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Priests for Life Voters’ Guide to the 2008 Presidential Election
A comparison of the Democratic and Republican
party platforms
Priests for
Life has produced this voters’ guide for the 2008 election. It is a
comparison of the two party platforms with direct quotes from each.
It is
legally approved for distribution in Churches and by c-3
organizations and
can be utilized in any way without further permission from Priests for Life.
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Double-sided format: |
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(larger font)
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For the full text of the Republican Platform,
click here. |
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For the full text of the Democratic Platform,
click here. |
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Compare the
positions of the major parties on certain biblical issues (PDF Format)
2004
Republican Party Platform (PDF Format)
2004
Democratic Party Platform (PDF Format)
On Election Day, our country
will make critical decisions about the types of leaders we will have for
years to come. If you have not been doing so, it is time to begin looking
more carefully at the candidates who will be running.
To make the right decision when deciding on the candidates whom you will
support, it is essential that you look carefully at the positions of the
candidates in the race. This step in the process is critical in fulfilling
your responsibilities as a faithful citizen, as you must participate in the
political process with a fully informed conscience. This includes knowing
the positions of the candidates. You can find this information in several
places, such as newspapers, television news, voter guides, and on the
internet. If these sources fail, you can always contact the candidate's
campaign to make an inquiry about his or her position. If possible, this
should be done well in advance of the election and should include a request
for a response in writing. The reason for this is that, especially in local
campaigns, phones can be answered by people who think they know more about
the candidate than they actually do. Once you find sources of this
information, be sure to review them carefully.
Frequently politicians make
statements like, "I have always been personally pro-life," or, "I would
never encourage a woman to have an abortion." Rather than offering
comfort to pro-life voters, statements like these should raise red flags, as
they are typically followed by, "but I would never impose my personal
beliefs on anybody else," or some similar statement. Even in cases in which
these words do not follow, they are often implied. In such cases, be sure to
look for a clearer statement of the candidate's position, again, in writing
if possible.
You should also look at a candidate's voting record. This is extremely easy
with members of Congress as you can simply contact any one of a number of
national organizations that track votes as part of their regular activity.
They will be able to inform you how your Congressman and Senator voted on
the bills that have come before them. You can often obtain similar
information about state candidates from pro-life organizations within your
state.
Finally, remember that elections not only put candidates into power, but
they put parties into power, too. In voting for a candidate, you should know
the positions of the candidate and also the positions of the party to which
he/she belongs.
If you have further questions about how you should evaluate candidates,
please contact our office at (888) 735-3448 ext. 297.
-- Fr. Frank Pavone
