Yes, I do definitely believe that a budget is a moral document, and if I could bend GB43’s ear for a while on the poverty, I would. Actually, the Bible also supports the idea of budgets as moral documents: “For where your treasure is stored, there also will your heart be.” Translation: You spend your money on what you care about. God said it. (I need to add that to my blog post!)

As for poverty vs. abortion, they don’t have anything to do with each other, so there’s no weigh or outweigh for me. Separate issues.

If you’re referring to voting, like abortion/Republican vs. poverty/Democrat, then the best I can tell you is that I don’t vote like that. I know this sounds tired and trite, but I honestly vote for people, not parties.

I’ve always voted for folks from both sides of the aisle. I don’t see how any Christian can strictly identify with either the Republican or Democratic party. Both “party lines” veer away from Scripture. Each gets it right in some places, wrong in others. So you find out as much as you can about the people themselves and you pray and you trust God. No matter who is holding the office, God’s still on the throne. Word! Preach, girl, preach!!

Similarly, I’ve read and gotten the impression myself that Bush was seen as an “average guy” whereas many people felt that Gore for instance (and Kerry to some degree) was too “intellectual”. It baffles me that people would want an “average guy” to lead the country, as opposed to an intellectual. Personally, I want someone smarter than me in charge, if at all possible.

Cara Michele - I’ve heard that phrase once or twice, but it’s usually been spoken by left-leaning folks, if I’m not mistaken. Do you indeed subscribe to that belief? I think you probably do, but I don’t want to make any assumptions. At what point, for you, does the morality of budget priorities begin to outweigh the traditionally conservative social issues such as abortion?