Careful Thought

First, the disclaimer: as Christians, our hope is not in leaders or in governments, but in Christ.  If we put our hopes anywhere else, we’re guaranteed of disappointment.

Secondly, I caught two interesting articles today, one on the Supreme Court’s decision in the Second Amendment case, and the second on the possibility of evangelicals staying away from the elections this fall. 

The SCOTUS decision was interesting in that it showed that the court was willing to address such fundamental issues.  From YahooNews:

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices’ first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.

The court’s 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision went further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.

The Constitution does not permit “the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home,” [Justice] Scalia said. The court also struck down Washington’s requirement that firearms be equipped with trigger locks.

What’s troubling is that it was a 5-4 decision.  The next president will likely appoint 2-3 new justices to the court; what happens if the wrong guy gets elected and those new justices are Ginsberg or Souter clones?  Hard times for civil liberties…

That leads to the other article, also from YahooNews, which suggests that evangelicals might sit out this election because John McCain is hardly a social conservative.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – If Christian conservatives stay on the sidelines during the fall campaign, presidential hopeful John McCain probably stays in the Senate.

Christian conservatives provided much of the on-the-ground, door-to-door activity for President Bush’s 2004 re-election in Ohio and in other swing states. Without them, the less-organized and lower-profile McCain campaign is likely to struggle to replicate Bush’s success. And so far, there’s been scant sign that the Republican nominee-in-waiting is making inroads among these fervent believers.

“I don’t know that McCain’s campaign realizes they cannot win without evangelicals,” said David Domke, a professor of communication at the University of Washington who studies religion and politics. “What you see with McCain is just a real struggle to find his footing with evangelicals.”

Family groups in Ohio outlined their doubts about the Arizona senator in a meeting with McCain’s advisers last weekend. They’re concerned about his record on abortion rights and on campaign finance laws that they believe limited their ability to criticize candidates who are pro-choice on abortion.

McCain is damaged goods as far as many (including me) are concerned, but he’s all we have.  Hopefully, he will choose a good social conservative VP, like Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal.  If you’re concerned that future Supreme Court decisions could go the wrong way, hold your nose and vote for John McCain.  Damaged goods are better than no goods at all.

Tags: Bobby Jindal, elections, John McCain, politics, Sarah Palin, second amendment, Supreme Court