Unfortunately, I am about to do something that I (not to mention my long-dead Great Grandfather, my Grandfather and my dearly departed Dad) would have never contemplated doing, even in their wildest of dreams…
I’m seriously considering voting for a Democrat for President for the first time in my life.
For many years, I’ve been a staunch conservative Republican, usually voting a “straight ticket” for all Republican candidates in every election up and down the line. I’ve also made it a point to do so via absentee ballot from a number of far-flung places on the planet while serving honorably in our country’s armed forces.
And, yes, as much as I now very much regret doing so, I even voted for our current President back in 2000.
However, as many of you who are regular readers of Capitol Hill Blue are well aware, my political leanings these days are far more in line with the Libertarians than the Republicans. But, one thing remains certain…I am absolutely NOT a Liberal!
What’s more, and as many of you may also know, up to this point in the current election cycle, I’ve been adamant in my intention to send BOTH the Republicans AND the Democrats (the “Republicrats” as I call them) a strong personal message that the horrifically closed electoral “duopoly” they have collectively spawned in our country needs to be totally reformed.
That was…of course…until Mr. McCain chose a totally far right-wing, Pentecostal, moose-hunting “air head” to be his running mate.
After doing my best to listen with an open mind to a number of her speeches, I have now arrived at the sobering conclusion that, any way you cut it, Governor Sarah (Golleeee!) Palin can only be described as downright ignorant, and therefore, clearly DANGEROUS!
That is, it has become painfully clear to me that her entire life’s focus and experiences are so horrifically narrow that she simply wouldn’t have a clue about what to do in a REAL national emergency of major proportions.
Now that issue, in and of itself, wouldn’t be a “show stopper” were it not for the fact that the person she is understudying is, himself, now well into his 70s. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the chances of Ms. Palin actually becoming President during a McCain-Palin first term are far greater than 50 Percent.
What’s more (and as if THAT prospect weren’t scary enough!) there are a number of US Supreme Court justices who are now approaching the autumn of their years. As of late, some of these people have been openly contemplating their retirement in the not-too-distant future.
Here again, the chances are probably greater than 50/50 that one (or more) of our Supreme Court justices will most likely need to be replaced during the next four years.
So now, along comes Ms. Palin…a far right wing, Pentecostal evangelical ideologue who attends a church where her pastor once laid hands upon her to “drive the demons out” and where people freely speak in “tongues” (not to mention talking cheerfully about the “end times”!)
With all of the OTHER scary stuff now going on in the world, having such a person with her finger on the nuclear button (not to mention being the one who may very well be the person who selects one or more LIFETIME replacement(s) for retiring justices to serve on the highest Court in our land!) has, quite literally, sent shivers up my spine.
So, as they say, I’m now caught between the proverbial “rock” and a “hard place”.
Do I use my single vote to send a clear message to the “Republicrats” that their collective days in office are numbered?
Or, do I use my vote to help prevent what could very well turn out to be a worldwide disaster of cataclysmic proportions if Ms. Palin were to actually become our President?
Right now, the “jury” as they say, is still “out”. My decision will ultimately depend on how assured Mr. Obama is of garnering the 4 electoral votes in my home state of New Hampshire…votes that might very well prove crucial in a close election. Right now, by all accounts, New Hampshire is “leaning” toward Mr. Obama.
However, if the outcome of that race is still in any kind of doubt in New Hampshire come election day, my fear of a “Gomer” Palin Presidency will most certainly trump my equally strong desire to send ALL of these clowns packing back to their home districts.
Unfortunately, and despite my recent railings to the contrary, it now appears that, I, too, will soon be down to deciding between the “lesser of two evils”…or, more correctly…deciding between thwarting a clear and present evil that would have an absolutely devastating, long-term effect on our nation, or leaving another, equally sobering evil largely intact to address in some future election on down the road.
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