BY SHARON MARTIN

Is America ready for a Mormon president? That’s the wrong question for a country whose constitution guarantees freedom of religion. A candidate’s religion should only be an issue if he wants to impose his religion on the rest of us.

Now, here are some of the questions we should be asking candidates:

– Do you believe that every citizen of the United States, regardless of wealth, education level, or cultural background, deserves equal rights?

– Do you believe that every citizen of voting age has the right to vote?

– Do you believe that the taxes citizens pay should be returned to the citizens in necessary services and infrastructure?

– Do you believe in diplomacy or are you likely to rush us into conflicts that cost lives and money?

– Do you believe we have a moral obligation to help the helpless among us?

– Do you believe that corporate money should be able to buy power?

– Do you believe we should renege on promises and payments when citizens have paid a lifetime of premiums for Social Security and Medicare?

– Do you believe that every citizen deserves quality healthcare, including preventive care, or do you believe markets should control a person’s access to healthcare?

– Do you believe in public education?

– Do you believe the war on drugs is a failure? If so, what are you going to do about it?

– Do you believe in civil rights for every citizen?

– Do you believe women have the right to control their own bodies and make their own choices?

An ad running on the Tulsa channels touts a candidate as “a strong Christian and a fiscal conservative.” He says his first order of business will be to repeal ObamaCare. I have some personal questions for him:

– Doesn’t the GAO project that The Affordable Care Act will save the taxpayers money? If so, wouldn’t the fiscally conservative move be to protect ObamaCare, not repeal it?

– You call yourself Christian. Would Jesus deny coverage to the nearly five million children with pre-existing conditions? Would He repeal ObamaCare or would He expand it to include all the uninsured?

Start asking the hard questions. If we vote for catch phrases instead of honest answers, we may not like what we get. It’s our responsibility to vote, but it is also our responsibility to know for whom and for what we vote. Democracy depends on it.

– Sharon Martin lives in Oilton, OK and is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer

Creators Syndicate