A Christian & Republican For Harris 2024: Why I'm Voting For Kamala Harris
Hi, my name is Jason Scott Montoya.
As an American, a Christian, and a lifelong Republican, I'm voting for Kamala Harris to be president.
As an American, I see my vote for her as one for freedom and against tyranny, for responsibility and against blame, for honest election outcomes and against election lies.
More specifically, that means I'm voting for Harris because she tells the truth about the 2020 election results, she'll tell the truth about the 2024 election outcome even if it's not in her favor, she respects the constitutional separation of powers, she will willingly cede power when her time is up, she won't leverage violence to stay in power as her rival did in the last election, and she is standing strong against those that deceive about election outcomes.
I want a president who is NOT going to enable, support, and valorize election deniers and insurrectionists.
As a Christian, I'm voting for redemption over tragedy. Harris advocates for the stranger, the powerless, and even her rivals. She wants to lead for all Americans, not just her tribe.
I'm not voting for Harris' rival because of his deep faith in tragedy, how he's remade the Republican Party in his corrupt image, his contempt for the truth, his wrath against dissenters, his violent language, and how he exploits people, including his supporters, for personal gain.
I'm impressed with how clear and sharp Harris' message has been. She's concise, disciplined, and focused on what matters most. She doesn't take this opportunity for granted and puts in the hard work required to lead the country and be successful.
It is striking how grateful she is. She focuses on we, instead of me. Her speeches are filled with gratitude to all the people who've helped her and she has a deep understanding of how much we are interdependent and need each other. I love how much Harris embodies collaboration, including her decision to have a bipartisan advisory counsel and a Republican in her cabinet.
While it was not necessary to garner my support, I'm grateful for how much Kamala Harris has moved in her policy positions toward moderate Republicans such as myself. She's embraced many ideas that her Republican rival has completely abandoned.
Harris is also human. She's strong and articulate when needed but also vulnerable and fun at other times. It's nice to see the humanity of our next leader and not just the strength she embodies.
Lastly, in response to her opponent's intellectual weakness on complex matters and his inability to refrain from childish name-calling, Harris' press releases are witty, sharp, and incredible. I'm here for more of those amazing releases.
So, this year, I'm voting for Kamala Harris to be president.
Fundamentally, it's about country over party and unity over division.
Many of these values used to be embraced by the Republican Party. I'm thankful Kamala Harris picked up many of these abandoned values.
Now, go vote! And Tell Others Who You're Voting For & Why!
Additional Resources
Since 2020, I've been writing on the crises that America has been going through.
This picked up in the fall of 2023 when that crisis consumed my political party; Republicans.
Below is a list of essays, articles, and podcast episodes as part of my journey to reconcile these changing times. Perhaps they will help you as they have helped me.
My Republican History & Rules for Voting
- Read: Talking to the Angry Mob on the Street: A Citizen's Reflection For The Non-Crazies To Speak Up
- Read: My Voting History As A Republican & How Trump & the Republican Response to Jan 6th Helped Shed My Absolute Party Loyalty
- Read: Voting in Confusing Times: Four Bi-Partisan Pro-American Rules To Help You Vote In The 2024 Election
What Makes America Great?
- Short Version > What Makes America Great? Freedom, Shared Power & Honest Elections
- Long Version > The Most Important Societal Values For Americans: Responsible Freedom, Shared Power, & Honesty About How We Elect Our Most Powerful Leader
On the Tragedy of Trump & The Republican Party
- Read: Dear Republicans, Are You Really Going To Make Us Ride The Trump Train All The Way To Hell?
- Read: Embracing Redemptive Faith: My Christian-Based Lament For The Current Tragedy That is the Republican Party
The 2020 Election & Jan 6
- Read: Biden Won the 2020 Election. Trump Says He Won It By A Large Margin. Here's How We Know We Got The True Outcome.
- Read: Oath & Honor by Liz Cheney: Part 1 — The Plot Against America — A Book Review & Commentary
- Read: Oath & Honor by Liz Cheney: Part 2 — The Attack — A Book Commentary & Exploration
A Note & Story About the Jan 6 Whitewashing Propaganda
Imagine a scenario where a husband sits on the front porch while his wife in the driveway is mugged and beaten. The neighbor calls the police and ambulance.
After the wife finally recovers and comes back home, she ask the husband, why didn't you intervene? Why didn't you help me? Where have you been?
The husband responds, I told you to carry a gun. I told the guy attacking you to stay peaceful.
Yikes!
The Jan 6 excuses would be comical if they were not so depraved.
It's truly an abdication of responsibility.
This is the opposite of the type of responsibility that Jesus models for us.
It's how tyranny and horror is enabled.
On Jan 6, Trump was the leader who walked by the beaten man on the side of the road in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan.
The big difference, and what makes it so much worse, is Trump was in the highest position of authority and responsible for intervening. He also brought those people to Washington DC all based on a lie. Instead of taking responsibility, he chose abdication instead.
Choose responsibility over blame.
Choose embracing responsibility instead of abdicating responsibility.
Reject passivity. Accept Responsibility. Lead Courageously.
What About Her Policies!?!?
- Read: Unequally Yoked: Voting Solely Based on Policy Is Like Marrying a Person Just Because the Sex is Great
- Read: But They're Extreme! The Type of Extremism That Is Most Dangerous and Why It Matters More Than Policy Differences
- Read: The 2024 Presidential Election Is Not About Policy: Understanding the Impending Authoritarian Political Landscape
Abortion
What many Christians fail to realize is that their beliefs get hijacked by wolves in sheep's clothing. Because these corrupt leaders proclaim their beliefs, they believe they're on the same side. And they fail to see how they are being exploited.
How are they exploited?
In part, it's because they're trapped in an anti-abortion ideology from which they do NOT know how to escape. And what they also fail to realize is that their anti-abortion ideology is actually a secular ethical evaluation.
It is this ideology that allows ill-will actors to take advantage of those who are against abortion.
It's not until we Christians embrace a more complete picture of life that we can realize the ideology that takes hold of us, and how none of the political parties will hold the Christian ethical view.
By understanding that different political groups have different pieces of the larger puzzle, we can then orient our influence, vote, and money toward working with multiple groups to solve those particular problems.
And, many people approach the issue of abortion as if there is a magic wand to resolve it. Imagine you live in Arizona, and you want to go do Disneyworld in Orlando Florida. There is no magical way to simply arrive at Disneyworld. It requires saving money, having a plane to fly to Florida, renting a car, having a place to stay, eating along the way, etc... The gist of this story is that there is a set of interwoven steps and requirements that enable us to end up in Florida enjoying the rides at Disney World. This is how we have to think about the issue of abortion. What are all the things that would lead to the prevention and elimination of abortion altogether? That's the approach I take to the issue in my vision, of arriving at a world where it doesn't happen. Ignoring this reality, and trying to force the outcome, will end up making the issue harder to resolve.
Immigration
This year, there was a bipartisan border bill that was negotiated and agreed to. But, Trump told Republicans to kill the bill because he wanted the issue for the election. This was the second time Trump killed an immigration bill.
The first time Trump killed an immigration bill was when Paul Ryan was speaker of the House in 2022. They had a deal in place, and Trump killed the bill again because he wanted the issue for the midterm election. He ran on this issue in 2016, and he won, so you can see why he cares about the issue for his reelection prospects, and not for solving it.
If Trump wanted to solve the problem, I don't believe he would talk in such an incendiary way about immigration because he would be instead, brokering a deal to solve it and this language would alienate the deal makers. It seems to me, that he talks horrificly about immigrants because it riles up his base and activates them to speak up and vote for him.
If Trump wanted to solve the border problem, he could do it right now. He simply needs to tell Congress to pass the bill. He chooses not to do that.
Kamala Harris has committed to signing the bill into law if she's elected. Yes, Democrats should have come to the table much earlier than they did, but they're now at the table. So, let's get a deal done.
Seeking Truth, Thinking Straight, & Navigating Propaganda
- Read: Why Prideful Skeptics Buy Snake Oil and Why Compassion For the Deceived Prevents Our Falling Prey To the Lie
- Read: Rid Yourself of Intellectual Weakness & Start Conversing From A Position of True Strength
- Read: A Powerful Model For Effectively Overcoming the Propaganda Firehose: Proactively Anchoring To The Central Issue
- Read: The Explosion of BeSpoke Realities: Making Sense of Our Reality Distortions
- Read: Navigate The News in a Polarized World: Breaking the Chains of Cynical & Blind Loyalty
- Read or Listen: Am I in an Echo Chamber? Are You? Are We?
Navigating Conflict the Election Tension
- Read: Love or Hate? How Are We Going to Treat Each Other When We Disagree About Fundamental Things?
- Read: How Do We Christians Practically Prevent Ourselves From Becoming Overly Self-Focused, Self-Deceived and Religiously Arrogant?
- Watch: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace — Discussing the Kingdom of Rage With Elizabeth Neumann
- Read: Reject Political Violence & Embrace The Way of Non Violent Political Participation
- Read or Listen: How To Talk With Drastically Different People Without Losing Your Mind: From Fact Flinging to Story Sharing
- Watch: Interview: Changing Hearts — Loving Those Who Hate You — With Daryl Davis
- Read: We Are All Jerkfaces: Together We Can Prevent It. With God's Help We Can Heal It
Other Resources
- Watch: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump through the words of Jesus
- Read: Decaying Civilization: A Brief Sketch of What is Wrong With Our (Western) Society
- Read: The Education of a True Believer: Exploring Lev Kopelev's Book About His Radicalization Into Communism
- Read: What Is Tribal (Secular) Morality? Our Underlying Societal Dynamic
- Read: Alienation: Not Belonging and Seeing No Point to It
- Read or Listen: Reflections on Tyranny, Allegiance, and Transformation
- Read: When Lies and Wrongdoing are Justified As Good, Be A Light In The Darkness
- Read: Brokenness Is Not The End Of The Story — Restorative Justice Is The End Game
- Read: America’s Identity Crisis Has Reached A Boiling Point— Will Our Dark Knights Rise or Fall?
- Read: A Framework For Understanding Good & Evil — Clarity In The Chaos
- Read: The United States is Facing an Insurmountable Challenge — A Step We Can ALL Take To Make It Better
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