A Man (And A Woman) For One Season

October 9th 2016

Would you vote for a candidate who said: "I personally believe the following is wrong, but I'll do it anyway if you vote for me!"

In an Oscar winning performance from 1966, a hero states that: "…when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos."

The point is obvious: if your conscience tells you that doing "X" is wrong, but you do it anyway “because the voters demands it,” you’re sacrificing your values for the sake of your position, rather than trying to lead “the citizenry” to what you believe is the morally correct course. Leadership is, after all, about leading people from one position to another. 

Assume for a second - just an assumption - that Mrs. Clinton isn't quite the rosy picture of health that we’ve been told; that she has “shaved the truth” just a bit. Let's further assume that, if elected, she’ll be subject to all the stress the presidency can produce. If so, Tim Kaine has a higher chance of becoming president then your average vice president. To date, 3 of 43 presidents have died in office from poor health.

So, if you assume Mrs. Clinton is going to be the next president, you could argue that Tim Kaine has a better than 1 in 15 chance of being the 45th president; pretty good odds. Stated otherwise, a vote for Hillary Clinton is arguably a vote for Tim Kaine for president.

Do we want Tim Kaine as president?

Let's take one 'simple' position of Tim Kaine, one he brought up: his position on capital punishment versus his Catholic faith. 

First, some clarity, something that was hard to obtain from Senator Kaine; the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion is absolute, abortion is the taking of an innocent life without any cause. On capital punishment the Catholic Church's position is quite different: a nation or state has the authority (to perform an execution) provided the law has been scrupulously followed AND there is no other recourse. If the state finds that it’s incapable of preventing the individual concerned from doing further harm to others (even fellow prisoners), then the state, under its recognized responsibility to protect its citizens, has the authority (you could say responsibility) to carry out the execution. The Church's argument is that modern states have the ability to protect others, including other prisoners, from such a man without executing him. Therefore, there’s no need to execute a prisoner. The argument therefore is not one about authority to carry out such an act, but the necessity.

Tim Kaine asserts that, as a practicing Catholic, he agrees with the Church's position on execution. (Of course, the Church doesn't insist that he agree with this position, it isn't a matter of Church dogma.) But as governor, he said he’d promised Virginia’s voters that he’d enforce the law. So, he went ahead with executions while governor.

Mr. Kaine also says that he agrees with the Church’s position on abortion. But, as with execution, Mr. Kaine will do as the citizens wish, rather than what his conscience dictates. (Mrs. Clinton supports unlimited abortion ‘rights,’ while asserting she wants ‘as few abortions as possible.’ Sure.)

Hmmmm...

So, to restate what Governor Kaine said: “I believe capital punishment (abortion) is morally wrong, but I'll support it anyway because I promised the voters I would in order to get elected.”

If his conscience lets him execute people, should we wonder what else he’d do for votes?

Did Mr. Kaine ever consider running for office on what he believes and if that isn’t acceptable to the voters that he shouldn’t hold office?

Looked at differently, someone who’ll abandon his own morals for votes is someone who probably shouldn’t be allowed to wield ANY authority.

The quote above is from Robert Bolt's magnificent “A Man For All Seasons.” The hero, Thomas More, later commented that “an oath is words we say to God.” Like the oath every politician takes on entering office. More refused to swear an oath to the King's law that placed him at odds with his conscience. Recognizing he couldn’t perform his public duties without sacrificing his own morals, he resigned from office.

It’s a lesson we should all take to heart. In particular, we should demand this from our elected officials, not reward them when they find ways around their morals in order to garner votes.