Last week provided a rare moment of clarity in American politics, courtesy of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D). Christians who support the Democratic party would do well to take notice. On Wednesday, January 30th, Gov. Northam caused outrage on the political Right when he made the following comment regarding the controversial 40-week abortion bill.
If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.
Governor Ralph Northam (D), Virginia
Northam was unilaterally defended by Democrats.
That is, until two days later when Gov. Northam again caused instant outrage. This time over photos which emerged from his medical yearbook 35 years ago showing he and another person wearing blackface and Ku Klux Klan regalia – though it is not certain which person was Northam. Democrats across the country immediately called for his resignation.
These examples represent a moment of clarity between the Republican and Democrat parties.
You can always tell what a group really believes by seeing what animates them. One party was outraged that Gov. Northam supports the murder of a living, God-made soul; the other party was outraged that Gov. Northam (who is white) wore racist attire 35 years ago.
Murder a baby? Meh. Wear a “blackface” 35 years ago? Unforgivable! Let that sink in for a moment.
Three Lessons
There are three points of clarification.
First, one cannot merely dismiss abortion as an uncomfortable anecdote of Democrat party politics. The Democratic party not only supports abortion up to 40 weeks but includes abortion in their party platform. The party’s elected speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D), California, drew praise from Planned Parenthood President, Cecile Richards, who claimed: “Nancy Pelosi is the reason we still have access to abortion rights.”
Pelosi herself goes even farther than Richards, calling the issue of abortion “sacred ground”. It is an unmistakable parallel to the biblical account of Moses and the burning bush, in which God commands Moses “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5) In the same video (which you can see here), Pelosi argues that what Dr. Kermit Gosnell did in Philidelphia was “reprehensible”, not because it violated God’s law but only because it violated the “mother’s wishes”. Ironically, Pelosi used the fact that she has five children as proof that she is pro-child. Gosnell has six.
The Democratic position on abortion is morally backward and is shameful on the highest order of magnitude. How can Christians, equipped with the Holy Spirit, support the Democratic party or any political candidate who adopts this platform?
Note: I’m not talking about local elections for Sheriff or County Clerk where political affiliation is unrelated to their job description.
Second, one cannot miss the irony of the Democratic party’s outrage over Gov. Northam’s 35-year old photos. Past misdeeds are typically overlooked when it comes to Left-wing superheroes like Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger (see this good article by Garrett Mullet) or their “Lion of the Senate” Ted Kennedy of Chappaquiddick infamy.
Point of No Return
Third, the gap that exists between Democrats and Republicans is unbridgeable. If that wasn’t clear before this week then it certainly is now. The Democratic party, once the party of liberals, has been overtaken by the Progressive Left. One only needs to listen to or read John F Kennedy’s inaugural address to recognize that the modern Democratic party has little in common with classical liberalism.
Furthermore, Never-Trumpers who wish to bridge the gap through “winsome” conversation as well as third-party candidates, like ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who passionately call for the two parties to “come together” are both chasing the same rainbow.
How does one meet in the middle a party which believes that the lives of innocent babies should be left to the mother and “qualified providers.”
The moral bankruptcy of the Democratic party goes beyond mere hypocrisy. It is satanic and it is evil. There is no middle ground between good and evil.
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:14
Republicans are Flawed, but They Fight Real Evil
No, I am not saying Republicans are the “party of Jesus.” No, being a Republican and being a Christian are not one and the same thing. And yes, there are morally reprehensible Republicans just like there are “good” people on the Left. But I will say this: when babies are being mercilessly slaughtered, it is the Republican party that dares call it murder.
When the Ten Commandments are stripped from the walls of courthouses and schools, it is the Republican party that decries it. When the motto “In God We Trust” and the biblical principles found in many of our laws come under attack, it is the Republican party that recognizes God as the giver of rights and defends those laws.
The Republicans fight real evil while Democrats fight made-up evils like Confederate statues, cultural appropriation, Global Warming, and evil Republicans who want to overturn Roe v Wade.
Christians who flirt with the Democratic party would be wise to remember the words of Joshua, as he instructed God’s people before his death:
Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.
But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now. The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.
Joshua 23:6-13 (NIV)