:: in.a.mirror.dimly :: A theology and culture blog with the Bible in one tab and a news feed in the other.

I’m not out to bash Sarah Palin. So before I type any further, let’s just talk about the VP for John McCain and the overal Republican strategy. I’m more interested in what the Republican leaders are thinking than anything else, particularly in their thinking about a VP.

I’ll begin with the assumption that John McCain and his associates are not stupid or rash. They wouldn’t simply jump into a VP choice without doing the research. Most of the “scandalous” stuff about the VP pick has been available online. So even if John McCain is computer illiterate, he surely has people who looked up everything for him.

Now, assuming that McCain and Co. are not stupid, are not too rash, and are committed to winning this election, why would they choose such a candidate for VP?

For one thing, the VP undercuts one of McCain’s strongest avenues of attack on Obama: his lack of experience. McCain’s VP choice has even less experience than Obama–even if Republicans claim their VP has executive experience, their argument is still weakened.

In addition, McCain wants to paint his VP choice as a maverick such as himself. I heard that over and over again in the speeches Republican convention. The trouble is her claims as a reformer and independent have been called into question. So that can’t exactly be the reason for choosing this VP.

Remember, Biden unquestionably shores up a breach in Obama’s campaign: national security. So what could McCain be looking for? The answer lies in Evangelical Christians and other religious conservatives.

When Palin ran for Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, the NY Times notes: “Anti-abortion fliers circulated. Ms. Palin played up her church work and her membership in the National Rifle Association.”

In other words, McCain is willing to give up a strong line of attack against Obama in return for bringing a pro-life Christian on the ticket to rally the Republican base. In fact, that’s exactly what Republicans claim is happening. This may in fact alienate independents, but it seems McCain needs a strong advocate for the segment of the party that voted for Bush and puts abortion above all other issues.

When I look back on 2000 and 2004, the Republicans played the same game with Bush. It worked for me, and he got my vote because I don’t support abortion. However, since then I’ve realized that abortion is one issue among many in the broad spectrum of “pro-life.”. As a Christian who reads the Bible and sees God’s condemnation of nations when they take advantage of the poor, I can’t help but question this plan to reduce Christian Republicans to one issue. The Bush presidency has a poor record in upholding justice and making peace. The number of children killed in our two wars is every bit as troubling as the number of children lost to abortion. Democrats who call for an end to the war are every bit as pro-life as Republicans who want to end abortion.

The frustrating part about the pro-life lobby is it can’t see the forest for the trees by focusing on legislation to end abortion. Many believe that abortion will never be repealed through legislation, and we have to ask the Republicans what exactly they did about abortion in the past 8 years. So even if they would theoretically like to end abortion, do they have the will or ability to do anything about it? Are we really saving lives by voting for Republicans who would repeal abortion in a theoretical world?

So my question is, have Evangelicals succumbed to this one issue? Are the Republicans just waiting for us to say, “Well, say what you will about the VP, all that matters is she’s pro-life.” Then the Republicans can pander to the wealthy, neglect the poor, leave global warming off their platform (which they did by the way), and thus contribute to the degrading of God’s creation and neglecting the very people God cares about. Democrats are not “the answer,” but I think Republicans need a wake up call. Evangelicals should not be bought so easily.

There’s nothing wrong with being pro-life and voting for candidates who want to end abortion, but there are plenty other moral issues that we should consider. Republicans have made the grievous error of reducing moral issues to abortion and sometimes homosexuality. They sprinkle gun rights in there for good measure, and assume they have a winning package to shore up their Evangelical base. As an Evangelical, I know we can do better, I know we can ask for more, and I know if we can show Republicans that our vote cannot be won through one issue, we may in fact make life better for a lot of people, perhaps even saving some lives.