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An Undecided Decides
By Chuck Muth
November 1, 2004

http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2004/cm_1101p.shtml


A week ago in this column I announced that I was still undecided on who to vote for (or against, depending on how you look at it) in Tuesday's presidential election. I've now made my decision after receiving some valuable input from several readers.

To review, I'm under no illusion that this race is between anybody but George W. Bush and John Kerry. None of the other third-party candidates has a prayer and are factors only in their ability to "spoil" the race for somebody else or provide a haven for "protest" votes.

And while I'm not "for" President Bush because of so many disagreements with his version of big-government Republicanism, I'm definitely against John Kerry. He's a naïve, ignorant fool who will get a lot more of us killed. And as to all the talk, mostly by him, about his being a war hero and all, I was reminded this week that Benedict Arnold was also a war hero early on in the Revolutionary War. And we all know how that turned out, don't we?

No, the only reason I was considering a vote for a candidate other than George W. Bush is the fact that I reside in a state, Maryland, which is already safely in John Kerry's column. The president is elected by the Electoral College, not the popular vote. So folks who live in states solidly for Bush or Kerry *could* comfortably cast a "protest" vote without it impacting on the actual final result.

Nevertheless, some rabid Bush partisans wrote telling me to vote for Bush anyway because...well, just because. Pure, blind, lockstep partisanship. Forget about runaway spending, McCain-Feingold, steel tariffs, Teddy Kennedy's education bill, amnesty for illegal aliens, etc., etc., etc. Don't think. Just vote for Bush, you idiot!
On the other hand, some other readers actually provided three very rational, thoughtful reasons for casting a ballot for President Bush even in a non-battleground state.

First and foremost, a huge popular vote victory for President Bush, in addition to an Electoral College victory, will send an unmistakable message to Islamic terrorists that this country is united to wiping them out, not negotiating with them. This argument became particularly relevant in light of Osama bin Laden's last minute pro-Kerry independent expenditure on Friday. A "protest" vote sends a message to Republicans that we're gonna hold their feet to the fire, but a vote for the President sends a message to the terrorists that we're gonna kick their rump.
Secondly, although the rules of the game mean competing for victory in the Electoral College, failure to win the popular vote convincingly will cut loose the horde of lawyers the Democrats have amassed to challenge any close election. And that could drag the decision out for weeks...if not months. We do not want our presidential elections decided by lawyers. The time to put a stop to this foolishness is now.

And lastly, although I still believe the president should win going away on Tuesday, we are seeing indications of massive vote fraud from the left. In addition, we've witnessed sustained acts of violence and vandalism by forces backing John Kerry. Frankly, if this race is indeed as close as the pundits and pollsters say it is, such fraud and intimidation by the left could actually be successful. This wouldn't be the first election the left has stolen. We simply cannot allow cheaters to prosper.

The bottom line: There is a time and there are elections where registering a "protest" vote is wholly appropriate. This election in wartime isn't one of them.

An electoral loss combined with a close popular vote would give Kerry a PR victory which he could then use to unleash his plague of legal vultures on the nation. This would, in turn, give aid and comfort to our enemies. To avoid this nightmare, one must trust that Sen. Kerry will ultimately do the right thing for the good of the nation. Well, he never has before. Why would he start now?

So on Tuesday I'll be casting my vote to re-elect President Bush. Others may come to a different conclusion, and I respect that. The president hasn't made it easy for limited-government conservatives in this election. But the stakes are just too high...literally life and death...to place this country's future in the hands of a man who would subject its security to a "global test." John Kerry must not only be defeated...but be defeated convincingly. This undecided has decided.
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Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Citizen Outreach.
He may be reached at chuck@citizenoutreach.com
--------------------Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.