Don't throw your vote away

Beth has the right of it. Voting is our right and responsibility in this country, and the talk I've heard of conservatives voting for the Dems or not voting at all, as some kind of statement to the Republican party just drives me up a wall. I believe that you should vote for the person who you feel will represent you. Old fashioned, I know. Don't vote for the Democratic challenger to your Congressman or Senator just because you are pissed off at the party. Especially if you didn't write to them or call them during the legislative sessions to tell them exactly how you felt. Vote for the best person, or leave that box empty if you must. Read the initiatives, the pros and cons on the candidates, and go to the polls and weigh in on every issue you have a right to. Don't throw your vote out the window like a child throwing a tantrum, for heavens sake! Also consider helping candidates outside of your district/state. I agree with Hugh Hewitt, we must support the best candidates in the tight races. Protect the political strength of the party. The alternative is too awful to consider: So, the Dems will finally return from the political wilderness and Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Murtha, and Chairmen Conyers and Rangel will team with Majority Leader Reid and Chairman Leahy to: Force a retreat from Iraq; throw money at Kim Jong Il; talk to Ahmadinejad and then throw him a Framework Agreement; Refuse to extend the tax cuts and thus cost every American real dollars every month and large chunks of the estates of their Greatest Generation parents as they pass away; Refuse to confirm qualified judges and blockade Bush nominees in the event any of the Supreme Court's aging elite retire? *shudder* The very thought makes my skin crawl. After the dust of this election settles, if you want to make changes, then go out and get involved. Get hooked up with your local party connections, and make the system work by bringing fresh ideas into the party. As you vote this year, remember that we are at war, that we have men and women in uniform around the world who are fighting to help the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan to keep their new voting rights. Don't you dare let them down.