Why Every American Christian Should Vote for Mitt Romney
"The Iron Room" is a forum featuring analysis from an exciting new panel of CP commentators on areas where the Christian faith and public policy intersect. The name of the new CP political forum is inspired by Proverbs 27:17: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
This installment of the "The Iron Room" covers the reasons why people will vote for President Barack Obama or Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney. This is the first of a two-part series.
This election presents perhaps the clearest moral contrast of my adult life. On one side is a Republican candidate who is pro-life, supports marriage, defends religious liberty, has real-world experience creating jobs, and has a realistic understanding of the threat of jihad.
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His opponent, the sitting president, is radically pro-abortion (when you support taxpayer funding of abortion, you're beyond "pro-choice"), has launched a frontal assault on religious liberty and the most basic rights of conscience, seeks to redefine marriage, has led the most anemic economic recovery since the Great Depression, and advances a hope-based foreign policy that is imploding in front of our very eyes.
Simply put, I cannot understand the Christian case for Barack Obama.
But what about the Christian case for Mitt Romney? In Massachusetts - one of America's most liberal states - he won a political leadership award from Massachusetts Citizens for Life after he vetoed expanded access to the so-called "morning after" abortion pill and vetoed a bill permitting embryonic stem cell research. And in the battle for marriage, Maggie Gallagher, founder of the National Organization for Marriage, writes: "Mitt Romney didn't just oppose court-ordered same-sex marriage with words, he fought hard, including behind the scenes."
Regarding the economy, imagine for a moment you're interviewing a job applicant. Your company is struggling, and you need somebody who can make you profitable again. Several of the applicants have impressive-sounding ideas, but only one of the candidates has actually made it happen - has actually executed the turnaround - not once, not twice, but three times, in different places and contexts. That person gets the job, and it's not even close.
As a much younger man, Mitt Romney was named CEO of the struggling Bain & Company and brought it all the way back from the brink, leaving it financially healthy and prosperous. He helped found Bain Capital and turned it into an economic powerhouse, creating thousands of private-sector jobs and leaving it with $4 billion under management.
After his private sector success, he was called to save the Salt Lake City Olympics – the first post-9/11 games – from corruption and fiscal collapse. He turned an almost $400 million deficit into a $100 million profit - all while maintaining safety and security in tense times. Then, as governor of Massachusetts, he turned a $3 billion budget deficit into a $700 million surplus and left office with a 4.7 percent state unemployment rate.
Finally, I know Mitt and Ann Romney, and like many others, my wife and I have experienced their kindness and compassion first-hand. They are people of integrity, they share your values, and they will live those values in the Oval Office.
