Voting is a citizen’s greatest civic duty. A well-cast vote is an affirmation of the citizen’s ability to govern their republic. One always hopes that a good choice will be available, but sometimes the choices are not clear. Sometimes the voter has a clear choice of one candidate over another.
This year there are multiple candidates for a single office and the choice of whom to vote for becomes murky to many voters. For too many conservatives, voting for a candidate that doesn’t mirror their conservative views is akin to making a deal with the devil. Casting a vote is risking failure, no matter what choice one makes. Some conservatives feel that voting for a moderate is subverting their own integrity; a betrayal of their staunch classical liberal philosophy.
Some conservatives are conflicted in the current presidential election. They feel that Mitt Romney is a “Conservative-in-name-only” but based on primary results, other candidates were not viable and offered little cross party “pollination.”
Before making the choice of Romney or Obama, we must logically consider the consequences of the election of each man to the presidency.
These are a few questions that need to be answered before we vote:
What happens if President Obama is reelected? He will expand the federal government and make further inroads towards socialism by destroying the American business environment, entrepreneurship, our Constitution and our precious Liberty!
If Mitt Romney is elected, will he take some of the same actions, philosophically as Obama? Will Romney expand government and consolidate power, as President Obama has, into the executive branch? Or will Romney do what he has unswervingly done best over the bulk of his career? Romney will enact policies that will feed a business juggernaut that lifts America and her citizens from the current economic malaise.
Will both men, if elected, move ever more liberal judges into the various levels of the Federal judiciary? Mitt Romney will most likely nominate judges who believe in the Constitution as the bedrock law of the land.
Can it be that not voting is the best “moral” choice? Could it be that not voting saves ones personal dogma from shame?
Just before the birth of Christ, Roman philosopher Seneca said “If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind. If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”
As classical conservatives, our strength is that we can adapt and move in a direction even if we don’t land in the perfect port. We know what harbor we are seeking, a more Constitutional one. Not voting is casting our lot to the wind. Voting for an unviable candidate, although it sooths the intellect of some, is an act of desperation and effectively allows the ship of Conservatism to take on water. Voting for the most viable candidate opposing Obama who espouses many of our values is a common target that can be an acceptable choice for both sides of the aisle.
We can avoid internal conflict by not making a choice. But not making a choice is a decision with ramifications. For all practical purposes, by not voting against President Obama one is effectively assisting the Obama campaign by removing one “nay” vote on Obama’s term.
If President Obama’s administration is allowed to stand and if Congress does not become more conservative, we will likely see the Supreme Courts become more liberal and our demise into tyranny will be set in stone.
The stakes could not be any higher!
Every decision has a price. The decision to vote or not to vote both have a material price that some may not consider. We must vote and I’m hoping that you vote your conscience tempered by the reality of the impact of another four years of Obama leadership and a compliant Congress.
Conservatives, Republicans and Libertarians should attempt to bridge our differences and elect the candidate who can beat President Obama. That candidate has emerged after a long primary battle. Mitt Romney is the only man who can defeat Barak Obama. Many of us have philosophical differences, but we must focus our attention on the target, that is to dethrone President Obama. We can either achieve that end or we can acquiesce to petty differences and assure the destruction of freedom through his reelection.
Our founders drafted and ratified the Constitution. It was a contentious process filled with intense verbal sparring, but the founders set aside their differences to achieve a common goal. Their goal was to lay the foundation for a republic based on individual liberty, self-responsibility, and a small federal government of the people, by the people and for the people.
John Jay said “The Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing the forms of government under which they should live.”
That statement is more relevant in this election than any other in history. This election will determine what kind of country our children inherit and whether they inherit our birthright of liberty, prosperity, and self-determination.
In November, I will vote to save our Republic. That will buy us time to force change towards the liberty that our founders envisioned. To do otherwise is to follow a suicidal path to the destruction of the greatest society ever to exist.
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