Replies

>> If the Republican is ideologically impossible to differentiate from a Democrat, or a liberal, then it’s a no-brainer. I’ve got no dog in the fight, and will not vote.<<

People who thought like you gave us obama (maybe you did, maybe you didn’t) and the democratic majority that we are not turning our country into a Socialist Paradise.

And you don’t have a dog in this fight?

>>On the other hand, if a Republican candidate has a record that indicates that they are at least mostly conservative, then I feel that it’s my duty to choose them over the avowed liberal on the other side of the ticket.<<

And if not, you vote for his/her more liberal opponent. Good plan! Worked in 2008, didn’t it.

>>That being said, all of us need to get involved at the party precinct level in order to have a voice in what candidates are chosen to run for office in the first place.

If we don’t, we leave it to the party establishment to choose our candidates for us, and look where that’s gotten us.<<

On these latter points we must all agree.

But once the candidate is selected, we have to go with the LEAST BAD candidate.

Ideological purity is what gives us a socialist government.

People who thought like you gave us obama (maybe you did, maybe you didn’t) and the democratic majority that we are not turning our country into a Socialist Paradise.

Are you deaf, or did you simply not comprehend all that I just wrote?

If the "Republican" candidate is indistinguishable from a Democrat or a liberal, then you have NO choice in that election.

That's not an "ideological purity" point of view, it's reality. That "Republican" will vote or govern exactly like their ideological counterpart, the liberal Democrat (see Schwarzenegger RINO CA).

Advocating for others to vote for the R, regardless of their conservative batting average is what's brought Socialism to our door, not the other way around.

That being said, I repeat that we need to examine our candidates closely enough to determine whether they're at least center-right before we give them our support, or our votes.

Insisting on absolute purity of ideology is political suicide, although it's something we should strive to find in our potential candidates, and then push with whatever we've got.

Make sense?