“I couldn’t in good conscience vote for McCain, and my hope that a strong showing for Paul would encourage the nominee to pick a more conservative running mate.”
While I’m not trying to put words in your mouth, would it be fair to say that you chose to vote for Paul in order to send a message to McCain as to the characteristics you considered appropriate for a VP?
“The effect I’m trying to achieve by voting third party in the general election is the same as the Nader voters in 2000.”
It would it be fair to say then that your purpose in voting is to do all you can to defeat McCain (the GOP)? If you really wanted to send a message in the strongest possible terms, why not just vote for Obama?
“I do not believe the Republican nominee to be a true conservative, and I am prepared to live with the short term consequences of an Obama presidency for the sake of the long term goal of restoring the Republican Party to true conservatism.”
What purpose would it serve to ‘restore the GOP’, if the net result is to ensure continued GOP defeats? It would seem that your real opponent is not the GOP but the fact that most of the electorate would not vote for the type of candidate your propose for the GOP nominee.
“As any worthwhile parent can tell you, when you allow bad behavior to continue without consequence you only encourage more bad behavior.”
So, who manifests the ‘bad behavior’, the GOP or the electorate? Are you saying then that you’d like to teach the electorate a lesson through an Obama presidency?
BTW, please don’t construe my questions as attacks but as an honest attempt to understand your positions.
The point is to move/return the Republican Party to conservatism by any means possible and necessary. For McCain to pick a clearly conservative nominee indicates a recognition that there is a need to address the concerns of the conservative Republicans in the party and the electorate. Recognition of the problem is a good first step.
It would it be fair to say then that your purpose in voting is to do all you can to defeat McCain (the GOP)? If you really wanted to send a message in the strongest possible terms, why not just vote for Obama?
No, it wouldn't be fair to say that. My purpose as stated is to promote a return to conservatism in the GOP. As I also stated, I am not voting against McCain but for conservatism.
If a significant number of conservatives vote third party for conservative candidates and McCain still pulls out a narrow victory, it will still be clear to him and to the party leadership that a large number of conservatives disapprove of the direction of the part away from the right.
If a significant number of conservatives vote third party for conservative candidates and McCain loses to Obama, it will be clear to him and to the party leadership that a large number of conservatives disapprove of the direction of the party away from the right (so much so that they would rather see us lose than give their consent to that movement). Again, if you don't think this makes a significant difference, you need only look at what has happened to the Democratic Party in the past eight years; they have moved quite significantly to the left.
Either way, I have the opportunity to vote for a nominee I do believe is a qualified, conservative candidate while at the same time working to return the GOP to conservatism.
My conscience would never allow me to vote for a racist, corrupt socialist like Barrack Hussein Obama, no matter what my intentions. The end does not justify the means.
What purpose would it serve to ‘restore the GOP’, if the net result is to ensure continued GOP defeats?
Continued defeats? Friend, history has shown time and again that when the GOP runs on a conservative platform it wins elections. If the efforts of people like me are successful, I'm confident that we will ultimately be ensuring continued GOP victories.
It would seem that your real opponent is not the GOP but the fact that most of the electorate would not vote for the type of candidate your propose for the GOP nominee.
Well, obviously I disagree with the notion that you abandon principle for the sake of victory. If the GOP as a whole decides to abandon conservatism, I will no longer support them. As it is, I vote along ideological lines, not party lines. Most of the time (especially in the rural area I live) the conservative candidate is also the Republican candidate, but I will not vote for a Republican who is not a conservative.
So, who manifests the ‘bad behavior’, the GOP or the electorate? Are you saying then that you’d like to teach the electorate a lesson through an Obama presidency?
Both. It is the responsibility of the elected officials to represent the interests of their constituents, and it is the responsibility of the electorate to hold them accountable.
Believe me, I would like whatever option involves the least amount of pain while still accomplishing the return of conservatism in the GOP. I hope we can avoid an Obama presidency, but I also know we had to suffer a Carter to get a Reagan.
BTW, please don’t construe my questions as attacks but as an honest attempt to understand your positions.
I hope I have made them clear :)
I don’t think the problem with our selections was the electorate. Personally, I think our problems stemmed from the GOP all along. I don’t think putting up conservatives: Brownback, Hunter, Thompson, Tancredo, Huckabee (religious conservative) was an accident.