How Do I Vote Now?
By Bob Synk, MDFL Board Member
The opinions expressed are those of the author. Michigan Democrats for Life supports and endorses pro-life Democrats and makes no recommendation/ endorsement decisions on behalf of independents, third-party candidates, Republicans and pro-choice Democrats.
While Roe was forcing abortion to be legal throughout the United States, deciding who to vote for was pretty easy for me. I knew that while the Republican politicians said they were pro-life, their actions indicated otherwise. They routinely oppose any pro-life measure which helps women and their partners choose life. Like the Affordable Care Act, the improved Children’s Tax Credit, support for childcare;
the list goes on and on. Pro-choice Democrats, by supporting these measures, were actually more prolife than the Republicans. Then considering other issues like climate change, racism, the death penalty, gun violence and unjust wars, and it has been abundantly clear to me that voting Democratic helps humanity more than voting Republican.
But that calculus relied on Roe to make the Democrats’ pro-choice position largely irrelevant. Now that we have the option to put reasonable restrictions on abortion, I may have to hold my nose and vote for some Republicans.
Michigan has a law outlawing abortion which the Democrats are busy demonizing (although it is currently being stayed by a court order). The Governor and Attorney General have declared they will not enforce it. County prosecutors may also become instrumental in enforcing that law. Should that tip the scale for me to vote Republican for those offices? Maybe. But there is now a more important issue
for me than any of the others: Preserving our democracy.
Donald Trump and his followers are willing to overturn elections to hold on to power. The “Big Lie” that Trump actually won the 2020 election is laying the foundation for a 2024 coup attempt. That could push America into a civil war or a dictatorship. Preventing such catastrophic events is my top political priority.
The first line of defense in protecting our democracy is to stop the Trumpists in the Republican primary August 2nd. On my ballot there is no critical contest on the Democratic side, so, since Michigan has an open primary, I can vote on the Republican side. I will vote against anyone denying the validity of Joe Biden’s election and against anyone endorsed by Donald Trump.
The second line of defense will be voting against Trumpists in the general election.
In the general election there will be more decisions. Michigan Supreme Court justices and various judges will be on the ballot. The Republican supported candidates are likely to uphold the 1931 abortion law, but they are also likely to support corporations abusing people and polluting more. Democratic supported candidates are likely to do the opposite. What to do? I suppose I will need to do
more work than usual to try to get to know the candidates. Then pray for guidance and make a decision.
The dilemma is similar for the legislature, county commissioners, etc. I will have to weigh the possibility that the office will be needed to enact reasonable abortion policies against the likelihood of the office being used to enact unjust or harmful policies in all the other legal arenas.
My representative is Peter Meijer, one of the 11 Republicans in Congress who voted for impeachment. I feel he should be rewarded for having the courage to do the right thing so I will vote for him in the primary, and again if he makes it to the general election.
Taking seriously our responsibility as citizens will be more work in the next several elections. And it will certainly be ever more important.
[Note about who's actually posting this: The Koala icon and the accompany name might lead an observant reader to think this is being posted by the same person who has been so identified in previous posts to this blog. It's not. As noted at the beginning if the pose, it's being posted by Bob Synk, an MDFL Board Member. Because of a glitch that we hope will be of short duration Bob is currently unable to sign in to the blog, so the koala guy is lending him a temporary identity.]