No matter how nasty it gets, U.S. politics is an internal debate between U.S. citizens—a family argument, so to speak.

In 2016, Russia interfered, and it looks like they (and China) may be doing it again. Regardless of which candidate you support, the notion of foreign interference in our election process should make you very concerned. Let's assume that the primary purpose of these governments isn't to get any particular candidate in office. What is their goal then?

Their goal is to create discord and civil unrest, to weaken the U.S. by creating internal strife, and to gain power on the international stage amidst the ensuing chaos. As the adage goes, "a house divided against itself cannot stand." 

So what does election interference look like?

Here's a few examples from the last election:

Many Christians in 2016 justified their vote for Donald Trump by saying that they would overlook his adultery, immorality, lying, support of gambling, and numerous other vices by pointing to his campaign claims about abortion. There is a logic to this: 623,471 abortions were performed in the U.S. in 2016. That's over half a million lives lost. You could justify almost anything to save half a million lives. Even compromising other moral and political beliefs.

But how much do campaign promises matter? How much does political party matter? The impression one gets from talking to Republicans on the street is that abortions decrease under Republicans and increase under Democrats. But is this true?

The chart above shows that it is not. Abortions peaked in the late 1970s under Jimmy Carter (perhaps the only committed Evangelical Christian to ever hold our country's highest office), and have declined ever since under both democrats and republicans. In fact, this data implies that the steepest decrease in abortions happened under President Barack Obama.

"Single Issue Voters" should take note.*





*Speaking of taking note, 69,500 children were detained and imprisoned by the U.S. government in 2018. They were immigrants, fleeing starvation and gang violence, seeking refuge and shelter. Should a genuinely pro-life platform care for only the unborn, or the born also? Only those in our nation, or those in immigrant nations also?