Thanks for the thread!
Don’t know that I have anything profound to add. Two points:
First, supporting good Congressional and Senatorial candidates seems to be a priority. Different ways to do that: Contributing directly to the candidate, contributing to a conservative PAC, or getting involved directly. The last method may not be the most efficient, but it can be the most interesting. I have personally (with a few friends) run ads in newspapers for a conservative candidate. (One paper, I’m assuming with a liberal perspective, wouldn’t run the ad.) After I retire in perhaps 3 or 4 years, I might try radio ads, billboards, and other things. You can run a decent ad in a small town newspaper for about $100. If I remember correctly, a block of about twenty radio spots can be had for between $1000 and $2000 (don’t quote me on the price; going from vague memories). Seems like a billboard ran $500 to $1500. (Once again, don’t quote me. Very vague memories.) Other methods are available as well.
Second, I won’t be voting for either Romney or Obama. For a social conservative, neither seems to be an option; and giving the GOP-e reason to think that they have a lock on our vote regardless of the nominee will only guarantee increasingly liberal candidates in the future. I could say a lot, lot more, but perhaps you get the picture.
Oh, yeah....One more thing. I will likely be voting third party rather than a write-in. I’m considering the Constitution Party (Virgil Goode) and America’s Party (Tom Hoefling). I don’t assume that either will stand a snowball’s chance, but that isn’t the reason for the vote.
Virgil Goode would seem to be the most reasonable choice, since the Constitution Party is much more prominent. I think, though, that given the current climate, he could have chosen a better route to take in terms of issues. Social conservatives are being left out in the cold; yet Virgil isn’t really pushing that. His main emphasis seems to be illegal immigration. While I agree with his points, I don’t think that will be a major rallying cry for conservatives this time. Plus, he seems to be cosying up to the Ron Paul faction more than to traditional conservatives. Yet, I generally agree with him on the issues.
I’m more comfortable with Tom Hoefling (our Eternal Vigilance), but America’s Party doesn’t have the same level of exposure at this point.
Once again, I have no illusion that either will win; but I think that the GOP-e needs to know for future reference that our votes cannot be considered automatic.