Tuesday's Election

I've tried to stay away from politics on this blog which I'm sure has surprised many of you who know me. The reason I made that decision though was to try and keep this blog as upbeat and non-controversial as possible. I know many of my readers don't share my political affiliation and I hate to make people feel uncomfortable or, worse, angry.

But there's an election on Tuesday. A very important election. I was going to ignore it (on my blog, anyway) but I just can't. It's too important. There's far too much at stake. There are many reasons I'm voting as I am which is, in case you don't know me, almost universally Republican.

There are a few local races where I am crossing party lines but generally I'm voting my conservative conscience.

Why?

Locally we're in trouble. Businesses are being driven out of Wisconsin for a multitude of reasons, all of which warrant a change in administration, but the most frightening is the underhanded way our current governor is doing business. There are multiple (multiple!) examples of companies being denied a state contract, said business giving the Doyle campaign an obscene amount of money and -voila!- they're awarded a no-bid contract. Liberal or conservative, this should be more than a little troubling and, in my opinion, should negate every reason someone might have to vote for him.

And no, they (politicians) don't all do it. They aren't all corrupt and they aren't all the same (ethically). Contracts are for sale in Wisconsin and Jim Doyle needs to go.

My representative in the House will win, so I don't really feel the need to puff him up, but I will say the I generally believe Republicans deserve to return to Washington. Many of you know it pains me to say that. Most of the Republicans in the House and Senate have been abusing my conservative sensibilities for a few years now, and many haven't been much better than a mainline Democrat, fiscally speaking.

But that's the problem. Today's Democrat isn't yesterday's Democrat. Today's Democrat is a Howard Dean, Moveon.org Democrat. Need proof? Just look to Connecticut where the Democrat’s 2000's vice-presidential candidate was cut loose for daring to support the War in Iraq.

For the War in Iraq or against it, we're now there. America's troops are in harm's way and what happens there will directly affect global terrorism for years to come. We need to win in Iraq, and we need to win decisively. The election of anyone who's suggested they might even consider a premature pullout is extremely dangerous, in my humble opinion, not just for the troops who are there but also for a nation that was brutally attacked six short years ago.

Terrorists are still out there. We know what their goals are and anything less than total victory on our part means that someday, somewhere, we will once again fall victim to some vile plot. Their depravity and the evidence of their past destruction is a dangerous combination and not one I'm willing to trust into the hands of a party whose leader said that the idea that we might be able to win in Iraq is "just plain wrong."

I’m not looking to incite a riot here, or even a debate really (though of course you’re free to respond!) but I want to articulate a little of what I’m feeling about tomorrow, why I’m voting the way I am and why I feel it’s so important.

Thanks for reading!