I think that the Republican party has been extraordinarily lucky, and twice blessed.

We were first blessed with the Reagan Revolution, then we were lucky with Bush I and then blessed again with the Gingrich Revolution, and lucky with Bush II. The thing that all of the above have in common, with the exception of the two Bush Presidencies, is that we stuck with the values, or the ideas that make us Conservatives or Libertarians, I'm sure you and your readers know them by heart. The social issues have never really mattered because the Conservative side wanted less government as did the Libertarians, just for somewhat different reasons.

With McCain as the candidate nobody is sure of what exactly he believes in, I'm still in his his court because he has said that he will nominate originalist justices and he won't mess with the founding documents. Though the question is will he renege in the name of political expediency?

I really think that any of the Republican candidates would have pummeled Obama, some more so than McCain has in the past. With all of the baggage that Obama brings to the table, I'd be more frightened of a Edwards candidacy.

The country club Republicans and the RINO's have their perfect candidate in McCain, but I'll vote for him, what other choice do I have?

I've thought about not voting in the Presidential election, and that is still a possibility, I'm not sure if I can pull the lever for Obama. My thinking in the case for voting for Obama is that the Democrats can screw this country up only so much in the next two years, in that time maybe the Republicans can get their act together and elect a Conservative/Libertarian Congress. But that might be projecting a bit to much on my part.

I consider myself a conservative; an old school, Ronald Reagan, conservative

I must start by admitting that I don’t agree with all of McCain’s positions. But, you can’t expect someone to please all of the people, all of the time. If anyone chooses to recall, although Ronnie himself was pro-life he would not make overturning Roe vs. Wade a central theme of his campaign and presidency. I remember that there were a lot of folks that weren’t too happy about this. But, when they considered the alternative……….

Likewise, McCain seems soft on illegal immigration, and appears to have at least tasted the global warming kool-aid. While this may enrage many of us it is probably a safe bet that we will have more influence on shaping the nations policies on these issues from inside a McCain presidency than from a congressional minority. Remember the kind of things that went on during the epoch where the democrats controlled congress; many folks seem to have a short memory when it comes to this. Again, consider the alternative………..

Those folks who consider McCain some kind of liberal are either engaging in hyperbole, or have simply chosen to ignore his voting record over the years. While he often gets hamstrung by his own principles, at least he has principles! And, those principles are a far cry from the unabashed, if smoothly articulated, Marxism of Senator Obama. Viz. the Supreme Court and national defense we know what Maverick will do. . Again, consider the alternative………..

It is clear that Mr. Obama, with a rubber stamp congress, will seriously damage our economy with tax increases in the age old effort to redistribute wealth; and this will be done under the guise of fairness. Furthermore, he will absolutely ruin us with respect to foreign policy. The defense department will be gutted again, like under Carter, and we will just become one among many at the UN-instead of first among equals with our traditional, democratic, allies. Although you may doubt McCain, consider the alternative………….

It is worrisome to me that many self proclaimed conservatives are trying to justify to themselves, and convince others, to vote for third party candidates. On the surface this seems fair enough; it is their right to vote however they wish. But, I’d like to point out that these third party alternatives are men who could only gain a small niche following within the construct of the Republican Party. And, if they had been able to gain a large enough following you can rest assured that they would have been happy to run under that appellation. Often they describe themselves as libertarians or independents; these are self serving euphemisms for a “my way or the highway” attitude that is anathema to the traditions of our society. Remember that at the original constitutional convention, at a time of impasse over the issues, Benjamin Franklin (one of the few times he chose to speak for himself instead of through Governour Morris) reminded the representatives that they were sent to the convention to confer and compromise-not to conflict and condemn. They were charged with doing what was good for their country. While they didn’t completely agree on every issue they had to come to an agreement; they had to consider the alternative……….

Choosing to vote for a third party ticket out of protest, one that cannot win, is throwing away your vote. Likewise, not voting because you believe that Obama is the agent of the Bible’s book of revelations is also useless (with all due respect to my Evangelical brethren, as a Catholic, I remind them that no man can thwart Gods will-it will come to pass regardless of how they vote). In either case, it can only help elect Mr. Obama. And, after his election their voting statistics will simply become a footnote in the historical record-much like when Perot helped elect Mr. Clinton in 1992. Only now are we beginning to see the far reaching effects of that outcome; the hastening of the modernization of China and the ascendancy of Islamo-fascism. One only need to look to both the Carter and Clinton administrations to see that the county can be damaged greatly, for many years to come, in a very short time. And, owing to the geopolitics of this crucial juncture in time that ruination-on whatever scale-may not be as easily overcome as in the past. So for the good of our country I ask all conservatives, whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Independent, to vote for Mr. McCain regardless of their personal misgivings. Once again I remind them that although McCain is no Reagan, consider the alternative……..

Bill Buckley always voted for "the most conservative candidate who has a chance at winning." That seems eminently sensible to me. Following that lead, National Review has been a reliable GOP ally, even though it leans more libertarian than Republicans are ever going to be.

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 06/03/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.

I feel like former NYC mayor Koch who supported Bush because of his steadfastness on terrorism issues. I will vote for McCain (using Bill Buckley's philosophy) since he has managed to stay just to the right of Obama.

The real issue is the Congress that is filled with self-interested individuals who would not recognize public service if it smacked them in the face. McCain's efforts on campaign funding were misguided. He should have spent that effort trying to get constitutionally mandated term limits (solely to keep individuals from making a career out of serving in the Congress).