If you want to use the poker analogy, I can roll with that. I’m not necessarily looking for a royal flush, at this point I’d be happy with a straight. Often times the best thing to do with the hand you’re dealt is to fold. Calling every hand when all you have is a pair of sixes is a pretty stupid way to play.

I don’t think there is anything you can do to force real conservative into office. You can’t go force real conservatives to run for office. You can’t force people to vote for them. You have absolutely no power over anyone but yourself.

All you can do is play the hand you are dealt. Sure, you may wish that you were dealt a royal flush every single hand, but you may be never be dealt a royal flush. The answer is not to fold every time but play the best hand you can.

You may not want to be part of the process to make the country better for conservatives, but I do. I don’t know how electing Obama and Franken will better conservativetism, so I’m going to vote for the best hand I had dealt.

Every time the Republicans put a Liberal up and people like you vote for him, they get the message that it’s ok to put up Liberals. Whenever their Liberal wins, they get the message that that’s what they need to do to win elections.

Sorry, I’m not playing that game. You’re asking me to choose between pure poison and diluted poison. I’m telling you that you can go ahead and shoot me, I’m not taking either.

But, for arguments’ sake, let me ask what you would do to get real Conservatives in office? It doesn’t make sense to me that sending the Republicans the message that their Liberals are ok is the way to get them to change their ways. It seems to me that as long as it’s working for them there is no reason to change. People who vote the way you do are, in my opinion, quite myopic. You are worried about the next four years, seemingly without concern for the longer term.

Your view strikes me as too much like that of the Keynesian economists who know their models don’t work, but justify them by saying that in the long run we’re all dead anyway. Sure, we get a more Liberal person in office than we would like, and sure the status quo will continue, but in the end we’re all dead anyway. Sorry, I may have to live with the consequences of too many people thinking that way, but it doesn’t mean I have to be a part of the process.

I know you can say that I don’t have to vote, but that’s not an alternative for me. If as a conservative, I have a choice of a greater evil or lesser evil, why would I pick by doing nothing the greater evil?

Also, regarding your reply, Not only have I had about as much as I can take in the last 6 months, I had more than I could take in 2004. Tell me that you would have been happy in 2004 with Gore in the white house, or the last 6 months with Kerry in the white house. Again, I don’t see how going with the greater evil is significantly better then going with the lesser evil. It just doesn’t compute.

Brent

* Abortion will continue as usual

By my count, if an abortion case made it to the SCOTUS, they would uphold Roe v. Wade 5-4. Stevens HAS to retire (or die)–he’s waiting for Obama to get elected, but he might get sick (literally?) of waiting and retire anyway. McCain says he would appoint Roberts-like justices. This is one area where there *is* a world of difference–Obama will appoint the next Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

* Taxes will remain confiscatory (maybe slightly less with McCain, but then slightly less strychnine will still kill you)

“Slightly less” taxation will cause the economy to grow. Slightly more will do great harm.

* Free speech will still be a thing of the past

I can go almost anywhere in the state and preach the gospel freely with little fear of police harrasment. What more do you want? What I think you mean is that my speech can possibly be prosecuted if someone wants to corruptly come after me. I think that was always the case.

* Neither candidate is likely to restore any measure of lost 2nd amendment rights

Can we not have “reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions” on our 2nd amendment rights? I think the NRA has done well on this one to keep the “unreasonable” restrictions away. Unless you want to restore the right of the people to rebel against their government by any means necessary, we’re pretty good here. McCain won’t push for any gun changes.

I vote for real Conservatives, and not the “slightly less Liberal” guy. I don’t care what party they are in. If the Republicans want my vote, they need to nominate a CONSERVATIVE, not a pro-life Liberal.

Why let Obama win just to prove a point when you have an alternative that will make the country a better place in the next 4 years? Senator McCain will be a better leader for conservatives than Obama, so I’ll vote for him in Nov.