How do we know the quality of someone’s character? We consider what they say and do. We know from the fruit they bear in their lives.

Galatians 5:19-25 Good News Translation (GNT)

¹⁹ What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; ²⁰ in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; ²¹ they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.

²² But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. ²⁵ The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives.

Can we judge people? Not really, but we can assess their fruitfulness. When we elect people to represent us, we must assess their fruitfulness. Because these people act in our name — derive their authority from us — we have an obligation to make sure that what they do while they are in office is helpful and not destructive.

With that in mind consider this editorial by Everett Piper, Republicans embrace misogyny, child abuse and racism in Oklahoma’s House Bill 2790: The reddest of red states falls to PC insanity (washingtontimes.com).

Over the course of the past two weeks, while Michael Bloomberg was spending more than $600 million to get, oh, about two votes, and while Joe Biden was trying to remember how to put on his socks, the Oklahoma State House of Representatives moved a bill out of committee known as HB 2790 by a vote of 14-0.

Now before you stop reading because you’re thinking, “Who cares about what’s happening in Oklahoma?” let me cut to the chase. Who should care? You should. And here’s why.

Oklahoma is the reddest of the red states. During the last three presidential elections, not one county in the entire state was blue. In 2008, John McCain received 65.65 percent of the vote, while Barack Obama earned only 34.35 percent. Mitt Romney swept the state in 2012, with 66.77 percent. President Obama took only 33.23 percent. (continued here (washingtontimes.com))

Why a post an article about a bill in the Oklahoma state legislature? Consider what is Piper writing about. He is making the point that the party label ultimately does not matter. What matters is what the people we elect actually say and do. If they don’t stand for principles we can respect — enact and implement legislation we can morally support — we must replace them. That is true in Virginia too,

Here is a link to Oklahoma House Bill 2790.