A Day Before Florida

Tomorrow is the Florida primary. Before I leave for work I’ll walk across the street and cast my ballot. That means I have about 25 hours to figure out which candidate will get my vote.

I hope that’s enough time.

Part of the decision making is easy. There never has been a chance that I would mark Ron Paul’s name on my ballot. His position on the war is the biggest reason I could never vote for him, but not the only one. And frankly, who would want to be associated with the wacko supporters he has attracted?

Mike Huckabee is out as well. His sound bites sound good, but sound good is about all he has going for him. His record in Arkansas speaks louder than the one-liners from the trail, and that’s not good at all.

That eliminates the two that thankfully won’t be causing me a November dilemma.

Leaving me with a choice of McCain, Giuliani, and Romney.

John McCain has much to recommend him, and much more to eliminate him from my picks. BCRAp is a horrible piece of legislation, but although it bears his name he is hardly alone in foisting this on us. Too many people, from all three branches of government, are responsible for that fiasco.

His leadership and support of the gag (no, that’s not a misspelling) of 14 was a huge mistake, but nothing can top his stance on illegal immigration. It doesn’t matter how many times he says that the position he supports isn’t amnesty. It is. More importantly, he still stands behind that position.

The appointment of Dr. Juan Hernandez as his Hispanic Outreach Director should be all anyone who supports strong border security needs to know. Kim Priestap describes him this way:

[. . .] an open-borders, put Mexico first fanatic. He’s a Texas born dual citizen who also served as Director of the Office for Mexicans Living Abroad in Vicente Fox’s administration.

Bull Dog Pundit sums up my thoughts very well.

Certainly McCain’s failure to disavow Gonzalez’s awful views and allowing him to volunteer for the campaign is a slap in the face of conservatives, and belies his claim that he “learned his lesson” on immigration reform, and raises serious doubts that if elected President he won’t push the same kind of amnesty bill that got defeated last year.

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It just boggles the mind that McCain, who up to now has been able to weather the illegal immigration issue as well as can be expected would have this radioactive clown anywhere near his campaign when he needs every conservative vote he can in the upcoming “closed” primaries.

That leaves only Giuliani and Romney.

Giuliani is only slightly ahead of McCain when it comes to illegal immigration. That’s mostly because his influence on the issue was confined to the “It wasn’t a Sanctuary City” Sanctuary City of New York, not the national stage. Gun Control and social issues play a part in my elimination of Giuliani as well, but eliminate him I must.

So, I’m left with three choices — stay home (although I haven’t missed a chance to vote in years), vote for Fred Thompson (who I strongly wish was still a candidate), or vote for Mitt Romney.

Staying home really isn’t an option. It solves nothing and leaves me without a voice in the outcome. I strongly believe that voting is one of the most important things we do as citizens. It doesn’t matter if it’s a primary, the general elections, amendments, or for the proverbial dog catcher (who I can never remember seeing on a ballot). I won’t be staying home.

Some might say that casting my vote for Fred Thompson after he has dropped out of the race is the same as staying home. Maybe. But it sure would feel good. I still believe that he was the candidate that stood closest to the positions I feel strongly about. His policies, well thought out and articulated, are what I think would be best for America. I hope that he still plays a part in this election.

I won’t have to hold my nose if I decide to vote for Mitt Romney. His strength on economic issues is real and I am impressed with his real world experience in that regard. I don’t hold any animus for his change on the right to life issue. His explanation for his change is both understandable and credible. My one big worry is his stance on health care. If he doesn’t try to port what was done in Mass. to the nation it should be ok.

So, I’m now down to 23 hours to decide. I’ll let you know after I do.

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