They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
1 John 2:19
Like most African Americans I began my political voyage as a Democrat. As I grew in Christ I have come to regard and cherish my Conservative bonafides. I am saddened as I see Conservatism being dismantled in significant ways by significant Conservative influencers.
One such set of Conservative influencer are the Cheney family decision to publicly support Kamala Harris while still claiming to be Conservative. I hope the political name Cheney jumps out to you, but if not, let's give a very basic primer.
Dick Cheney has a long and distinguished political career. Married to Lynne Cheney since 1964, Cheney served in the Ford administration as Ford’s White House Chief of Staff; he served the great state of Wyoming as a Congressman from 1979 to 1989, as the 17th US Secretary of Defense in the George H. W. Bush administration and culminating as the 46th Vice President in American history. Many regard him as the most powerful VP in American political history. His daughter Liz has followed her father in politics, serving as a Congresswoman in Wyoming like her father.
Each of the Cheneys is a well-established Republican who have recently endorsed Kamala Harris for the upcoming 2024 presidential election. While I share their apprehension about Donald J. Trump's character and candidacy, I part ways when that apprehension leads to the endorsement and active support of anything arising from the Democratic Party.
I admit I struggle mightily with deciding not to vote for DJT in this election [I am praying and thinking long and hard] and readily confess I could be wrong. While I reject Pragmatism as a viable worldview because of the world we inhabit, I readily understand we have to consider practicality as we weigh weighty decisions. Texas, the current state of my residence, is a solidly Red State, so I know my presidential vote will not negatively impact the Trump candidacy, and make no mistake, I know I would prefer a Trump presidency much much more than a Harris one.
My voting action is symbolic, but I still believe it is profound. Hoisting Trump upon the electorate was readily avoidable by my Conservative brethren. There were a plethora of candidates who espoused the same exact policy platform that many Conservatives favor, or at least should favor. I say, at least, because that is just the vexing problem I see arising within the Conservative landscape, and what I am seeing alarms me going forward if the Lord tarries His coming for Conservatism in America.
I want to give full attribution here. This morning, I received a text from one of my dear Brothers in Christ, Barry Bechtold. It was from a sermon by Pastor Gary Hamrick preached on September 8, 2025 (see attached link). Greatly influenced by the direct thumbprint of DJT, the Republican Party’s abortion platform, which compromised 1300 words in 2016 and 2020, is a mere 90 in the 2024 platform.
Almost imperceptibly and totally under the radar, the Republican Party is beginning to mirror the Democratic Party regarding its abortion platform. Thirty years ago, it was William Jefferson Clinton who championed the concept that abortion should be Safe, Legal & Rare.
Fast forward thirty years now, under a Harris-Walz administration, there would not be any conceivable exception to abortion at any time. Dear friend, this is not hyperbole on my part. When Kamala Harris was explicitly asked to name one condition she would consider as a restriction to an abortion, she could not and would not name even one, even after several attempts at clarification by the interviewer.
Now, under a Trump-led Conservative Republican Party, Conservatives are accepting a policy position that fifteen weeks should be the acceptable time restriction on abortions. But here is the part no is telling you. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 95% of abortions in America take place in the first fifteen weeks of pregnancy. Come on, you can easily connect those dots, right?
I fell in love with Conservatism when I understood what the term meant. To be a Conservative is to cherish the conservation of the founding principles of the American experiment. To believe Conservatism best provides the opportunity to experience noble and God-honoring Democratic precepts like Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. To be a Conservative is to believe that human capital's currency, like meritocracy, equality [never equity], and the rule of law, gave every human being a fair footing to fulfill the biblical mandate to take dominion and rule over God’s creation as His Vice-Regent.
Sadly, we are seeing what made Conservatismi great and aspirational eroding issue by issue, influencer by influencer, and election by election. While many prayed and long hoped for the day that Roe would be overturned, instead of using the overthrow of Roe as a springboard to enact legislative action to promote life, we have seen Pro-Life initiatives in state by state, even in alleged red states like Kansas and Kentucky, defeated at the ballot box.
With a full chest, I agree with Pastor Hamrick's speech about the hard truth and acknowledging that there is no Pro-Life candidate in the 2024 presidential election. DJT has shown himself to be a Pragmatist. Trump has looked at the results of the aforementioned state elections and realized he cannot regain the White House if he holds the same abortion positions he campaigned and bragged about in his 2016 and 2020 runs for POTUS.
Using the phraseology of one of my spiritual heroes, Dr. Albert Mohler, the president of my seminary, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I am a Convictional Conservative. That means I hold to firm conviction on matters, matters that I am prepared to plant my flag and die upon, both figuratively and if need be and called upon by God, literally.
The abortion issue is on those hills of no retreat. That is why I no longer classify myself as Pro-Life, though that will forever be the standard nomenclature most people will use or recognize. I consider myself an Abortion Abolitionist. I am calling, advocating, and working to see abortion abolished in America. Much like gallant heroes like William Wilberforce in his fight against slavery in England, I will not rest until the scourge of abortion is eradicated and considered unthinkable in America.
I believe that is the warp and woof of what should constitute the heart of every true, authentic Conservative. Abortion’s abolishment may never come, it may never come in our lifetime, but true regenerated Conservatives understand it to be one of our chief responsibilities as Christ-followers, to fight until Jesus Christ for the protection of life in the womb. We campaign, we proclaim, we persuade, we argue, and we preach and teach for Righteousness to be the moral and legal bent and arch of America.
Another of Dr. Mohler’s phrases I cherish is human flourishing. Conservatism is the best political worldview that facilitates Christ-followers' efforts to see human flourishing transpire in the lives of Americans. Aligning with Kamala Harris's candidacy comes nowhere close to facilitating human flourishing. It facilitates death. It facilitates the desecration of marriage. It facilitates the rejection of God’s sovereignty to create them male and female as He decrees.
The Democratic Party’s abortion platform does not facilitate human flourishing!
The Democratic Party’s same-sex marriage platform does not facilitate human flourishing!
The Democratic Party’s gender platform does not facilitate human flourishing!
The Democratic Party’s immigration platform does not facilitate human flourishing!
The Democratic Party’s tax platform does not facilitate human flourishing!
Consequently, I submit that no Conservative, seeking to be faithful to the tenets of Conservatism, can, in good conscience, align with the Democratic Party, as presently constituted.
So, what is one to make of the Cheney clan switching sides? I would submit that it is the same principle that God inspired the Apostle John to reveal in his Epistle.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
1 John 2:19
I am making no judgment whatsoever about whether any of the Cheneys are saved or not. That is outside of my purview. What I am saying is that no true Conservative would ever align with principles that contradict the founding principles of what has made the American experiment the greatest in world history.
I would submit that the same can and will eventually be said about DJT. If I am found to be wrong, may God have mercy on my soul. It is no small thing to be wrong when one discusses the things of God. I cherish the concept of absolute truth. I would submit that Kamala Harris espouses unmitigated evil, and thus, no Conservatives would ever endorse or cast a ballot for her.
As usual, let me know what you think. Until then, keep your hands to the plow and seek to serve for an Audience on One.
With fear & trembling,
Ricky V Kyles Sr. DEd.Min
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