Clinton or Trump? Who Should I vote for?

So how did the dysfunction and extremism of popular reality TV make it's debut last night during the first presidential debate between Trump and Clinton?  They were both true to form.  At times it felt like I was watching a SNL skit.  

How about afterwards, did you stay up and listen or read the pundits demonizing their opposing party candidate and calling each other on the carpet with fact checks and blatantly biased analysis?  In these times, perhaps it was always this way, it is difficult to trust news sources any more.  There always seems to be a bias, in either direction.  

But I don't have to read a New York Times article to know Trump has character flaws, nor The Drudge Report to know Clinton does too.  Both have significant lapses in morality and judgment that call in to question their presidential leadership abilities.  

So when you're hungry and for lunch you only have two rotten eggs to choose from, what do you do?  You accept your fate it's gonna stink whichever one you decide.  With that in mind, there has to be more factors to consider when vetting your next presidential vote.  In no particular order, here are some areas that, besides character, make my list:  

Economic policy

Foreign policy and diplomacy

Leadership ability

Right to life (abortion)

Welfare system

Role of military

Homeland security

Healthcare

Personal rights

Federal vs State rights

Even though you wouldn't be wrong to label me a "right wing conservative" there is one major area that I don't fall into that camp: personal rights.  In this area I have a more libertarian mindset.  I get nervous when I hear about laws that forbid rights, even if I don't agree with the lifestyle.  For example, last year I was talking with a single mother of three kids who lived in government subsidized housing.  I met her on her front porch area as she was smoking a cigarette.  She told me that she was told she could no longer smoke inside her house or she would be evicted.  Smoking is a bad habit but when the government begins to tell you what you can and cannot do inside your own home it alarms me.  

I'll give another example to stir the pot:  homosexual marriage.  Let me be clear, I believe the homosexual lifestyle is a sin. Notice I didn't say "homosexuality" is a sin. In my opinion "homosexuality" is a temptation.  But I digress, if two homosexuals want to come in to a civil union recognized by the government, so be it.  Just don't call it "marriage".  I define marriage as the sacred union between a man and a woman recognized before God.  I get that definition from my understanding of the Bible.  

Now where it really gets intense, at least for me, is the issue of abortion. On a sliding scale, smoking and sexual preference don't weigh near as heavy for me as does the life of an unborn baby.  Again, I base my morals and convictions on the Holy Bible, and therefore believe life begins at conception. If life begins in the womb, which I believe it does, then abortion is murder.  That is why I am for making abortion illegal.  Abortion infringes on the rights of the weak and defenseless. 

There are no easy answers.  Some would counter and say, "If you're going to allow for homosexual rights, then why stop there?   What about prostitution, gambling, illicit drugs?"   It's a fair question. Have I taken my first stumble down the slippery slope of no return? Can you legislate morality?  Even God in the Old Testament gave concessions to His preferred law.  Under certain conditions it was permissible to divorce your spouse.  Jesus explained in the New Testament God did that because of "the hardness of their hearts" (Matt 19:8).   

In 21st century America, are there concessions right-wing conservatives should consider as well (not whether they are right or wrong but permissible for order civil regularity)?   Should a woman or man have the legal right to provide sexual favors for compensation?  Should I have the right to spend my money at a casino or wager my money online on a sporting event?  Illicit drugs?  Who decides what is a controlled substance and what is not?  The federal government?  Pharmaceutical companies?  Perhaps we need to legalize marijuana and then tax and regulate the h-ll out of it like cigarettes and alcohol.  Pun intended.

If anything, this presidential election process has more than any other forced me to really drill down what is my criteria for the next president.  And to do that it has forced me to look deep inside myself and go beyond the what and ask the why I believe.  It has been a process of drawing from my Christian, Biblical foundation and connecting it, dot by dot, brick by brick, to actual issues that we face in America today.   It is my civic duty to be an educated voter.  I need to criticize and suspect my news sources.  If the only political information you get is from Facebook feeds and videos, what does that say about you?  

[Disclaimer:  This blog could easily have been titled,"The political musings of a pastor.", meaning although I published it to my blog it is very much a work in progress. It's not as polished as I would prefer.   I likely posed many more questions than answers but writing can be a perfect way to disentangle the thoughts.  I do encourage your responses though, but please do so in the spirit of the blog: honest and open inquiry and less dogmatism.]