STEPHEN A. SMITH ACCEPTS MY INVITATION! @MrStephenASmith | CAN HARDLY WAIT!

Duration: 5:02 1135 transcript words EN summary

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Franko introduces himself as a Christian pastor who has been following the career of host Steve for some time before launching into his primary concern regarding political affiliation. He notes that while Steve identifies as an independent voter, he frequently votes Democrat and wonders if this contradicts biblical principles given Steve's stated faith in Christ. Franko questions whether either major party truly represents a biblical worldview or if voters should be choosing the lesser of two evils based on policy platforms rather than personal identity alone. Steve firmly rejects the premise that voting decisions must align strictly with one specific political ideology to satisfy religious standards, arguing instead that most people vote based on singular issues that matter most to them personally. He explains his own focus is entirely on economic stability, believing that when citizens have more to lose financially and socially, they tend to conduct themselves better within society compared to those who feel nothing at stake. Steve illustrates this point by mentioning acquaintances willing to sacrifice significant portions of their income for universal healthcare or prioritizing border security over other concerns, suggesting these individual priorities naturally dictate voting behavior regardless of party label. The conversation shifts when Franko insists that the Bible should be the ultimate standard for all decisions made in the voting booth since Christians profess faith in God's word. Steve responds by stating there is no time to debate this philosophical point further and instead offers a practical example from recent history where many Republicans voted against Donald Trump despite policy disagreements because of the chaos, riots, racial tensions, and lingering effects of COVID-19 that plagued the country during his presidency. He emphasizes that real-world circumstances often force voters away from their usual preferences when faced with societal instability or threats to peace. Despite Franko's initial reservations about Steve's political leanings potentially conflicting with Christian values, both parties agree on a path forward for continued dialogue and mutual understanding. When asked if he would be open to appearing on Franko's podcast to discuss these topics in greater depth, Steve enthusiastically accepts the invitation without hesitation. The interaction concludes warmly as producers arrange contact details between their teams so that future conversations can take place outside of this brief interview setting where time constraints prevented a full theological exploration.

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Franko, is that your name? >> Yes, sir. Yes, sir. >> How are you? How you doing? >> Good. Thank you. Thank you, Steve, for having me on. I really appreciate you, man. I've been listening to your your show and also watching and following your career for for quite some time. And and and I want to just wanted to say first and foremost I'm I'm a Christian pastor and I have my own podcast and things of that nature that I address issues like you that you have stated but from a biblical perspective. What you what you just prompted me to to reach out to you and to ask you some questions because one of the things that you had stated at the beginning of your of your show was that you were actually not at the beginning but near near the middle part of your show before your your hour break. You had mentioned that you are devoted to the to the Democrat party. You you basically vote Democrat although you are independent. And I believe that there that's that's a concern that I have regarding your position and I wanted to ask you, if you don't mind, cuz I know you talk about church sometimes as well, too. Are you a Christian, sir? >> Yes, I am. >> Okay. And so if if that's being the case then this is another concern that I have because I'm trying to understand the difference of you being an independent voter. I believe you're an independent thinker but I believe you may think think that you're an independent voter but you vote Democrat. So I would probably say, respectfully, that you're not really an independent voter if you're if you're mainly voting Democrat based on what you had said. And so I guess I want to ask you biblically what if you look at both parties, right? Their their their positions and their party platforms, which party leans or represents a biblical worldview? >> Well, let me say this to you. Let me stop you right there. >> Yes, sir. >> That's not a fair question. I'm going to tell you why it's not a fair question. Because if you consider neither party to fall under that ilk and you believe you're picking what you deem to be the lesser of two evils, that could be one of the reasons why you do that. Secondly, most people vote about issues pertaining to one issue. You have some people who are pro-choice. You have some people who are about pro-immigration, you know, making sure that our borders are secure and stuff like that. You have some people who focus more on national security. You have some people who are fixated on healthcare. You have others that are fixated on the economy and stuff like that. And so, there's an there's an ordinate amount of issues that are out there, but really as voters, we focus on the one thing that matters to us most. Me, I'm about the economy. And so, what when I think about my mentality is that the more folks have, the more they have to lose. And as a result of having a lot to lose, you conduct yourself from a societal perspective a little bit better, if not a lot better, because you have something to lose as opposed to nothing to lose at all. Now, that's me. I've known people that have voted because they're pro-choice. I know other people who are fixated on the border. I know other people I've known friends of mine who sat up there and said, "I'm willing to give up 75% of my salary if everybody in America can have healthcare." And that determines how they're going to vote. So, I don't think that's a fair question. >> Well, and I I respectfully I respect your your position, but I I would I would respectfully disagree and push back on that because I'm not talking about I'm not talking about personalities. I'm talking about policy, right? I believe as a Christian So, I believe as Christians, if if you're professing Christian and and and I am, then should not the word of God be the standard by which we are to make our decisions even in the voting booth? Would you agree with that position? >> No. >> No? But why and why and why not? >> where we are as a society, where we're aiming to go, and what it's going to take to minimize the chaos. For example, when Trump was in office in 2020, not to throw shade on him or anything like that, right? >> I voted for him, though. >> You had an abundance of people who were Republican that voted against him because the chaos that existed in the country was too much to take. So, because of that, they went against that to vote against him because even though they may have agreed from a policy perspective with some of the positions that he took, it was too much for them to deal with as citizens in this country because the streets were devoid of peace. There were riots, there was racial tension, there was all of this other stuff going on, not to mention COVID or you know, the residue of COVID. So, all of those things played a role in them going up against the fabric of what they normally feel when they went to the voting booth. People make those decisions all the time. >> But I think and I think that's >> as It's not as cut and dry as you're trying to say. I don't have time to have this discussion. >> No, I I I understand that. And I want I wanted to just ask one more No, no, no problem. I just wanted to ask one more question. >> but this is not a discussion that I would run from one bit. >> Okay, and and and I appreciate that. So, if you don't mind if if Is there Is there a way for me to reach out to you? Maybe we can have a conversation or maybe I'm not sure if I could invite you on my podcast to to to discuss these >> happily I would I'm I don't have a problem coming on your podcast. >> appreciate that, sir. How would I How would I How would I make that happen? How could we make that happen? >> The producer will take your information and my team will get in contact with you. I'm not running from that at >> no, and and I appreciate that, sir. Thank you very much, Stephen. I really appreciate your time. Thank you, sir. >> Take care. No problem.