A Rock and a Hard Place

About 3 months ago it was not unheard of for me toli utter the sentence, "I'm voting for Bob Barre," or "I'll never vote for John McCain." I was, and still am, completely disillusioned with our entire electoral process, a process whose objective seems to be to limit the voting choices of the American people as opposed to expanding them. I was very determined to show the two-party establishment that there are other choices if one is only brave enough to pull the lever for them.

Since that time, my opinions on Mr. McCain have softened, thanks in large part to his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. She seems to be a true conservative, and the only one on the ticket who has actually been an executive. Yes, I could actually see myself voting Republican in November.

Yet there is something in the back of mind that makes me uneasy, a feeling that won't go away, a timy little man named Conscience that keeps saying, "John McCain is really a Democrat you know. The only thing that even makes him seem conservative is that the other guy is a communist." Yes, Conscience is wise, and leaves me with the question, "To vote or not to vote..."

So I started thinking today in an effort to solve the above conundrum. I mean, it should be simple... either I vote for Barre, McCain, or I don't vote. It's three choices, it's not like ordering chinese food. And my thought process proceeds as follows....

"So obviously I should vote for Bob Barre. I'm much closer to the Libertarian Party than I am to the Republican Party, so I would be voting my conscience, which is what our founding fathers intended for us in the first place before power corrupted the minds of our most powerful. So what if I would be wasting my vote by giving it too a candidate who is only going to get MAYBE 5%? That's why third parties always do so poorly. Nobody wants to feel like they wasted their vote by giving it to an unelectable candidate. If only people voted their consciences without regard to the final outcome, then maybe some of these third parties would show that they could win. So what if Barre's 5% of the vote costs McCain the election? Like they say, we needed 1976 to get 1980, and maybe we are at that point again. Maybe we are so hard-headed that we need to taste socialism before we realize how good we have it now. I mean, how much damage could Obama really do????"

"No really, how much damage could he do? Obama + Pelosi + Reid = USSR. Four years is a long time to have our executive and legislative branches controlled by lunatics. We would have to spend four years rooting on Republican filibusters. Assuming they'll be able to filibuster. What if Democrats gain seats in the Senate, pushing their advantage to 60 votes. Is that even possible this election? Filibuster would become impossible, and then watch out. Avoiding that nightmare needs to be a priority, and so I guess I should vote for John McCain. I guess it isn't all bad. Sarah Palin is on the ticket. Maybe she'll rub off."

"John McCain is really a Democrat you know. The only thing that even makes him seem conservative is that the other guy is a communist....maybe I should just stay home. No...that's like a football team not knowing what play to run, so they just keeping taking delay of game penalties because they don't want to make a mistake. Gotta vote... There's always Bob Barre..."

Hopefully this gives you a sense of my dilemma. Any thoughts? Can anyone argue with my conscience?