This is a very long thread so I don't blame you if you haven't read my previous posts.
I believe that every candidate in every election must be judged on a case-by-case basis based on the GOALS OF THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT and not simply on some definition of the Ideal Candidate.
We must fight with the army we have and, IMHO, do what we can to make sure that there is a growing number of true Conservatives to vote for.
I am *very* interested in Conservative principles winning in the long run. At the same time we can only vote for the people who are actually in the race. The bulk of our work needs to be in getting true Conservatives into the race. The Tea Party movement may help greatly in that.
“Are you going to keep on supporting liberals with an (R) next to their name in the future? If so, then the answer is yes, you can’t call yourself a Conservative if you fail to be a Conservative on the one day it counts the most.”
Well, I’m a Conservative because I know in my heart I’m a Conservative, not because I fit into some arbitrary mold you have shaped. And despite your attempts to define what such actions may or may not mean, I would never make a “statement” by acting in a way that would get the likes of Barack Obama re-elected.
I would suggest that keeping Obama from being re-elected is Job One, and I would be making just as valid a point as you if I questioned the true conservatism of ANYBODY that enabled Obama’s re-election just to prove a point.
Will I work to get the most conservative candidate nominated - absolutely.
But if our broken primary system is not fixed, and we wind up with what you consider to be a RINO, I will vote for the “holding action” Republican rather than stay home and let Obama complete the destruction of our nation.
Work your ass off to fix the primary process and get Conservatives nominated, and try not to spend so much time being the “true Conservative” police.