Two excellent articles at Common Dreams (yes, I noted Kerstin and I are on the same reading lists but she picked out different aspects of it this weekend). These articles struck me because they fell into the musings I've been doing this weekend - how can these so-called "values voters" vote against their own children's best interests? Many people who are much smarter than I am are saying Democrats didn't frame the issues right.

Stand up for Moral Value of Economic Justice Democrats talked about the economy and health care and the insanity of this Administration's international and domestic policies - "practical" issues, and thought the voting public would "get it" - apparently 51% of the voting public didn't. That 51% is going to be in for a rude awakening over the next four years, as the policies of this band of lunatics are implemented and they see that it's not about moral values and never was.

I think George Lakoff hits it on the head with the "strict father" analogy and the idea that good people prosper and the poor - well, they probably deserve it because they are morally weak. I've heard that expressed in more than one venue lately, including on Knitter's Review (in the political forums I am now trying to avoid for the sake of Clara's budget).

Our Moral Values The concept that God rewards "good" people and if you are poor and suffering it's due to a moral failing on YOUR part is straight from evangelical Christianity's lunatic right, the "name it and claim it" Prosperity Gospel movement. I can't call it a lunatic fringe, because as you can guess, anything that tells you you are a little god with godlike powers and God exists to do YOUR bidding is mighty popular and has drawn a lot of adherents. It is also such a breathtaking distortion of the message of Jesus Christ, it makes your head spin.

We can't let them make this a moral values war, and we can't let these right-wing lunatics hijack Christianity with their distorted ideas and underlying contempt for those people Christ loved most. I really don't know how these people reconcile the Prosperity Gospel with Christian values - the irony is just too rich - but somehow they do it.

The issue of abortion has been very cleverly used by these people to create a climate where single-issue voting is a judgment on your moral values. "Lefty" Christians like me need to start talking more about the values of MY role models - Dorothy Day, for instance.

Yeah, I am a pro-lifer, but I'm a real pro-lifer - all life is precious and it's not our job to decide who lives and who dies, which makes me anti-death penalty, which certainly puts me at odds with these right-wingers who want the death penalty for abortion providers. (It's a crime to kill someone before birth but after they're here we can take 'em out and claim it's God's will. Gotta love it!)

I can vote for politicians who support choice because the rest of their agenda will benefit more of us and hopefully create a better social and economic climate for all. The statement that pro-lifers value life starting with conception and ending at birth certainly seems more true than ever lately. I believe we should be working toward a society where abortion is unnecessary for all but very serious physical or personal reasons, but the way to do that is to give people hope in a bright future. I recognize that abortion will always be with us, legally or illegally, and outlawing it is pointless. (It does, however, fit with the "strict father" "punishing bad girls" mentality, doesn't it?)

And we sure as hell won't move in the direction of truly valuing and supporting life on the path we're on. We have a better chance of making abortion virtually unnecessary when we have a strong economy and quality job growth and widely available health care and reliable, affordable, high quality child care. When people feel poor and desperate, life becomes cheap. We can't claim we "value life" and vote for people whose values and policies revolve around dismantling society's safety nets and punishing those who need help.

And that's enough political ranting for today.