A friend asked for my thoughts on things like the “lesser of two evils” argument which have been widely used along with a number of other arguments in favor of Trump. My brief response:
The common refrain that our forefathers fought for “the right to vote” misses an important point. People like Madison et al. believed character was non-negotiable to good governance. As one pol sci scholar told me in a recent interview, Madison and his ilk would tell me to vote according to my conscience which is not seamless with the need to have to vote.
Additionally, I don’t share how powerful the president is going to be. Both the left and right make this mistake. I think the next administration if I were to predict (and my historical sense tells me to steer clear of the prediction business!) will be quite ineffectual and hamstrung.
Last, I think a good argument can be made by Christians that Trump is much worse because he has confused many over the gospel. I’m not voting for Hillary but at least she does not confuse people over the gospel.
P.S. I did vote, but bypassed voting for any presidential candidates.
