I'm Coming Out!

I promise not to plague you with numerous political commentaries - you probably have already gotten your fill in this election season.  But this one I personally feel is really important.  I'm coming out with news that I'm voting for Barack Obama.  I have many reasons for supporting Obama.  But for the limited scope of this post, I am hoping to show that Obama is actually the superior "pro-life" candidate.  I'm choosing this topic because it tends to be the one issue for many among family/friends that determines who they vote for, even though I personally am not a single-issue voter.  And, I'm hoping to convince a few who are still unsure to support Obama as this could be a very close election. So, if you are a McCain supporter or undecided, please take a few minutes to read the links that I reference below.

For a bigger picture, the best thing for me to do is refer you to two pastors whose blogs I follow who give excellent reasons for supporting Obama.  The first is a local pastor and friend, Dr. Larry Taylor, and you can read his comments here.  The second pastor is Brian Mclaren, who is known on a national level, especially with his work through Sojourners. You can read his blog on Obama here. And the Matthew 25 Network is a group of Jesus followers who are coming together to support Obama for very good reasons.

Okay's, let's go specifically to the topic of abortion - one of the most dividing issues in our country.  Many citizens will be voting for McCain simply for one reason - because he is the so-called "pro-life" candidate. I find it amusing (disgusting?) how Replubican candidates declare loudly their pro-life position in order to get the conservative votes, but then once elected, never seem to really do anything about it (I think McCain's record is pretty clear that he is only strongly pro-life when it becomes election time)  More importantly, I beleive that it is time to expand our definition of being "pro-life." It must cover all life issues, including war, the death penalty, etc.  Please see this opinion piece for a broader persepective on being pro-life.

Obama is in fact pro-life himself (regardless of the fear-based propaganda that we hear from some on the so-called "religious right"). The most important thing to consider is that Obama has declared his commitment and actually has a plan to reduce abortions, and isn't that really what everyone on all sides wants?  

I highly recommend this second commentary by Pastor Larry Taylor on being "pro-life and pro-Obama" in which he fleshes out his reasoning.  And here is a commentary by an author and serious pro-life political activist who gives his reasons for supporting Obama.

There are actually many other great reasons to vote for Obama.  I hope that you'll take extra time to investigate.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.