restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
Schwarzenegger: Bad Actor, Worse Governor
Its the most difficult [decision] Ive made in my entire life, except the one I made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax. – Arnold Schwarzenegger announcing his gubernatorial candidacy on The Tonight Show.
I used to think that the best joke about Arnold Schwarzenegger was David Lettermans late-night quip. He said the number one Arnold Schwarzenegger Campaign Promise was to Speak directly to voters in clear, honest, broken English. Ive changed my mind, however, since reading the latest flurry of support for Schwarzenegger coming from conservative Republicans, many of whom are evangelical Christians.
That the question of whether evangelical Christians should vote for Schwarzenegger can even be raised shows how willing evangelicals are to compromise their principles when it comes to political elections. This is the philosophy that says Christian values dont really matter in the political system. Sure, Schwarzenegger is not as conservative as wed like, but hes a Republicanand thats gotta be better than having a Democrat as governor! Indeed, Schwarzenegger can and likely will win the recall election due largely to Republican voters who place pragmatism over principle.
For what its worth, my message to evangelical voters in California is this. If you want to choose as your next governor a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, and anti-Second Amendment candidate, go right ahead. If you want to vote for a man who in a 1977 interview admitted taking part in group sex, have at it. If you want to confuse economic success (which Schwarzenegger certainly has achieved) with knowledge of the Constitution and biblical law, you are certainly free to do so. Just forget that the man youre voting for has killed more than 300 people on screen, or that he has posed for nude photos, or that he supports gun control, or that he once compared weight-lifting with sex, or that he would allow women to continue killing their babies. After all, a Republican governor is needed in California, I dare say!
On the other hand, if you want a candidate who will restore morality, ethics, and common sense to public service, youll have to look elsewhere. If you seek a politician who will return our Constitution to its proper place in our Republic, youll have to look elsewhere. If you believe in an individuals Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, youll have to look elsewhere. If you believe that a doctor, when treating a pregnant woman, has two patientsthe mother and the unborn babyyoull have to look elsewhere. And in this case, looking elsewhere may mean not voting at all if that means compromising your Christian values.
Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, has stated that Arnold Schwarzenegger would create a moral vacuum in Sacramento if he became Californias governor. As Governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger would be a darker villain than any he has faced in his movies. And when it comes to the moral issues that Californians really care abouthe gives us inaction not action. In other words, bad actor, worse governor.
Why evangelicals should still need proof that the Republican Party has sold its soul for election-day pottage is beyond me. But if youre one who still holds to the lesser-of-two-evils philosophy, take a good hard look at the California recall electionand the support the Terminator is getting from conservative Christians.
September 9, 2003
David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.