Open Letters to Freethinking Never Trumpers (Part 1)

Josh Klein
Oct 9, 2024
13 min read

By J.R. Klein & Timothy A. Stratton Dear Never Trump friends, We seek unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but there is a glaring issue—that seems to be an objective moral issue—in our culture today that is dividing the Church in America and turning brothers and sisters in Christ against one another. We cannot ignore it. It must be addressed. We must seek unity. Please consider this an invitation to reason together. The mission of FreeThinking Ministries is “Reasoning together (Isaiah 1:18) by applying logic and sound theology to all aspects of life.” In a recent attempt to apply logic and sound theology to how American Christians ought to think about voting in the 2024 election, I (Stratton) offered what I refer to as The American Trilemma on social media. Although many of my friends and colleagues bristled at this fact, every attempt offered seeking to avoid this trilemma ultimately failed as it eventually fell under one of three options. Consider my post from July 2024 before Biden dropped out of the presidential race:

Like it or not, at this point the presidency will either belong to Donald Trump or someone who advances the objective evil of the Democrat Party. You have 3 options. You can either (i) vote for the lesser of evils, (ii) vote directly for the worst evil, or (iii) refrain from casting an effective vote which passively “holds the door open” for objective evil. Remember, it’s not about you. Don’t be selfish. Vote wisely and love your neighbors (Mark 12:30-31).

The point not to be missed is that no matter how badly one thinks they can ignore the situation, every eligible American citizen has a choice to make.

Not to choose, is to choose.

So, the question is raised: with objective morality in mind, which of these three choices is the

best

? Many Christians realize how evil the Democrat Party has become as it has rapidly moved to the extreme left. To make matters worse, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the most radical left ticket to ever run for the United States presidency. It’s hard to see how there is any way that an informed and consistent Christ-follower can cast a vote for a politician representing a political party who seeks no limit of the murder of babies in the womb, the physical mutilation of confused kids, violating parental rights, allowing biological men to compete against biological women in athletics, open borders allowing child molesters to assault our children and allowing sex traffickers to traffic countless innocent children into a life of sex slavery, destroying our economy making it extremely hard for young people to purchase a home and others to upgrade to a better home. Many point to Trump’s activity from November 2020 to January 6

^th

, 2021. We are not here to defend all of Trump’s behavior. However, even if we grant (for the sake of argument) the most nefarious of intentions it should still be recognized that this supposed campaign to “overturn the 2020 election” fell drastically short and was over within hours. Trump himself came out and spoke out against the actions that people took on Jan. 6

^th

. Was he late in doing so? Absolutely, but the fact remains that he still did it. More importantly, he called for the crowd to let their voices be heard peacefully before the events in question even occurred. A little bit of charity might be in order as opposed to jumping to the worst conclusions. Some might say that a little bit of charity ought to be extended to Harris as well with her most extreme policies, and while that certainly could be the case, even if charity is extended in the same way it is still hard to see where Harris’s policies are better for our neighbor than those proposed by Trump. However, many Christians find themselves in a dilemma: they are rightly repulsed by Donald Trump’s past sexual sins and inflammatory rhetoric (Kamala Harris’s past sexual history is also deeply flawed ), as well as his vulgar language and self-aggrandizing narcissistic behavior. Some understandably blame Trump for January 6

^th

and find that inexcusable. To be sure, we are not supporters of Trump’s behavior leading up to January 6

^th

that helped to create the environment surrounding that day either, but at the same time much more has been made of that day than necessary it seems.

*An Excursus on January 6^th***

Many Christians who oppose the evils advanced by the Democrat Party also bring up what they deem to be an evil so terrible that it is equal to (or worse than) all the evils of the Democrat Machine. Does this infamous day of history really deserve to be considered equal to abortion without limits being codified into law, the physical mutilation of confused children, females being dominated by confused males in women’s athletics, an open and unsecured border allowing all kinds of evil to flood into our neighborhoods, and so much more? Dr. Robert Gagnon recently provided a reasonable perspective regarding this infamous event that we would invite you to consider:

Revisiting Trump’s rally speech before the riot at the Capitol, which he delivered from 12:00 PM to 1:12 PM: Trump speaks at the rally, where he tells the audience to go to the Capitol and to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

In every case where he called on his supporters to “be strong” and “to fight” (and in the context of a very long speech he rarely made this call) it is absolutely clear that he was using these terms as metaphors and without any insinuation that there should be a revolutionary coup.

The speech is long. Very little in it is said about what the crowd should do. The first half is rambling, mostly a listing of Trump’s achievements in office. The second half is more ordered, providing a long listing of specific reasons why the Trump campaign believes there to have been massive voter fraud. In a few states, votes were recounted. But none of the states did an auditing of votes that checked signature verification.

There was a systematic undercutting by Democrats of the usual efforts to have secure voter identification: loosening or eliminating requirements for voter ID and proof of American citizenship, ballot harvesting, unsecured drop boxes, unsolicited mail-in balloting, failing to clean up voter rolls, and Big Tech monopolies having only a one-sided information flow. . Without a state audit of votes to match signatures for mail-in votes anyone who expresses confidence in the integrity of the vote is speaking more out of ideology than facts.

I begin by quoting the relevant sections concerning what Trump was asking the crowd to do:

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol– And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated. Lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

To “cheer on” and “demand” “peacefully and patriotically” that Republicans vote for a sending back counts to the states to do a vote audit is not a call for violence, much less revolution. In fact, Trump noted that the Democratic Senators could not be convinced, that all to a person would vote against this effort. This itself attests that Trump was not talking about the use of force, much less revolution.

He closed much later at the end of the speech with:

“So we are going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, … and we are going to the Capitol … to try and give … our Republicans … the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. “I want to thank you all. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you all for being here. This is incredible.”

How is this incitement to riot? In the history of this country there have been many demonstrations outside the Capitol building, where people walk to it on Pennsylvania Avenue, including left-wing demonstrations.

As I mentioned, the second half of the speech lists problems with voting in the key contested states. It is actually an interesting read. I don’t think anyone can seriously contest that we had election results that led to confidence that the vote tallies were completely accurate. There was a systematic undercutting by Democrats of the usual efforts to have secure voter identification. In the absence of such safeguards, I don’t see how any American can reasonably claim that significant voter fraud did not occur. Maybe it didn’t. But without a state audit of votes to match signatures for mail-in votes anyone who expresses confidence in the integrity of the vote is speaking more out of ideology than facts.

At the very end of the speech, he offered a roadmap for voter verification reform that was very good.

1. 1. 1. 1. “Pass … requirements for voter ID. You need an ID to cash a check, you need an ID to go to a bank, to buy alcohol, to drive a car; every person should need to show an ID in order to cast your most important thing, a vote.”
        “We will also require proof of American citizenship in order to vote in American elections.”
        “We will ban ballot harvesting and prohibit the use of unsecured drop boxes to commit rampant fraud. These drop boxes are fraudulent. They … disappear, and then all of the sudden, they show up.”
        “We will stop the practice of universal unsolicited mail-in balloting.”
        “We will clean up the voter rolls and ensure that every single person who cast a vote is a citizen of our country, a resident of the state in which they vote, and their vote is cast in a lawful and honest manner.”
        “We will restore the vital civic tradition of in-person voting on election day.”
        “We will finally hold big tech accountable…. Get rid of Section 230, something that no other com
        pany, no other person in America, in the world has. All of these tech monopolies are going to abuse their power and interfere in our elections, and it has to be stopped…. They should be regulated, investigated, and brought to justice under the fullest extent of the law.”

Many Americans have never listened to Trump’s full speech on January 6

^th

. If a person carefully evaluates Trump’s words, it becomes clear that the media has taken Trump’s words out of context (as they also did with his “very fine people on both sides” remark at Charlottesville). Listen to the entire speech here. It seems evident to us that although Trump is far from perfect, the entire Democrat Party has been infected by Marxist based ideas such as D.E.I and Critical Theory among others. The Democrat Party gave Biden full support and praise when he used D.E.I., Intersectionality, and Critical Theory to fill multiple cabinet positions (Rachel Levine

– Secretary of Health, Kamala Harris – VP, Sam Brinton – US Department of Energy, Pete Buttigieg – Secretary of Transportation). None of which checked very many qualification boxes for such positions other than their Intersectional identities. The Democrat Party also applauded Biden’s executive action on D.E.I., Equity, and Critical Race Theory . And do we need to discuss the failures of the D.E.I. hire of Kimberly Cheatle to be the director of the Secret Service as well as some of the female officers who, despite heroically defending Trump on July 13

^th

, were simply too small to do so? If Cheatle is technically qualified or not, she is clearly incompetent and it’s a miracle that Donald Trump was not killed by the assassin’s bullet that would have never been fired in the first place if D.E.I. had not been in place., The Democrat Machine has been the greatest proponent of D.E.I. ideology. Trump and Vance, however, will seek to bring it to an end. With issues like this in mind, it seems clear to us that in voting for Trump and Vance you will be lessening the evil that would continue to be imposed upon your neighbor. Some folks, however, believe that January 6

^th

trumps (no pun intended) all the great and objective evil advanced by The Democrat Machine. To be clear: while Democrat politicians and pundits often use the term “insurrectionist” to describe Trump, he has never been formally charged with insurrection. Neither have any of the rioters of January 6

^th

. Moreover, as law professor Jonathan Turley observes, if it was an insurrection (the Supreme Court has ruled that it wasn’t), it’s the only one in the history of mankind in which none of the insurrectionists had weapons. Moreover, the January 6

^th

objection raised against Trump seems hypocritical, since Democrats themselves have opposed democracy on numerous occasions. In the summer of 2020, Black Lives Matter groups rioted at state capitols and on a governor’s front lawn, and some Democrats, such as Vice-President Kamala Harris, bailed them out of jail. A Democrat senator threw the fire alarm to interfere with a vote in Congress. An armed Democrat attempted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh before the Dobbs decision was handed down, after which Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez opposed a bill to enhance security for Supreme Court justices. Members of Stephen Colbert’s staff trespassed in the Capitol to interfere with an official vote. Only January 6

^th

is supposedly an “insurrection” because of its framing by media and the terrifying footage as well as its link to a national election. Because of these things, these American Christ-followers understandably see a political candidate whom they believe does not deserve their vote. Thus, they split the horns of this dilemma by either sacrificing their vote for a viable candidate to make a statement by choosing to vote for a 3

^rd

party candidate who will not and cannot win, or simply choose to abstain from voting altogether. At face value, this seems like an option which would allow them to sleep at night by not violating their consciences. Be that as it may, it seems to me (Stratton) that voting in such a manner which increases Harris’s chance at the presidency and refraining from casting an effective vote which does nothing to help our neighbors is rather selfish (even if one does not realize it). Thus, Christ followers, who are commanded not to be selfish, but to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13) ought not do such things. This becomes evident when we consider the bigger picture and dig below what might appear to us at face value. We both hope that this open letter and the letters to come might help some people to see an avenue for voting

for

Trump even though his character is subpar where they hadn't seen one before. These massive character flaws could be seen as a roadblock but it is our endeavor to reason together (Isaiah 1:18) to show that these roadblocks can be removed if more factors are brought under consideration. Since we are called to be salt and light as Christians (salt preserves, light exposes) it makes most sense, in our view to vote for the candidate that will most likely allow for greater salt to be added to the social fabric to delay its decay while at the same time shining a light on the moral inconsistencies and failures of the same administration that gives us that ability.

In our next letter, we will look specifically at why voting in a way that enhances the chances of a Harris/Walz victory is not only unwise and foolish, but possibly sinful, as this vote will likely unleash great evil upon our neighbors we are commanded to love (Mark 12:30-31).

Stay reasonable (Isaiah 1:18), Klein & Stratton For Part 2 Click HERE For Part 3 Click HERE

Notes

Bill Barr provides a great example of a guy who does not like Donald Trump at all but is also committed to vote for him because he understands what is best for his neighbors and for this nation. Consider this exchange with a CNN reporter:

Barr

“I’m disappointed that this country is stuck with this choice between two people who I don’t think either of them should be President of the United States. But given that binary choice, I feel I have to choose Trump.”

CNN Reporter

“But he’s mocking you!”

Barr

“So? It’s not about me . . . . if faced with a choice between two people—neither of which I think should be president—I feel it’s my *DUTY* to pick the person who I think will do the least damage to the country. I think Trump will do less damage than Biden . . . I think the real threat to democracy is the Progressive movement and the Biden administration”

(emphasis mine). https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/politics/video/bill-barr-vote-trump-intv-sot-collins-src-digvid https://www.nbcmontana.com/news/nation-world/government-transparency-site-pulls-page-naming-kamala-harris-most-liberal-senator-government-transparency-site-govtrack-removed-a-2019-page-naming-vice-president-kamala-harris-as-that-years-most-liberal-senator https://mises.org/mises-wire/how-soviets-fixed-inflation-ruined-economy https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3149815/trump-flips-the-script-asks-harris-about-her-support-for-third-trimester-abortion/https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/how-kamala-harris-can-secure-federal-abortion-protection-once-and-for-all https://www.newsweek.com/tim-walz-policy-transgender-minors-explained-1937598 ibid On July 11

^th

(2024) The House passed a bill to protect girls' sports by blocking Joe Biden's radical Title IX rewrite that was designed to compel the embrace of biological males in female private spaces and athletics. Do not be fooled by those who say that this was just an old and senile Joe Biden thing. No, do not miss the fact that this is a Democrat Machine thing and that every single Democrat opposed the bill and every Republican supported it. As Robert Gagnon noted, “The only way to end TransTyranny is to cast an effective vote against every Democrat candidate. It is as simple as that. A vote for a Democrat is a vote for child abuse: forcible indoctrination, chemical castration, surgical mutilation, compelled "trans speech," as well as males in female bathrooms, locker rooms, dormitory rooms, and sports, invading female privacy, threatening female safety, and taking away female awards. This may not be your intent in voting Democrat, but it is the inevitable result.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-athletes-house-bill-republicans-girls-womens-sports-teams/https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/more-than-300-illegal-immigrant-sex-offenders-arrested-by-ice-in-operation-3919512?utm_medium https://www.texaspolicy.com/how-porous-borders-fuel-human-trafficking-in-the-united-states/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/mar/8/fighting-human-trafficking-and-battling-bidens-ope/https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/444746527_844903857686120_5090776815598560552_n.pdf/the_cost_of_illegal_immigration_to_taxpayers.pdf?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=2b0e22&_nc_ohc=Vo4qbwny04IQ7kNvgGnZNLL&_nc_ht=cdn.fbsbx.com&oh=03_Q7cD1QFfhl3nP5H5p4IrUNZZmMk8zcsfslgtZDQPsjAaXTutmQ&oe=66C6DEAA&dl=1 https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/08/the-harris-campaigns-foolish-down-payment-assistance-scheme/ Some don't even point to Trump’s speech, but to his behavior on Jan. 6; namely, his lack of response to the storming of the Capitol which he addressed two hours later. While there might be legitimate reasons to believe Trump's behavior helped stoke the flames leading up to that event, there is nothing illegal with “stoking flames.” And if this is going to be the point of contention, Democrats have stoked more flames than anyone. With that said, we do not believe Trump incited the riot nor do we believe that Jan 6

^th

means he wants to be a dictator (after all, Trump is for small government and Dems are for big government). At most, the worst Trump can be accused of is using confusing rhetoric that some people took too far and then not offering clarity at that moment. Also worth noting that one of the reasons many cite for not voting for Trump is that the people who were around him most have not endorsed him for President. However, that's not entirely true, even Nikki Haley and Bill Barr have now endorsed him. Also, consider this explanation of the alternate electors objections: https://x.com/realDailyWire/status/1843500044559045033 Even Snopes says this was false: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-very-fine-people/ What kind of crazy world do we live in when AOC actually asks a good question exposing the incompetence of the Secret Service director? AOC: “Why was the Secret Service perimeter not extended to be in the range of one of the most common weapons used in mass shootings?” Cheatle: “Different weapons have different ranges.” https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/kimberly-cheatles-net-worth-and-goal-to-hire-30-more-females-for-secret-service-by-2030/ar-BB1q3DIQ?ocid=BingNewsVerp https://x.com/SecretService/status/1691510952603025408 SCOTUS recently ruled that January 6

^th

was not an insurrection. See this post by Turley: https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/4746932-scotus-just-downgraded-the-insurrection-to-trespassing/