Conservative libertarians (me) IMHO are looking to conserve freedoms and do not understand GOP big government spending and legislation such as senior prescription drugs, NCLB, CAFTA, immigration issues, Dubai Ports ... but, most of all, we abhor not committing fully the will to win in foreign entanglements. Voting write-in or not voting at all is a way to send a message to the president that we're angry.
Say hello to the democrats with your vote. All the things you don't like about the republicans will be 10 fold worse with democrats, but you are so smart that you outsmarted yourself with your vote. Lot's of people did the same thing when they voted for Ross Perot, and we got the democrat Clinton.
And insure that the communists get into power once again. Not exactly a "Hobson's" choice as I see it.
"Voting write-in or not voting at all is a way to send a message to the president that we're angry."
You naively believe that the exact nature of your anger is communicated and understood as such. It is not. The fringes of "conservativism", from the point of view of the media and most political leaders of both parties do not merit discussion, and the nuance of why different conservatives may be "angry" is either not acknowledged, misunderstood or ignored.
The message you speak of might be the message intended to be sent, but with the liberal hold on the LameStreamMedia that is not, never has been, and never will be the message recieved.
Just for example: They will insure that a poll that says "56% of eligible voters disagree with the President on Iraq" will be sold as "56% of the eligible voters want us to abandon Iraq, as quickly as possible". The question: "Do you think our political leaders are not allowing our military to act strongly enough against the insurgents in Iraq", is not a question that will get asked.
You can redo that equation on any issue of your choice, for which the left wants to create an "opposition" and tie that opposition to their specific position, and you can be sure that that is how the LameStreamMedia will translate your protest vote - as just another vote confirming the postion of the left.
They will not allow the public to discern any nuance in the poll, or in their selling of it, once the poll question is text-proofed to hide all the ambiguity in the possible answers. They do the same thing with election results.
I have listened to the media people and the selective talking heads they scheduled for today, and as far as they are concerned your nuanced position is either non-existent or inconsequential in the American body politic.
And, in the reality of politics, they are correct. There is no form of success in defeat and when it is those you are most closely aligned with, most of the time, to which you have chosen to deliver your protest vote, you did only one thing; you reduced the number of potential allies who might agree with you some of the time and increased the number of opponents who rarely ever agree with you. That is self-defeating.
There is one place for that vote, and that is in primary elections, when you can directly speak, and directly protest, concerning the possible candidates that may take your postions from time to time.
In general electionss, your protest vote is universally used as a vote in favor of the other party, no matter what your intentions are.
You, sir, are a consummate idiot. I, too, am a conservative libertarian, but I'm smart enough to know not to CUT MY NOSE OFF TO SPITE MY FACE!!
Sending a message to Bush is meaningless if, through your vote, you leave him powerless and without the tools to do anything about winning in foreign entanglements or any of the other concerns you mention!!!!!!!
You forget that Bush managed to get the message about Harriet Meiers, and immigration to a somewhat lesser extent, WITHOUT HAVING THE RUG PULLED OUT FROM UNDERNEATH HIM AND THE PEOPLE HE NEEDS IN CONGRESS TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES. THANKS TO MORONS LIKE YOU, WE WILL NOT GET OUR JUDGES CONFIRMED AND YOU CAN LOOK AT ANOTHER GENERATION OF FAR-LEFT FEDERAL COURT DECISIONS, MURDER OF THE UNBORN, UNCERTAIN ENERGY SUPPLIES AND COSTS, AND ILLEGALS SWARMING OVER OUR BORDERS, AND THAT'S JUST FOR STARTERS. I'M JUST GETTING WARMED UP ON THE SUBJECT OF THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE YOU IDIOTS HAVE CAUSED JUST SO YOU COULD "SEND BUSH A MESSAGE"! HERE'S A NEWS FLASH FOR YOU, ACE: BUSH CAN'T RUN AGAIN, SO YOUR MESSAGE OF ANGER AT HIM IS MEANINGLESS IN A POLITICAL CONTEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!