The day after Fred Thompson dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination my good friend Jack emailed to ask who I was going to support. For the first time that I can remember, the only answer I had to give was "undecided."

At the time the choices were McCain, Romney, Rudy, Huckabee, and Paul. The recent primary results that  forced Rudy out, and marginalized Huckabee did nothing to clarify the choice.

I knew that Ron Paul was not going to be my choice. While I support some of what he stands for, a good deal of of what he says is borderline silly and in the area of foreign policy downright dangerous.

Mike Huckabee has always reminded me a little too much of Bill Clinton for comfort. And it's not just the resume, it's the feel of the man and his approach to the campaign. Charm and wit over substance. And even as a non-smoker the fact that even considered the idea of national smoking ban is offensive to my sense of liberty.

This left a choice between John McCain and Mitt Romney.

The conservative side of the blog and punditry world has been boiling with ever increasing hyperbole over who is or isn't the real conservative. The insanity may have reached its pinnacle with the queen of conservative hyperbole, Anne Coulter, declaring that if John McCain were to become the GOP nominee she would campaign for Hillary Clinton. Because in her opinion, Hillary would be the more "conservative" candidate.

I am reasonably sure that if you ask 100 pundits and political experts what "conservative" means you would get 100 different answers. I am also reasonably certain that none of them would encompass Mrs. Clinton. I know with absolute certainty that I don't care.

I am not a "movement" person. I'm not a "movement conservative" I'm not part of any Libertarian movement, and certainly not signing on to the "Ron Paul Revolution." And I do not look at a candidate or an issue and make decisions based on where they stand according to any movement.

I make an individual decision based on the individual. I'd rather do the work.

Since I still owed Jack an answer, I got busy. I took a long hard look at at the two remaining choices in the Republican Party. I also looked at the offerings from the other side of the aisle. But another movement I am most certainly not signing on to is  the "more socialism in America" movement so that ruled them out very quickly.

What I found is that I really want neither McCain or Romney to be president.

The McCain/Fiengold trampling of the First Amenedment was probably more of black mark than McCain could ever overcome, so I didn't need to consider his connection to the Keating Five S&L scandal, the McCain/Kennedy Comprehensive amnesty bill, or the McCain/Lieberman eco-socialism bill.

There are number of stated policy positions from Mitt Romney with which I am in agreement. However so much of what he says he stands for is based on Presidential Primary Conversion that I can't be sure what is real. The Massachusetts universal health care law is also a concern. The apologists for Romney point out that he was faced with  an overwhelming wave of Democrats in the legislature and that it was go along or they would have done it without him. So he went along to get along. Principle be damned. What will he do in the oval office when faced with a Democrat majority congress?

It comes down to a choice between a wolf, and potential wolf in sheep's clothing.

So with the Connecticut primary approaching as part of Super-Duper Tuesday what do I tell my friend Jack?

I have decided to abstain.

I cannot support any candidate currently running for the Republican nomination.

I will support whoever the GOP decides to run against the Democrats. Even if it's John McCain.

There is saying in politics of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. I don't think either McCain or Romney rise to the level of good, but they certainly rise well above either candidate from the other party.

UPDATE: If you or Jack are looking for more detailed information on why not to vote for McCain, start here.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 11:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment