Polls in South Carolina have been open for around an hour. If the opinion polls are correct John McCain and Mike Huckabee are battling for the win while Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney are virtually tied in the fight for third. Weather and turnout will play a part as well.

I have little expectation that what I write here will change that. I have no expectation that what I write here will even be read by enough South Carolinians to have any impact at all. Still, let me make my case:

If you live in South Carolina and are about to vote in the Republican primary there please don’t vote for McCain or Huckabee. They are not men who would advance conservative ideals important to you and the rest of the country.

As much respect as John McCain deserves for his service to the country, that does not make him the best person to lead the country. His support of such non-conservative initiatives as McCain - Feingold and the “Gang of 14″ should weigh heavily as you look elsewhere. Please don’t inflate his military service into the idea that he would lead conservatively.

Mike Huckabee would be an even worse choice. In spite of his words on the campaign trail his record in Arkansas should be quite enough to send you looking in a different direction. His convenient conversions on immigration and fiscal policy coupled with his view of the roll of government are just scary.

While his observation that God’s laws don’t change is absolutely correct, the idea that it is the role of government to implement God’s law is contrary to our nation’s history and plain good sense. Fred Thompson’s quote from a few days ago, “Christ didn’t tell us to go to the government and pass a bill to get some of these social problems dealt with. He told us to do it,” is quite the better way to understand the role of each. At the core this should be the big difference between the liberals and conservatives, the left looking to the government for the answers to societies ills (and solving them in their own frightening way), the right should continue to support what we have historically stood for — the primary importance of the individual.

One final appeal; please don’t base your vote today on who appears to be winning, or the notion that the candidate you support may not seem to have a chance. Look at the stands they have taken and the record they have amassed and then come out of the voting booth with the confidence that you supported the very best person to lead our nation.

Thanks for listening.