By the same token, don’t blame me if I vote for what I perceive to be the best possible option.
Yes. That is the crux. I voted for Meg Whitman in 2010. She fit the material prototype of "conservative," a button-down-collar business executive persona, along the lines of Romney. She was every bit as leftist and liberal as Romney. But she wasn't Jerry Brown. So I voted for her.
If she had won, she'd have been worse than Schwarzenegger, whom I voted for twice. She was functional pro-government leftist; her only claim to "conservative" was acknowledging that small businesses are in trouble. She promised a more business-like efficient State government. More efficient at taxing and repressing us to enforce the big-government oversight she and Democrats exist to design and operate.
By the same token, don’t blame me ...
Yes, Citizen, I got to thinking about that. If she had won and proceeded to use the Republican party to do what any leftist would do -- if someone came along and RIGHTLY blamed me ... how could I disagree? I know what I'm voting for, I know there's no such thing as voting "against" -- so how could I possibly justify voting FOR a functional agent of everything I want to fight? "Don't blame me" ...?? Bah!!!
In short, I woke up.
Thanks for the kind response. Sorry for taking so long to get back to you on this thread, but I had work to do.
I admit it’s a real quandary. In a general election, should I vote for a Democrat who openly works for everything I oppose, vote for a Republican (RINO) who works behind the scenes to thwart most of what I want—maybe occasionally tossing me a bone, vote for a third party candidate with essentially zero chance of winning, or not vote at all. None of these options seem very good to me. It’s no wonder that many millions of Americans have no interest in voting at all.
Believe me, it pains me greatly to vote for someone like McCain for president, but I did. I actually agree with your point that a RINO might actually do worse than a Democrat. McCain is a perfect example. He probably would have been able to enact far, far more liberal policies than Obama, simply because Republicans would have stood by their president and Democrats always vote for any expansion of government—even ones led by RINO Republican presidents.
It’s really a no win situation. That’s why primaries are so important. They are our only real chance to change things up with our votes. Once a RINO makes it to the general election, it comes down to each of us trying to decide which path will do the least damage to America, because damage will be done at that point.