ACU ratings don't count for much if you have a habit of voting on key issues as a liberal and consort with them to erode Constitutional rights behind closed doors. You want to vote based on an ACU rating? Knock yourself out. If McCain is elected (highly doubtful), don't start whining that he acts like a liberal in office.
1) ACU ratings are based on a voting record so they have to count for something. Obviously McCain went the wrong was on some big ones, which is why it's not higher, but don't discount 82%. That is still WAY higher than Hillary or Obama
2) I have no illusion that McCain is going to be a stellar conservative. He won't be. That is a done deal. Based on his voting record though, he will be more conservative than Hillary or Obama. I know this because is voting record shows this. No, he isn't with us many times. He even torpedos us. That 20% of the time is more apparent than the 80% of the time he is with us.
3) We conservatives could sit this one out. Maybe Hillary or Obama would win and go so far left as to knock the country to their senses and 1994 could happen all over again. Short term pain for long term gain. Maybe it would work out that way. But what if in the intervening years President Obama or Clinton has some Supreme Court picks to make. We know how that will work out. After that it won't really matter who is in congress because it will all end up being judicially legislated by a bunch of left wing justices that probably have pictures of Lenin and Che on the their office walls. FYI: Scalia is 71.
Yes, I will go into the voting booth holding my nose and breath, but I will vote for McCain. The troops welfare depends on it, the countries well being depends on it. I'll put my differences aside for the time being.