Single Issue Voter

If there is one issue on which you base your vote, what is it? What litmus test do you apply to candidates, particularly presidential candidates? I don't think I have just one, but I might. And if I am a single issue voter, that single issue is the candidate's stance on abortion. Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost has a post about this subject today. He quotes David Gushee who is a professor at Union University, my alma mater, and someone who I see often. David doesn't live far from me and his writings are read extensively in religious circles, particularly in the area of bioethics. As Joe Carter and David Gushee both point out, where a person stands when it comes to the sanctity of human life is an extremely important issue. And I think it will indicate what other types of decision that person will make such as what jurists to nominate to the federal bench. It is a single issue but it has many tentacles.

So where do some of the leading republican candidates stand on the issue of abortion? Mitt Romney professes that his views have evolved over time and that he is now pro-life. Some question when this conversion actually occurred. There is no question that Rudy Guiliani is pro-choice and that will create a tremendous hurdle for him toward the republican nomination. Likewise, John McCain's position on abortion has been fluid.

Candidates like Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee are clearly pro-life but their names are never mentioned in the same breath as the big three.

If you have a single issue that determines your vote? Is it abortion? If so, which candidate are you leaning toward? Are there any democratic candidates who are pro-life?

Jerome