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Or in other words, ARRGHHHH!

That appears to be the mood of many conservatives with the choices we have left and super Tuesday looming and possibly making clear who the Republican candidate will be for the election. McCain, who so enjoys poking conservatives in the eye and co-sponsoring major liberal legislation or Mitt Romney, conservative - lately, who will be facing the flip flop charge in a general election, fair or not.

What's that word again? Oh yes, ARRRGHHHH!

That being said with great enthusiasm by some (many?) conservatives who then say they will sit out the election if John McCain is the choice. Worse yet, is Ann Coulter jumping the shark (again?) when she says she'll campaign for Hillary! over McCain.

The sitting out idea goes something like this. It will teach the Republican party a lesson. They'll see that conservatives need to be courted, rather than simply dismissed. Well yes, I've considered that myself. It's much easier to not vote, than to vote with little to no enthusiasm just to reject the other option. But that seems much to clever a strategery for it's own good. What's to prevent the GOP from lurching further to the left, since it's been abandoned by conservatives? After all, the goal is to win elections, principles are secondary. Haven't we seen enough evidence of that even from conservatives who have long supported McCain? Yes, he's an apostate on some big issues, but he can win the election. At least the current polls, before intense media scrutiny of the man, say that.

Considering the uproar in conservatism, I think this electable mantra is a bit overdone. Are there really enough independents and moderates to make up for the possible no show of conservatives who can't bring themselves to vote for the man? I guess we may find out. It would be unfortunate for the lesson for some to be that putting a number of conservative principles in the background is not the way to win an election.

Then there are some who on Tuesday may write in what they believe is a real conservative. Unfortunately, Fred Thompson is not running anymore and this message will only help McCain win the nomination. Again, what lesson will be learned, other than winning means not going right anymore?

Sadly, my state doesn't vote tomorrow. My eventual choice may mean nothing at the end of the day. Then again, things may still be undecided and my vote will mean something. So who do I vote for?

To paraphrase a convenient target of McCain's, we fight the political game with the politicians we have. Yes, I would prefer Fred Thompson, but I have to choose between John McCain or Mitt Romney at this point.

I choose Mitt Romney. He's very flawed, but he doesn't seem to enjoy sticking it to conservatives while saving his cooing and cuddling for liberals. In other words, I see him as less problematic on issues then John McCain. I don't see McCain as superior to Mitt Romney because of the flip flop charge. Quite simply, I don't see McCain as a straight talker, except in the eyes of his media darlings. I also don't trust McCain with regard to judicial appointments, a very important issue to me.

I also must consider what I'll do if McCain wins the nomination. I have thought about just staying home. However, the complete idiocy of the Democrat challengers exceeds the massive foolishness McCain has demonstrated at times. What lesson we think can be taught to the Republican party may come at the expense of this country in ways we have only imagined till now. It will take effort, but I'm pretty sure I can vote for McCain without throwing up. The only problem left is if he chooses Mike Huckabee for his running mate. I've seen McCain supporters say he isn't that stupid, but ambition can have it's own sort of stupidity.

Come to think of it, with all the threats going around, it seems that ambition at winning elections and teaching a party this or that lesson are potentially creating a competition of stupid actions this election cycle.

What's that word again?

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Filed under: Politics

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