We have already discussed the character qualities that should distinguish the most qualified candidate for president regardless of their party affiliation. Our recent blog, “Choosing Our Leaders by Looking Beneath ‘Politics’” expresses this approach and should provide a helpful background to what follows. Click HERE to read.
Most of us would like to think we are being objective and nonpartisan in our choices of who will receive our vote. But how do we achieve this? Maybe one way is to consider what questions we would ask each candidate if we had the chance to interview them. First, we would need to “do our homework” on each candidate and come up with our questions. What is their political ideology based on their understanding of the role of government, the role of the U.S. on the global scene, and the importance of law and order and due process under the law? What is their understanding of the nature of mankind? How do they interpret the U.S. Constitution and view our freedoms as defended under our Bill of Rights?
Because we cannot interview the candidates directly, we completed our “homework” by consulting a variety of news sources-- conservative, liberal, and those claiming to be unbiased. Then, we developed a “Candidate Checklist” that gives a sketch of each candidate based on their ideology, their actions in the office(s) they have held in the past, and the manner in which they have pursued the presidency in recent months. We cannot claim that the checklist is either comprehensive or unbiased, but we have tried to make it so.
Using the Candidate Checklist
The “Candidate Checklist” gives a series of categories, each with summary information that you can use to judge each candidate as to which most closely aligns with your own political ideology and qualifications for good leadership. Along with this summary information, we have provided links to further reading.
Based on what you learn from each category of the checklist, make your tentative choice between the two candidates, then award one (1) point to the candidate whom you believe to be the better of the two for that particular category. If you believe there is no difference between the two candidates, simply award one (1) point to each. Suggestion: You can use the live internet links provided in the checklist, but you cannot score your points directly into the checklist. So you may wish to make a screenshot and save it as an image (e.g. JPG) so you can print it out, mark, and total your scores.
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Presidential Candidate Checklist |
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1) Prior
Experience Score (1) point for Harris: _____ |
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2) Endorsements Received (Sample) |
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3) Political Ideology Score (1) point for Harris: _____ |
Score (1) point for Trump: ____ |
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4) Consistency on Policy
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5) View of
Child’s Right to Life |
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6) Securing
the Nomination Score (1) point for Harris: _____ |
Score (1) point for Trump: ____ |
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7) Solution
for the Economy |
Score (1) point for Trump: ____ |
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8) Immigration, Law Enforcement Score (1) point for Harris:_____ |
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9) Global
Deplomacy |
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10) VP Choice: A Heartbeat Away |
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Total votes for Harris = _____ Total votes for Trump = _____ |
Your tally of points for each candidate is meant to help you distinguish which of the two candidates are most deserving of your vote. We want to stimulate your thinking and preparation to vote wisely. We do not wish to oversimplify or minimize the challenge of making wise choices in the upcoming national election. Nor do we mean to imply that we have presented the complete picture in an objective manner.
You may wish to point out any unfair comparisons we have made. If you have additional points that ought to be considered, or questions needing answers, we urge you to politely respond using the “Comment” link below. Meanwhile, we still have questions of our own that we would ask the candidates if we had opportunity. How about you?
What Would You Ask the Candidates?
What would you ask the candidates if you were in a townhall and were handed a microphone? We will close with a few questions that may help at least some readers make the right choice when you vote.
1. Why should I trust you to choose the next _______ (Fill in the blank—e.g. Supreme Court justice cabinet secretaries, federal judges.)?
3. Do you believe you earned the nomination of your party based on how you were selected?
4. How can I trust that you will govern in a manner consistent with your current positions on issues like petroleum fracking, border security, gun control, law and order, etc. in view of the positions you have held prior to this year?
6. You have plans to restore the economy and lower costs through more government programs, new regulations, and changes in taxation. How are your plans different from those of the Biden-Harris administration? Different from your opponent’s proposals?
Now Its Up to You
We hope this blog has been helpful, and we hope you will faithfully perform your civic and God-given duty to honor those in authority by exercising your right to vote. Our future as Americans depends upon it. What questions or comments can you voice after reading this blog? Please feel free--we hope you do--to respond politely, and anonymously at the "Comment" link below, or if you prefer, by silviusj@gmail.com .
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Endnote #1: No candidate is perfect in character. None will have a perfect past life. All of us are flawed human beings in need of redemption and forgiveness that only God can provide. Therefore, as Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone (John 8: 7). The God who works all things together for overwhelming good is also known repeatedly to use pagan kings like King Nebuchadnezzar, flawed Jewish leaders like King David, flawed disciples like Peter, and flawed apostles with a sinful past like the Apostle Paul who considered himself the “chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1: 15). If we agree that no candidate is perfect, we must look at their records and experience as leaders. Remember, it is our duty as citizens to exercise our blood-bought freedom to cast our votes.
Endnote #2: U.S. Senate Ideology Score 2018 by GovTrack.us -- Harris is most liberal (0.05/1.00) except for Bernie Sanders (0.03/1.00) and two other senators.
Click HERE and HERE to read more.
Endnote #3: “When you totaled up Trump’s ideological score on economic and social issues from the website OnTheIssues.org (2018) — which assigns an ideological grade to politicians’ statements and votes on a scale that we’ve converted to go from -5 (very liberal) to +5 (very conservative) — he came in at +42.5. His score was closer to 0, perfectly “moderate,” than any incoming president of the past 40 years except George H.W. Bush.” Read more, click HERE.
