A VOTE FOR A LESSER EVIL IS A VOTE FOR GOOD WASTED

To comment please open your gmail account and if that doesn't work email me at juliedufresne@xtra.co.nz or use FaceBook Messenger or Twitter. Scroll down for other comments.

PM Ardern with chief minder Iain McKay

PM chief minder with wife Jessica Mutch-McKay

TVNZ Senior Political Editor 

Election 2020 in New Zealand is, for Catholics, not a case of choosing the lesser evil - depending on your vantage point - of the two main parties: Labour (aka Socialism) or National (aka Labourlite). 

There are also-rans, like Act, the Greens and NZ First but Catholics will discount the first two for their baby-killing propensities, as indeed they must disregard Labour for its not-quite-grown-up Communism.

I know there are priests in this country who to their shame (I hope and literally pray, not everlasting) have voted Labour in the past, and given the bishops' lack-lustre opposition to the Abortion Legislation Bill I wouldn't put it past either bishops or priests to vote Labour this time. 

Last Sunday was 'Respect Life' Sunday, and the last Sunday before the election, so a God-given opportunity for priests to preach His word as guidance for their people. I went to Mass twice, as it happens. At the first Mass the A-word was mentioned just once and the unborn, not at all. What a farce. 

At the second, no reference was made to Respect Life; that was a considered option by a holy priest, who chose to preach on the Epistle of the day (1 Cor 1:4-8) but to my mind, on reflection it was tailormade for a sermon on how to vote in Election 2020, so that "... Our Lord Jesus Christ ... will confirm you unto the end without crime ..."

Voting for any party but National is being presented in some traditional lay quarters almost as a crime: a crime against the cardinal virtue of prudence, which they say dictates that voting for a third party, i.e. New Conservatives as the only credible option, is 'a wasted vote'. They say we should vote 'tactically', 'strategically'.

Now these Latin Massgoers are talking about natural prudence. Even Novus Ordo Massgoers, who've been taught by their priests largely to disregard the supernatural perspective ("the things that are above"), do at least have a more practical view of life than priests or bishops. Unlike the latter, lay people are losing their jobs, their businesses, or their farms and even their lives by suicide. (Don't believe Greens' leader James Shaw, who lies in his teeth: anecdotally suicides are happening, in Hawke's Bay anyway, on an unprecedented scale.)  

But there are lay people, especially part-Māori, who imbibed Labour with their mothers' milk and although they can't explain why, just can't get out of the habit. That's ideology for you; it's inexplicable. And there are those - I suspect the Latin Mass fraternity harbours many - who, even if it were a horse standing in their electorate, if it had a blue ribbon round its neck, would vote for the nag. They'd be able to cite rational reasons, but they're just blue to the bone. 

Staying with the practical perspective, I give place to Leo 'the Lion Rampant Guardant' of Benneydale. It suits me for the moment to call him 'Rampant Guardant' because it's emblematic of prudence; and let's pretend, for amusement's sake, that you support the 'wasted vote' theory, and he's speaking to you:

Firstly, you’re adamant that New Conservative will not breach the 5% threshold, nor will they enter Parliament by winning the Takanini seat. You might well end up being right about that. But it won’t be because, as you seem to be convinced, new parties take some time to get into Parliament; it’ll be simply because New Zealand’s Catholics and Christians and anti-abortionists gave their vote to some other party that laughs at them. We both know that if all the aforementioned give their Party vote to New Conservative, New Conservative will be in Parliament.

But all the aforementioned won’t give their Party vote to New Conservative, for three reasons (maybe more): 

- Not all of the aforementioned know anything about New Conservative.    For that you can blame leaders of anti-abortion groups, Catholic priests and bishops, other Christian leaders, and the feminist media. 

Vide the smirking, superior Mutch-McKay, whose husband, incredibly, is the Ardern's chief minder, her "hot hipster bodyguard". In other words, TVNZ's Senior Political Editor, who 'moderated' Tv's election debates, spends her nights with the chap who spends his days with the Prime Minister. Then there's the moralising Tova O'Brien who thinks journalism is about 'storytelling and 'righting injustices', while like all press gallery journalists she is, to quote Karl du Fresne, "trapped in their own little self-absorbed Wellington bubble."  

As Linda Manning, Wairarapa campaign manager for New Conservatives, posted on FaceBook: 

The media in New Zealand have been bought and paid for by our Labour-led Government. Their thirty pieces of silver, paid by you the taxpayer, was $50million.

- Not all Catholics are Catholic, not all Christians are Christian. Many who call themselves Catholic or Christian, and turn up to church on Sundays, will vote for Labour or Greens, anyway. Fr James Altman has a word for that sort of Catholic: non-Catholic. 

- There are some who persuade the aforementioned to give their vote to some pro-abortion party, for “strategic/tactical” reasons. 

Secondly, you are opposed to New Conservative anyway, because, you claim, they are a Protestant party. I don’t know how you’ve come to that conclusion; New Conservative is areligious. But there are certainly among their candidates at least a few who have proclaimed their devout Catholicism. As for opposition to a “Protestant” political party, why should that be so? But then you claim that a Christian party “is the only way to go”. Do you mean a Catholic Party? Such a party, under the patronage of Call Me John (+Dew) et al would not be something I’d be voting for. 

All previous overtly Christian parties have failed dismally in our general elections. The Christian Heritage Party is a relatively recent example, and their lack of success preceded the outing of their leader as a paedophile. So, why would you think a Christian Party is a goer?

But even though you are opposed to New Conservative’s perceived Protestantism, and see them as “gun fanatics”, you would vote for them if National were in Government. Confusing. 

Thirdly, you’d “like to see Leighton Baker praying in church”. I have no doubt that, if the feminist media were interested, they could photograph Leighton praying in church every Sunday; he’s a committed Christian, albeit Protestant. Despite the New Conservative Party being areligious, Leighton insisted on leading Grace Before Meals at their June conference. 

Fourthly, you’d like Leighton to “have the gumption to put his money where his mouth is”. Good gracious, I’m somewhat overwhelmed by the financial commitment that Leighton (and some others) have made to New Conservative! He owns/operates a small building business.    He has employed a manager to operate that business for a couple of years now while he has committed himself to promoting New Conservative. And he has paid for his own airfares and accommodation (and his wife’s) (sometimes billetted by Party members) while travelling all over the country. There’s no doubt that Leighton has been hit in the pocket for his commitment to pursuing a better New Zealand.

Fifthly, you are confused as to what happens to Party votes, and what is their impact on Parliamentary seats. It’s not related only to the forty-eight (48) seats available to Listers; it relates to the whole one hundred and twenty (120) Parliamentary seats. That votes for New Conservative get allocated to Labour is a fantasy.  

...I acknowledge the excellent positions of the ONE Party in regard to abortion.    However, I can’t see any aspect of that which seeks greater protection of children in the womb than do New Conservative, who have proclaimed that they will repeal the recent legislation. 

There is no reason to doubt that New Conservative will not fulfil their pledges, any more than you might think that of the ONE Party. There are at least a few devout Catholics standing as New Conservative candidates. I don’t know of any standing amongst the few ONE Party candidates.

Whereas New Conservatives have a candidate standing in every one of NZ's 71 electorates and are the only party to do so.

Lastly ... the reality is that I will vote for the political party which most closely represents Catholic teaching, Catholic principles. I can do no other. Regardless of the election outcome, I will sleep with a clear conscience on October 17^th. I’m not all sure that those Catholics who have voted otherwise will do so.

If like moi you haven't voted yet (who knows what might happen before Saturday?) take a look at the New Conservative website, check out the bios of the candidate in your electorate and any of their policies that interest you. www.nc.org.nz

However, there's very much more to the question of 'a wasted vote' than all of the above.

As Leo makes pretty obvious, voters are offered a good alternative to National and Labour. Bear in mind that although there are decent National MPs, there are some nasty numbers in National who recently ankle-tapped, on the election trail, the Leader they'd recently elected, a woman who's voted for Labour's heinous abortion legislation and for euthanasia, and who was a Labourite before she was shouldertapped by National. 

For all we know, 'Crusher Collins' might be a mole. That's not so far-fetched a notion, when you consider politics now, and NZ politicians' obsession with gaining power and keeping it.

However, for Christians - and by calling for a four-day fast and prayer, and preaching the Gospel on abortion and euthanasia, New Conservative Protestants are showing Catholics the way - there's very much more to the question of 'a wasted vote' than all of the above.

Remember your former leaders, who spoke God's message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith (Heb 13).

We must imitate that faith, and trusting God with our vote for good (New Conservatives) is an opportunity to exercise that virtue of faith so that it strengthens and deepens within us. If they're praying and fasting like our Protestant friends for God's will to be done in Election 2020, how can the wasted-vote theorists so confidently prophesy that New Conservatives will not get over the 5% threshold?

How would the Redemptorist preachers, the Dominican preachers and the parish priests we remember so fondly (albeit with some amusement), not to mention the saints or even men like the heroic 20th century saint-yet-to-be-canonised, Dietrich von Hildebrand, who "always stood on the side of truth", regard the idea of voting for a party who elected as leader a woman like Judith Collins?

Truth and love cannot be separated. The proponents of the 'vote tactically' theory quote St Thomas Aquinas: "Prudence is right reason in action". Exactly. 

Virgins prudent and imprudent

Supernatural prudence shows us how to get to God, because getting to God is the only thing that matters. When we mistake evil for good we are not exercising prudence, we are showing our lack of it. To vote for a party which elected a leader who advocates killing babies and the elderly and disabled because you don't trust God to deal with your vote the way you think He should, is to mistake evil for good. 

It's only by prayer and fasting that we attain to that wisdom which truly discriminates right from wrong, the wisdom which is "an inexhaustible treasure to men, and those who acquire it win God's friendship" (Wis 7:14). 

Love trumps prudence, whatever way you look at it. If we love God, we trust Him; if we love His creatures we'll vote for the party which has pledged to protect them from womb to tomb. 

Here's St Teresa of Jesus (Teresa of Avila), Doctor of the Church, whose feast the Church celebrates tomorrow: 

“O my God, a soul who loves You listens no more to the suggestions of human prudence. Faith and love alone influence her, making her despise all earthly things, holding them to be worthless, as indeed they are. She cares not for any earthly good, being convinced that all is vanity. When she finds that by doing something she can serve You better, she listens to no objections but acts at once, for she understands that her profit consists entirely in this” (cf. Teresa of Jesus, Conceptions of the Love of God 3).

Ecstasy of St Teresa
by Bernini

I'll leave the last word to my daughter on FaceBook, yesterday:

"Just can't bring myself to vote for a party whose leader thinks it's ok to kill babies."