of law and preserving the stability of society. And debates about immigration ought to be about prudently and wisely navigating those goods. The same would apply to taxation, healthcare, or environmental protection. In general, these are areas of wisdom and folly, and not necessarily clear righteousness and wickedness.

Other issues are more clearly addressed in Scripture and nature. The Ten Commandments in particular guide us to honor authorities, respect and protect human life, respect and protect marriage and family, respect and protect property rights, and respect and protect the reputations of others and the integrity of the legal system. To enact policies that violate these basic rights and obligations is a grave evil, and lending support to leaders who espouse such evil means cooperating in that evil.

Second, we ought to consider who will join the candidate in carrying out his agenda in office. The president will make approximately 4,000 political appointments in addition to nominations to the judiciary. Those men and women in the administration will be responsible for carrying out the president’s agenda across a wide range of issues through various agencies. Great good, or great evil, will be done through the administration, and thus it is crucial that we look beyond the individual candidate to the sorts of individuals that he or she will appoint to the judiciary and the bureaucracy.

Finally, we should consider a candidate’s character and competence. Is he or she a person of good moral character? Is the candidate competent and effective at the task of governance? Will he or she be a capable and effective commander in chief of the armed forces?

At the same time, we must not separate a candidate’s character from his or her platform and personnel. Both policy and personnel reflect character. It doesn’t matter how upright a candidate is in private if he or she proposes wicked policies and appoints wicked people to carry them out. Conversely, a man or woman of poor personal character who advances good policy and appoints faithful people to carry it out is preferable to the alternative. This is along the lines of what Martin Luther often has been attributed as saying, that he’d rather be governed by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian.

In all of this, we must remember that we are never voting in the abstract or ideal circumstances. Thus, with our vote, we ought to first seek to limit harm. We ought to reject candidates and parties that desire to enshrine high-handed rebellion against God and direct harm to human beings in law and policy. Beyond that, we ought to seek to establish as much justice as possible in society through the various means available to us.

And so, Christian, trust the Lord and cast your vote.

I’m Joe Rigney.

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