Self-righteousness is a terrible moral standard

It actually is possible to recognize the personal flaws of a candidate and yet vote for him anyway because you agree with his policies.

Moral standards are black and white, and they apply to everyone regardless of political tribe. Christians must never compromise on that. But human beings are complicated and cannot always be easily placed into "good" and "bad" categories. Every politician on our ballot is morally compromised, because we are all sinners. Some do not see it that way, and think themselves to be better than everyone else. So when allegations of a sex scandal involving South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem became public, David French said this on X:

Probably leaked by the Noem camp to increase her appeal with Republican Evangelicals. They do love their adulterous politicians.

As Doug Wilson wrote, French would not agree with the assertion that he loves drag queens, but that liberty applies to all. French does not apply the same grace to people who support Donald Trump: If you support Trump, then you must love politicians who behave immorally. There is no grace or humility in that statement, or any recognition that someone who disagrees with you can be acting in good faith. This is self-righteousness and pride, along with a serious lack of charity.

To be sure, there are self-professed Christians who place political tribalism over moral standards and will defend or brush aside immoral behavior by politicians they support. That is wicked idolatry, and should be condemned. But it actually is possible to recognize the personal flaws of a candidate and yet vote for him anyway because you agree with his policies and adamantly oppose the policies of the opposing candidate. Once you get out of the primaries, elections are effectively a binary choice. This does not mean you are required to vote for one of the two major parties, but the odds of another candidate winning are very small.

Christendom is in a very strange time. We need to be both more and less tolerant, and we need to be both more and less judgmental. When someone places political tribalism over morality, we should be less tolerant and more judgmental. But when someone of good faith makes a political decision we disagree with, we need to be more tolerant and less judgmental. Where is that line? Sometimes, it is clear and obvious. Sometimes, it is difficult and requires love and discernment. We should be willing to admit we may be wrong. But our highest priority must always be to honor Jesus Christ.