For Immediate Release
November 6, 2018
Vote Common Good
MINNEAPOLIS — Pastor Doug Pagitt, executive director of Vote Common Good, issued the following statement in reaction to the election results:
“Tonight, the commitment to the Common Good was expressed by people across this country. Voters from all walks of life showed up to flip control of the House, sending a clear signal that goodness is what brings us together and that intolerance championed in recent years by this administration, and supported by a complicit GOP, will not stand unopposed.
“This election represents a new starting line for Vote Common Good Christians and we will be on the front lines of the fight for a more just and moral union. In battleground states across the country, we’ve heard from faith voters who are unwilling to compromise on human dignity in exchange for a few pet policies.
“Despite what you may have heard about Evangelicals, many of us broke off—from our longtime party affiliation, from our church leadership, from our reflexive partisan habits—and voted for candidates who pledged to govern for the good of all people. We understand that the belief in the Good News of God that Jesus taught requires that we work for the common good of all.
“The teachings of Jesus do not call us to be Democrats or Republicans—we are called to love God, to love our neighbors and enemies, as we love ourselves. It was the conditions on the ground that called us to use our vote to support people and policies that care for all people, especially the most vulnerable among us—and in this election that meant supporting Democratic candidates.
“For the past 30 years, Republican operatives have strategized and mobilized, often bullying Evangelicals to walk in lockstep with the GOP. They have manipulated Christians into supporting anti-abortion laws and court decisions at the cost of justice, equality and dignity. But in 2018, that is changing.
“Vote Common Good is forging a nationwide community of Christians whose faith has guided them away from the immoral policies of the Trump administration and all who enable it. Our charge is to care for the least of these and welcome the stranger, which is why we’ve committed to voting for candidates who have pledged to do the same. We refuse to cede moral ground. We will vote—and organize—out of love, not fear.”
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