How can one be a committed Democrat and Orthodox?

Moses Medina said:

Interesting discussions here. What is good and right on issues is clear from what the church fathers have always said. Abortion is bad, there is no way around trying to justify it. However our political system does make it very difficult. Due to poverty, lack of social programs and healthcare related stuff which have their own sub-sections, the total yearly deathcount is at over 900,000. Abortion is over 600,000 closer to 700,000. It becomes apparent that both issues are very important and people are dying. Now, while not supporting what is evil, I think Orthodox who fall under Republican or Democratic can vote with a clear conscious, but only after really thinking and chewing on a lot of issues and talking to their Priest about it.

Our political system in this country brings me much strife and anguish.

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I think you are right that our political system makes it difficult, though it is mainly in the whole concept of “representation” by politicians who don't really represent us., the upshot being that we must vote for THEM and may NOT vote on the policy itself.

That said, I think your equating abortion to poverty and healthcare to be false, a treatment of numbers as equivalent. There is an enormous moral difference between a person being poor or sick and not helping them by means of the federal government and authorizing the murder of babies. I would say that even the priest and Levite walking past the robbed and beaten traveller and not helping to be bad, but not as bad as having them authorize the murder of the inconvenient helpless citizen so that they might not have to pass him on the highway in the first place. Numbers are irrelevant to that; one abortion is more wicked than failing to organize a national health care system for a hundred million people.

Again, we are essentially forbidden to vote on the issues when we ought to be able to.

rusmeister said:

I think you are right that our political system makes it difficult, though it is mainly in the whole concept of “representation” by politicians who don't really represent us., the upshot being that we must vote for THEM and may NOT vote on the policy itself.

That said, I think your equating abortion to poverty and healthcare to be false, a treatment of numbers as equivalent. There is an enormous moral difference between a person being poor or sick and not helping them by means of the federal government and authorizing the murder of babies. I would say that even the priest and Levite walking past the robbed and beaten traveller and not helping to be bad, but not as bad as having them authorize the murder of the inconvenient helpless citizen so that they might not have to pass him on the highway in the first place. Numbers are irrelevant to that; one abortion is more wicked than failing to organize a national health care system for a hundred million people.

Again, we are essentially forbidden to vote on the issues when we ought to be able to.

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I appreciate your reply. Very informational and thought out. I agree bringing things down to a numbers game is not the right way, and I did have in mind as I typed it that I hope it didn't sound like I was trivializing abortion. It is a terrible tragedy that occurs at a tremendously high volume on a yearly basis.

Overall people will vote for the political party which tends to benefit them the most or where a core position or two aligns.
There are alot of ancillary positions which are non-issues which the base goes along with because its "your side", and your told you are to defend it as being morally right (circling the wagon). By next election cycle the parties can flip flop and all is forgotten.

One of the actual mind conditioning in the west is the very notion that voting is a sign you live in a free democracy or that it makes a change. Truth be told from China to countries with autocratic rule NOT having elections really plays minimal to no adverse role in quality of life, it's simply a non factor in the lives of people. In western nations when the circus comes to town (election campaigning) the populace becomes stressed out, anxiety skyrockets, people become crazed etc, due to the divide and conquer nature of elections..