I, on the other hand, will vote REPUBLICAN. Because I believe the ideology of the party and because there is NO WAY I would help a Democrat to win.
Where did I go wrong raising this kid?!? I shall pray for his political soul . . . . :)

Well, Mother, I think you did a pretty good job raising Connor. As a matter of fact, I would assume that both you and your husband are probably pretty neat people too. The apple never really falls far from the tree. Never forget, he has an inalienable right to be wrong, to make any silly political decision he wants. At least he is thinking, and at least he is involved!

The worst thing, for me, would to be apathetic about our nation’s future. And we can disagree without being disagreeable!!! I am a Democrat, and have been treated with respect on this blog. I think we all want the same thing which is a better America for our children to inherit.

Oh, lovely. Now I have to pray for Connor AND Robert! :)
I’m just delighted to see young people who are actively THINKING and PARTICIPATING!!! That’s awesome. And eventually, you will come to the truth . . . :)
(Sorry – I have a WICKED sense of humor so you must rarely take what I say seriously . . . . )

Oh, brother. Now I have to FAST AND pray . . . .

Thanks, Connor’s Mom, for the prayers! I feel, however, I am a probably a lost cause. In 1979, I went and voted for Jimmy Carter after he suceeded the election to Ronald Regan! There were actually quite a few who did the same thing.

A copy of part of what I said earlier:

I just find is so funny how all the Liberals (and Independants?) are trying really hard to make is sound like Christians and Conservatives should vote differently than they have for a long time. I point out this blog and the one at BCC about kicking “the bum Republicans” out. What a JOKE! The best things like this are going to do, and the opposition is counting on it, is give the Christians and Conservatives pause about voting at all. They certainly aren’t going to vote for people they believe hate everything they stand for and make or not make laws to back that up.

My prediction this Nov.? Republicans keep all three Houses with perhaps a slightly less majority. If I am wrong? Two years from Nov. will see one of the greatest Repub. turnouts since the mid 90s.

Mother, have you considered the fact that you have taught your son to believe in constitutional principles, and that your son is seeking to find some party or group that represents those principles? Many old-timers believed that these principles were better found in the Republican Party. However, the Republican Party no longer espouses those principles. The Republicans no longer believe in fiscal responsibility, Geneva Conventions, Bill of Rights, etc, and now believe in imperial dominion, torture, scandals of all sorts, etc. Most Americans will go to the polls and vote for the “lesser of two evils.” It is very true that both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are both evil to the core, and we will of a fact be voting for the lesser of the two evils. Sadly, our vote means nothing anymore, and both you and Connor will be throwing your votes away if you use one of those black-box voting machines. As for myself, I have registered to vote absentee, so that at least MY vote will have some sort of paper trail. But I have not yet decided to vote Democratic or other 3rd party. I will probably vote for Steve Olsen (D), and 3rd party on everybody else. But I cannot bring myself to vote for anyone in the Republican Party because of what their party has morphed into since the neo-cons have come to power.

Oh, and did I mention that 9/11 was indeed an inside job, and that illegal war on Iraq that has killed 600,000 innocent civilians?

Republicans have had six years to prove themselves. They failed. They are not conservative, nor for small government. They use Christians for votes and care not for compassion, much less conservatism. They only wish to have more votes than the other guy. Those are not the qualities of good governance.

I fear though that even when (not if) Republicans lose this November, they will do all in their power to shut government down these next to years so in 2008 they can go to the public and proclaim Democrats as ineffective governors, even though their attempts to gridlock Congress would be at the heart of the ineffectual government. i.e. I believe the Republican party no longer cares about actually taking care of the country, but sticking it to the Democrats.

Is that really the party of principle?

I’m not the first person to say this, but Republicans are probably more unable to govern because of their philosophy, not in spite of it.

At the heart of conservatism is this notion that government is inefficient, can’t be trusted with power, and is part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Remember Grover Norquist’s famous quote about shrinking government to the size where it can be drowned in the bathtub.

Would a person with those ideas be a good person to govern? You wouldn’t hire a fire fighter who thought that fire departments were ineffective and had to be kept powerless. What about an orchestra conductor who hated music?

Republicans have contempt for government. That’s why they don’t try to do better at it and try to loot it if possible. And it’s why they can’t govern.

All “labels” aside, what about the independent party? I recently took a pretty quality quiz on MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) concerning various issues that helped me decide where I stand, and from there, which candidates supported the issues I most value. I found it very helpful, especially with the misleading television and radio ads that are out there these days (does anyone else find them less than informative!?) Just as economics thrives on good old fashioned competition, it appears we have two political monopolies that are dominating the ballot, almost beyond the point of return. Why not give the other guys a chance? FOR REAL. Otherwise, we might always be forced to choose between the “lesser of two evils.” In all of life, it’s not always black and white, right or wrong, what about the compromise, the middle ground, the alternative choices!
As Connor so eloquently pointed out, at this point it’s just a power struggle, about which team is bigger and mightier. The real issues are being overlooked.
But, like it sounds many of you already plan to do, VOTE VOTE VOTE. It doesn’t matter WHO you vote for, but it’s IMPERATIVE that you DO VOTE.

Connor,

it is worse than that. On my blog, I discuss how Diebold machines can be hacked into very easily and without a trace. So how can we trust that the machine will give out accurate information at the polls. I really worry about this election.

Thanks, I didn’t click on your link, as I thought it led to the manufacturer’s page. Yeah, scary stuff.

Out of fear for losing my vote inside some rigged black box, I have applied for an absentee ballot at the county courthouse. I don’t know if this will actually help anything, but I conclude that my vote will at least reside on some piece of paper somewhere. And since I’ve read this morning’s paper about a debate between Rob Bishop and Steve Olsen, I’ve decided I cannot even trust Olsen to represent my views. I think I will be voting a straight ticket of the Constitution Party.