Two votes for McCain in Barrymore

Local advocates for John McCain may be few and far between, but the Republican has picked up at least two absentee ballots in Athlone. A devout Christian, Barrymore resident Kenneth Ashworth stated that his political decisions are guided by Scripture and that he sees the McCain-Palin ticket as 'the lesser of two evils' in this year"s presidential election. Kenneth is originally from Texas but has been living in Athlone with his wife Ann for the last 24 years. He and Ann, who is a Galway native but also holds U.S. citizenship, are Christian missionaries who have voted for McCain by post. 'A nation prospers by the word of God and how they stay within the confines of the commandments God"s given. The United States, along with the whole world, has gone outside of those commandments and you can see the turmoil that has (resulted),' Kenneth told the Westmeath Independent last week. One of the key factors influencing his support for McCain is the belief that the veteran Senator will appoint conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. 'The next president of the United States will probably set the tone of the Supreme Court for the next 30 to 40 years. If Obama gets in, there will be more liberal judges on that court and you will not have the Godliness you need for the country to survive,' he stated. 'The abortion issue is the biggest thing because if you don"t have the right to life right then you don"t have any of the other things right either. They have killed 50 million babies in the United States and God requires blood for blood. There"s going to be some really hard times if they don"t repent and turn back from that,' he said. 'I"m also not for same sex marriage. I"m not for homosexuality being legalised. All of this stuff is ungodly. God says it"s wrong, and when you start doing it then the blessing of God begins to leave your nation.' Kenneth doesn"t believe in the separation of Church and State, commenting that the U.S. was 'founded as a Christian nation,' where children should be educated according to the Bible and should desire Christians as their leaders. Asked if he thinks McCain will win next week, he said: 'Well, there"s tremendous prayer going up all around the world, especially in the United States, for him to win the election because they know what"s going to happen if he doesn"t. 'I have nothing personally against Obama. I don"t know him, but I know what he stands for. He"s only three years in Congress. He"s never really had a position of authority or responsibility to compare with (the presidency). Given the liberal ideas that he stands for I couldn"t vote for him or recommend him to anybody else.' A former member of the U.S. Naval Air Force, Kenneth feels that this election is a pivotal one. 'I believe that America has a clear choice: whether they will follow God or follow their own desires. You hear all this screaming for change, you hear the cries about the economy - well, if they want comfort, if they want pleasure more than they want Godliness and responsibility then they just might get it. If they do, they will get all the consequences that comes with that,' he said.