OK, I messed up. I stayed home in 2006 and helped us lose both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It wasn't a conscious decision to get even with Bush and the GOP, but I was plenty PO'd. What I did was wrong.

I have a chance to try to correct my error, though, and that is why I started this blog. That, and Townhall started limiting comments to articles so much that I couldn't post sections of Title 8, USC, of sufficient length to show that I wasn't 'cherry picking' info to mislead someone.

Several have commented to articles that they would not vote if the Republican candidate was X, or would only vote if it was Y. That is extremely counter-productive and can easily result in the Democrats controlling both houses and the President's office. Some have commented that if that happens they would strongly consider taking up arms. That won't be necessary. We have the strength if we build the determination to succeed to take back one if not both houses as well as keep the Presidency.

But we MUST vote.

First, we MUST VOTE in the Primary elections. That means we must convince any who left the Republican Party to re-register as Republicans. We need their votes in the Primaries to help ensure that we are able to overcome any candidates fueled by big money machines. We have to make sure that we don't have to vote for a candidate who has been bought before the general election even happens.

Second, we MUST accept the winner of the Primary election as the Republican candidate, warts and all. How can we expect to be able to bring swing voters to our cause if we can't demonstrate solidarity and unity among ourselves. No one will side with a disorganized crowd or mob. We must all adopt winning the Presidential election as our most important goal. We can discuss the merits and flaws of those we have to choose from publicly and loudly until the Primary, but once the choice is made we must all support that choice whole-heartedly. Anything less dooms our candidate to failure.

That doesn't mean we can't establish conditions before the Primary. Below are some I would like to have adopted.

Our candidate must be honest beyond reproach. He must hold the Constitution as the supreme law of the land in all things political. He must be dedicated to enforcing the Nation's laws fully, equally, and completely.

I would like each candidate to sign a pledge to choose the first runner-up in the Primary as his candidate for the Vice-President, and that he would accept being chosen if he were the first runner-up. First, by virtue of being the first runner-up, he is our second choice for the Presidency. Therefore, it is logical that he should be the one first in line to succeed the President, act as President when (and if) necessary, and ascend to the Presidency if necessary. We can always short-circuit that line at the Primaries if we find it necessary.

I'll stop here for now and watch for comments, then add more later.

Well, it's later... and it looks like John McCain will be the Republican candidate. I'll vote a straight Republican ticket downstream, but I absolutely can not vote for McCain. I just can't. I see the man as a bald-faced liar, a liberal, and one who stands against everything I believe in. His stand for amnesty for criminal alien invaders is a deal-breaker. Sorry.

 NOW it's even later. McCain pulled off a miracle for himself, and possibly for us too. He selected Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential candidate. That changes everything... with the addition of the Republican Party platform which proclaims that the Republican Party is against amnesty for illegal aliens. Now I have someone to vote FOR who can help steer the Republican Party toward the Constitution and Conservative principles. There isn't TIME to build a third party that is strong enough to defeat either major party. If McCain doesn't follow the Constitution (strictly!) we have four years to build the Constitution Party and we can work to defeat any attempts he might make to take our country farther to the left.

The main thing is: GET OUT AND VOTE on November 4th! That's the only say-so we have and the only way we have to hold our public servants accountable for their actions. If we don't do our jobs of controlling them we deserve to be controlled BY them!

Rickey Braddam