A Special Note to Republicans

I'm sorry. I know this is a hard time for you, really. You have a presidential candidate who is not much of a conservative, and a vice presidential candidate who -- despite being conservative and despite being a draw for those who would like to see a woman in the White House -- probably is doing more harm than good to the campaign. It doesn't help that President Bush, despite being ostensibly a Republican, has spent like a Democrat during his eight years in office. It's a bad time to be a Republican, and it's no surprise that many Republicans are leaving the party. Or, as they say, they're not leaving the party, the party is leaving them.

Whether or not you're as conservative as Ron Paul, if you're truly a Republican (and you're willing to admit the truth), you know that John McCain is simply not up to the task of representing truly conservative voters. He does appeal to those who refuse to admit that President Bush made any mistakes, since McCain is so willing to follow directly in his footsteps, but the "Bush cult" is a very small, if vocal, minority. You know they don't represent real Republican values.

So here is a question you should consider: With a former Republican member of Congress running as the Libertarian candidate for President, and having seen a current Republican member of Congress (who was willing to speak the truth about the mistakes of Bush) receive a vast outpouring of support from Libertarians for his own presidential campaign, isn't it time to set aside all the hot air about how "bad" Libertarians are, and see if maybe it's time to start voting Libertarian?

There's really no better time than right now for the bumper sticker that says "True Republicans Vote Libertarian" (which, if you hurry, you can order and stick on your car before election day).

If you think you have to vote for McCain to keep Obama out of the White House (and there is surely a lot of fear-mongering going on), I hate to tell you that it's probably too late. You need to look beyond this election, since it's unlikely that McCain can pull off a victory. What do you want to happen in 2012? Will it be the same, tired, off-track Republican party that tries to unseat President Obama? If you vote for McCain, you're pushing in that direction. But will it be a re-energized Republican party that gets its act together and returns to true Republican ideals, following a sound defeat this year? A vote for anybody other than McCain could help that happen (and a vote for Bob Barr might be the vote closest to your own ideals). In a "worst" case scenario for "Bush cult" Republicans, a massive shift of support from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party could mean a strong Libertarian contender in 2012, who might be able to put a halt to the big government monster fed by President Obama.

In a nutshell it comes down to this: Being conservative is about your beliefs, not about the name of the party you support. If the Republican Party has strayed too far away from your conservative beliefs, isn't it time to support a party that does match your ideals?

I realize that you may disagree with some aspects of the Libertarian platform, but if you "stay tuned" in the coming weeks, I will try to demonstrate to you that your support for the Libertarian party is both sensible and ethical.