Not voting is half a vote for Obama

Mitt Romney is not my choice to run against Obama in 2012. Mark Kirk was not the ideal candidate I hoped for in the Illinois Senate race of 2010. For that matter, even if he could have won, John McCain was not my preferred presidential choice in 2010, either. And yet, the latter two received my vote. And, if he wins the primary, the prior will also receive my vote.

I know people who will call me a sellout for such an attitude. I understand the emotional forces at play that make them feel that way. I share those emotions.

For far too long, the people we’ve sent to Washington, D.C., and our respective state capitals, have arrived in office and ‘compromised’ with the welfare of our nation and our individual liberties. A little chip here, a little chip there, next thing you know, a Sequoia is tumbling to the ground. We want our representatives to stand firm on constitutional principles. I want them to do so with every fiber of my being.

So, if compromise is the problem in D.C., maybe that problem starts at the polling place. Maybe if we, as voters, stood firmer on principle, maybe we’d elect people who would show a little more backbone once elected.

I think that’s true. We need to do a much better job of vetting our candidates. We need to spend more time working to put the best names possible on the ballots. But, once the names are printed on that ballot, there is no room for compromise. Someone on that ballot will be elected. For my money, better a wishy-washy excuse for a conservative than a blatant social engineering liberal.

This doesn’t mean that, by defeating the liberal, a Jello-necked quasi conservative has suddenly achieved hero status in my eyes. In fact, I would say such a candidate, once elected, puts a greater onus of responsibility on my shoulders to hold his or her feet to the fire.

I’ve watched Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL 8^th District) carefully since he took office. With small exception, I’ve found that he’s done a remarkable job of following through where he promised in the campaign. Since I liked what he said in the campaign, I can relax my vigilance ever so slightly with the proven demonstration that apparently there’s more to Joe than just talk. Oh, I’ll keep my eyes open but, a candidate of this nature allows me more freedom to worry about other mundane matters, such as individual survival.

In the case of Mark Kirk, the opposite is true. A fiscal conservative, with the jury still out on that matter, I’ve already seen what can happen with Kirk in office. Let’s just say he’s far too cozy with the liberal sect on some social issues, such as gays in the military, for my comfort. I have no choice but to watch Kirk keenly, and to let him know that I’m watching. If he doesn’t know that I, and others like me, are watching, who knows what Kirk will do?

And so, even though I don’t particularly like having Kirk as one of my senatorial representatives in Washington, D.C., he’s still the best senator from Illinois today by a wide margin and he’ll still get my vote if he’s the primary victor to run against a liberal in the next senatorial election for that seat.

Am I selling out? No. I’ll work against Kirk in the primary and, for that matter, I’ll work hard against him. But, once the primary is over, I know where the enemy stands. In the case of a Romney v. Obama campaign for president, I don’t have to think about it. I don’t have to flip a coin. I don’t have to say “enie, menie, minie, moe.” Mitt Romney is so vastly superior to Obama as a presidential candidate that the choice is obvious on the face of it. It’s like trying to decide whether you want to jump into a pool with your clothes on or take a high dive off the Sears Tower (or whatever they’re calling it these days).

The water may be cold and my shoes, clothes and everything in my wallet may get wet voting for Romney but the continued descent with BO in the White House has a clear and unmistakable destination. And like they say in the construction trades, it’s not the fall that gets you, it’s that sudden stop.

So, if you don’t like Romney, do as I do in the primary – get out there and work for a better candidate. But, once the primary is over, the only room for compromise is to vote for or against a continuation of a constitutionally based America. The only question is whether you will compromise the integrity of your vote by withholding your vote from Obama’s opponent, which is half a vote for Obama.