Sunday, September 05, 2004

One-Issue Voting

"One-issue voting" has usually been looked down upon as either silly or impractical. 9/11 has changed that to some degree. Roger L. Simon, for example, is a "9/11 democrat." He is a proud supporter of George W. Bush, though he disagrees with Bush on virtually every domestic issue. Why then is he supporting Bush? Because he's afraid that--to adapt the line from Die Hard 3--John Kerry is going to get us killed! So it has now become acceptable--even admirable--to be a one-issue voter with regard to the war on terror.

I would argue that another legitimate place for one-issue voting is over the issue of abortion. I know the debate is contentious, but I think the issue is actually rather clear.

For those interested in further thoughts on this from a self-professed "one-issue voter," see John Piper's provocative piece: One-Issue Politics, One-Issue Marriage, and the Humane Society.

Those who a very succint argument against all forms of abortion can find one in an op-ed I wrote for World Magazine, entitled, Sticker Shock.

Finally, for those who want an in-depth examination of abortion by the work of an excellent moral philosopher, check out Francis J. Beckwith's Politically Correct Death.