Election 2008

[chelsea]

I know, I know, there have been and will be many election threads as we get closer to primaries and to the final election. I just need some advice.

I will be turning 18 this March, and therefore will be able to vote. I havent really cared much about the issues, but I've realized how important it is for me, as well as my generation, to vote. As a young Catholic, what issues do I need to be looking for? Obviously, abortion is one. I am somewhat liberal on some issues, but very conservative on others. However, I want to make sure that everything I support is in line with the Church.

What do I need to know? Is there a good (catholic) website that will tell me all this?

sorry for seeming naive.

Thanks pham!
Chelsea

[Norseman82]

Well, there are considered to be five non-negotiables, which are abortion, euthanasia, marriage, cloning, and stem cells.

This should also be referenced:

[url="http://www.usccb.org/bishops/FCStatement.pdf"]http://www.usccb.org/bishops/FCStatement.pdf[/url]

[elizabeth_jane]

I second Norseman's suggestions. The five non-negotiables are what they are--non-negotiable!

I work in politics and even I'm having a hard time deciding who to support in this election...sigh.

[chelsea]

I know about those 5 issues, but what i really need to know about are the other big ones. Welfare, health care, etc...

[Justin86]

[quote name='chelsea' post='1430512' date='Dec 6 2007, 10:56 PM']I know about those 5 issues, but what i really need to know about are the other big ones. Welfare, health care, etc...[/quote]
As far as I know the Church permits your personal conscience on those, however you may not vote on them over the five non-negotiables, obviously.

I have yet to determine whom I'll be voting for this election cycle. I won't be voting at all if its Gulliani vs. Hillary.

[chelsea]

what candidates are acceptable to vote for in the eyes of the church? aka who follows the 5 non-negotiables?

[Justin86]

[quote name='chelsea' post='1430516' date='Dec 6 2007, 11:17 PM']what candidates are acceptable to vote for in the eyes of the church? aka who follows the 5 non-negotiables?[/quote]
Out of the front runners there's Romney(barely), Huckabee, and Thompson. To my knowledge none of the Democratic candidates follow the non-negotiables.

[Justin86]

Gullaini doesn't follow the non-negotiables, btw.

[Lounge Daddy]

[quote name='Justin86' post='1430515' date='Dec 6 2007, 09:13 AM']As far as I know the Church permits your personal conscience on those, however you may not vote on them over the five non-negotiables, obviously.

I have yet to determine whom I'll be voting for this election cycle. I won't be voting at all if its Gulliani vs. Hillary.[/quote]

Yes, the other "social justice" issues are up to you - following the 5 non-negotiables.

As for Rudy v Hill... Rudy has consistently said that he is personally pro-choice. He has also consistently said that legislation belongs in the legislature and not the judiciary and, therefor, Roe v Wade is inherently flawed. He would continue to appoint justices that rule by the US Constitution, the Supreme Court overturing Roe v Wade and support our elected representatives taking up the issue (as it should have happened). Rudy has further said that he would sign whatever Congress decided to go with as far as abortion legislation, and enforce it.

Rudy is kinda the opposite of John Kerry (who always supported Roe v Wade but tried to tell us how personally pro-life he was).

Because Rudy supports the course that I as a pro-life advocate support, I would have no problem voting for him.

[Brigid]

[quote name='Justin86' post='1430515' date='Dec 6 2007, 08:13 AM']As far as I know the Church permits your personal conscience on those, however you may not vote on them over the five non-negotiables, obviously.

I have yet to determine whom I'll be voting for this election cycle. I won't be voting at all if its Gulliani vs. Hillary.[/quote]
but you have to vote, right?

my parents have said that they'll vote for anyone to make sure Hillary isn't president. they probably won't WANT to vote for them, but the lesser of two evils, I guess.

[Didymus]

i agree with your parents.

if it ends up giuliani vs hilary i will still be voting GOP, because it could mean the difference between a strict and a loose interpretation in the Supreme Court when the chance arises to overturn Roe v. Wade.

[the_rev]

Well I'm a politician and I don't know who i'm going to vote for yet.... I have no affinity for any Republican. I must say that I was impressed with John Edwards speech last night although I wouldn't vote for him.

I have always supported Thompson, but I doubt he'll get the nomination. In my humble opinion the most electable republican is John McCain.

[kujo]

Here's my beef.

I don't understand why the "5 non-negotiables" take precident over other issues. Who is to say that a candidate's stance on euthanasia is more important than his/her stance on healthcare or taxes or foreign policy? I understand that it shows that the candidate's moral conscience is out of whack to some degree, but it seems like saying "Look, if a candidate has all 5 of these things in line, you've got to vote for him/her, regardless of whether or not you agree with the rest of their stances." For instance, I deplore Hillary, and find John Edwards to be condecending; however, I find their some of their populist stances (i.e.- healthcare, relieving tax burdens from the middle class, etc.) as well as their more progressive foreign policy positions (i.e.- returning America's prestige through diplomacy, agressively-subsidizing research to get us off of oil and, thus, chipping away at the controlling-mechanism that the Middle East has over us, etc) agreeable. Further, if it comes down to a pro-choice GOP candidate (Giuliani) and a pro-choice Democratic candidate (Obama?), I can see myself being wooed by our brothers and sisters in blue. I have said that I am socially conservative, but open to discussion in terms of domestic and foreign policy.

Any thoughts?

[MissyP89]

Question, as a first time voter and young Catholic:

What happens to us if we do vote for a candidate with a stance contrary to a non-negotiable? To what extent do we have primacy of conscience over this? If it does come down to both pro-choice candidates, will I be in mortal sin if I vote? Can I receive absolution in such a scenario?

Spell it out in small words for me, please.

[kujo]

[quote name='MissyP89' post='1442269' date='Jan 5 2008, 01:06 AM']What happens to us if we do vote for a candidate with a stance contrary to a non-negotiable? To what extent do we have primacy of conscience over this? If it does come down to both pro-choice candidates, will I be in mortal sin if I vote? Can I receive absolution in such a scenario?[/quote]

Word. What's the Church's stance on this?