[This is part 2 of 9 in a series answering the question who American Christians should vote for in the 2024 Presidential election]
Intro – Biden – Trump – Issues Not Addressed – Third Parties
– Biblical View – Fear – Summary – Final Summary
Can a Christian Vote for Biden?
(I’m doing one option at a time for the sake of space.)
PROS
Very experienced. Like, possibly participated in the Revolution experienced.
Knows how to do politics. By many estimates, he’s accomplished more than any President in the last 50 years, as far as legislation and policies go.
Seems to care about the poor.
Got more people on health insurance than ever in history.
Decent grasp of international diplomacy.
Has repaired many of the international relationships damaged during the Trump years.
(I know people will naysay this, but feel free to look at media outlets from other countries. And I know for my own heart, the damage Trump did to Armenia and the surrounding areas will take decades to rebuild. At least Biden is getting things back in the right direction).
Fairly centrist (for example, stood against many of Bernie Sanders’ proposals)
Focus on environment (yes, I think this is Biblical)
Combat terrorism. This has kind of flown under the radar, as one might expect, but Biden’s administration has been pretty effective against ongoing terrorist threats. I would also include support for Ukraine here as a positive.
Focus on alternative fuels (I likes. Bring on the fusion.)
Ironically, the US is also producing more oil than any country at any time in history. People seem to think you have to EITHER an environmentalist or produce oil. Biden has done both.
Handled the post-Covid crises fairly well (i.e. inflation, employment,etc) (Yes. He did. I know some of you don’t think so. Feel free to google what actual economists say about it.)
Listens to advisors (this is a mark of the good Presidents, for the most part).
Investment in infrastructure. (this is more important than I think a lot of people realize. Particularly regarding the electrical grid.)
Criminal Justice reform. This is somewhat of an ongoing trend in the US, as Trump also did some reform. I would more say Biden “continued” some good steps that previous administrations (Trump, Obama, and even W to some degree) started.
CONS
Quite elderly.
Is he sharp? His team says yes, Trump’s team says he’s doddering, and various news outlets present clipped videos to present what their audience wants. Personally, I see a reasonably lucid octogenarian. Certainly AT LEAST as lucid as the other major candidate. If he was running against a vibrant youngish candidate, then maybe I’d see this as important. Instead, I see the two geezers fighting like in Pixar’s Up.
Career politician – this is another one that cuts both ways. Biden has a lot of political experience, but not a lot in other fields. Some people see that as a positive, in that he knows what he’s doing, and others hate career politicians on principle. Take your pick.
Culture War issues – i.e. Abortion, Transgenderism, etc.
This is the big knock for many Christians. Despite being a fairly committed Catholic, Biden is unabashedly pro-Choice. He has decided to make this a centerpiece of his campaign, which I think is a mistake, but there it is.
I don’t think Biden has any particular impact on the transgender issue. I do agree this is an important issue for our time, but I just don’t think the President (or at least Biden) is doing much either positively or negatively. I think it’s a wider cultural occurrence.
Additional Comments
I want to address something on the cons here, before people comment.
People are going to see the long list of Pros and short list of Cons, and think I’m a Biden supporter. I ask that you hold that until the final post.
That said, I do want to say that, in my opinion, many of the knocks on Biden from his opponents I find unsustainable. People will blame him for bread prices, or the border, or inflation or whatever. None of those are on his plate of responsibility, at least to the extent people think. If you want to blame him for ambassadors he appoints, or executive actions he takes, and so forth, that’s fine. That’s what we should be evaluating on.
In other words, the pros on Biden I find can be at least tacitly traced to him. The Cons I see as outside of his control. (to some extent. Again, you’ll see at the end. )