Laying it All Out There

This is the yard sign my County Republican Party was selling during this election cycle. I had a love/hate relationship with the sign. At first my mixed emotions made me think I was a chicken. I mean, I'm against the nonsense happening in Washington for the past 2 years. So why wouldn't I just run out and buy one of these signs for my yard?

My hesitation lasted up until last week when I made my final decision and voted Republican. Luckily I live on a cul-de-sac so the traffic who missed my very important, but chicken, message was not great. The bulk of my concern about the sign was it's simplicity. It seemed to completely forget that Republicans long misbehaved in the name of power and pandering to what they 'thought' people wanted for far too long, helping us along the road to where we are today.

So why did I go ahead and cast the Republican vote?

1. I'm looking ahead. The Republican vote that will be tallied tomorrow is simply a step I think must be taken. Vigilance on the part of all of us will be just as necessary even with Republicans and I honestly hope it stays that way. It will for me.

2. I once called myself an independent/moderate. I thought I was somewhere in the middle because neither party fully represented my ideals. The way our country has recently been turned upside down has forced me to do my research. Now I realize I'm so far to the right that voting for a Democrat is worse in my case than not voting at all (which I don't believe in!)

3. Referring to 2 - Just because I'm not crazy about the options out there doesn't mean I should check out and not vote. I did the research. I wasn't pleased with my options. The discomfort I felt while casting my vote made me even more dedicated to supporting good candidates when I see them.

4. The Democrats at the top are far more liberal than my Democrat voting friends who are usually moral Democrats more than anything. Those running our country today make the Clintons look conservative. I really don't think they are stupid, as many say. I think they are evil with evil intentions of usurping the rights of Americans. I know, I know. Yes, evil is a strong word. But it is morally reprehensible to want to remove a right from one human being even if you say you're going to give it to someone else. The health care takeover really solidified this for me. It was huge. It was unpopular. They wouldn't scale back. They wouldn't back off. They told us they knew better than we did what we needed. That's not okay coming from either side.

5. While many of my ideals fall in line with Libertarian views, the Libertarian options on the ballot were weak. Voting strictly on that ideology would have been a vote for a Democrat. Further, I disagree with the Libertarian ideological views on war. While those on my ballot wouldn't have the power to stop funding troops it bothers me to know that they might if they could.

6. A vote for a Democrat feels like a vote for Obama, Pelosi, or Reid. That just feels bad.

So there. The good, bad, and ugly of my thought process. It is not as intelligent and smart as I might like but it's the truth. I think sometimes people sit out a vote because they don't know what they'd say if someone asked why they voted as they did. I don't think you have to have all of the smartest, most educated reasons for your choice but if you do your research and then go cast your vote then that is the best you can do.

I guess I should have made my own yard sign:

"Stop Government Expansion: Vote for the most conservative candidate you can find (but not a Democrat) who pledges to limit the size of federal government, reverse the health care takeover, lower taxes, stop Cap and Trade, protect our sovereignty, take terrorism seriously, drop political correctness in favor of the truth, protect all American life (yours, mine, our troops, and the unborn), put the opinions of Americans above the opinions of foreigners, refuse to make the poor comfortable in their poverty, allow Americans the freedom they need to create jobs, allow businesses who make bad decisions to go out of business, limit executive power (especially czars), protect states' rights, stop legislation from the bench, and read the Constitution. Then after you've voted, stay engaged to make sure they do what they said."

Favorite Candidate of the 2010 Elections: Rand Paul. He says things that are sometimes unpopular and the media eats him up for it, but I like it and so do his voters. I think if people would have the guts to say what they really believe, they would be shocked at how well it was received. I'm so tired of politicians who talk about feeding the hungry and educating our children, then once elected they go straight to tea with Hugo Chavez. If you like everything a politician says when they are campaigning, maybe something is wrong.