Who Should Conservatives Vote For?
There is a debate raging among Texas Republicans about whether they should vote in the Democratic Party in order to play a spoiler role. After all, the Democrats and independents did the same thing to Republicans in places like New Hampshire, which has led to us having a likely nominee like John McCain. The following are four options being weighed by Conservatives in Texas:* Vote for John McCain in order to make him look like a stronger candidate as he goes into the general election. This seems to be the least attractive option among Conservative voters that I know.
* Vote for Barack Obama to protect voters from the Clinton machine. She is, without a doubt, the most polarizing candidate in the race for the presidency. Maybe the most divisive, ever. I believe that Obama is the biggest threat in November, however. He's articulate and has virtually no record to run from. Voting for Hillary was the conventional wisdom for some time. To me, it makes zero sense.
The two most logical options to this writer are:
* Voting for Hillary Clinton. I must admit, it is very strange to see that on my screen. However, a vote for Hillary will likely force Democrats to use the delegates voted for in Michigan and Florida in order to have a decisive victory. This means that Obama will be punished for obeying the rules and Hillary would likely come out the winner in a smoke filled room. It will be similar to George McGovern getting the nomination after a brokered convention in 1972 and his giving his acceptance speech at 3 AM. The nominee will limp along to November and Democratic voters will feel very disenfranchised.
* Voting for Mike Huckabee. A vote for Huckabee will remind McCain how hard he still needs to work to satisfy Conservative voters. It will make him weigh his choices for Vice President more seriously and take stronger positions on issues he has been soft on. Furthermore, there are many "RINOs" (Republicans in Name Only) running for office on Texas ballots. If one votes for a Democrat they will not be voicing their opinion on those other races, meaning that moderate Republicans (who would vote for McCain anyway) will determine Republican representation on those other offices. It is too important for RINOs to vote for Republicans.
It is that last argument that will likely have me cast a vote for Huckabee. It will be interesting to see what other Conservatives will be doing this Tuesday.
Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.
Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, RINOs, See How They Run, Texas
posted by Kevin Price at 11:53 AM
6 Comments:
God post. I'll be sharing this with others.
Interesting. I was voting for Obama because of my thoughts on the whole Clinton crew. Your arguments are persuasive.
I hope people vote their real intentions and not go vote with hidden agendas.
It appears the race is over for Huckabee. The "magic number" should be reached tonight.
It appears that a number of Republicans did cross over - some at the polling place in El Lago told me that their friends were voting Obama. Apparently others voted for Hillary. Your point that Hillary would win in a smoke filled room could prove correct. This race shows how low the Clinton's are willing to go. If she gets it McCain will win and the Clinton's will destroy the Dem party in the year it had a real chance to win the White House.
I couldn't agree with you more, which is exactly what Conservatives were hoping for.
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