Republicans are up a creek without a brain!

Alternate titles for this blog entry:

Who do I vote for now?
President Hillary Clinton?
Feeling the pain with John McCain
Red or Blue?
Would your mama approve of Obama?
What does it feel like to be a Democrat?
"Mitt, Mitt, Mitt..."

Mitt Romney, in a speech this past week, chose to "suspend" his run for the presidency. It has literally caused a lot of recent thoughts to become a reality and has left me and others with a few choices. More on the choices later, but for now, here are some of my thoughts over the past few weeks... and as I finish this entry I can't help but think that Mitt may know something that we don't. Why did he pull out of the race so early? As he announced his decision publicly, the cries of, "No! No!" from some of those in attendance say it all.

While waiting in line to vote this last "Super Tuesday" I welcomed the 30 minutes of calm in what was shaping up to be a crazy week (parent-teacher conferences = working 12-hour days). I spent some time reading the walls, watching people, chatting to the woman next to me, and pondering my political choices. I stood there as one of the 3 out of 5 Utahns that are registered voters but have not declared themselves as affiliated with a party.

Yup, 60% of Utahns have not declared themselves as either Democrats or Republicans. I think of myself as a fairly intelligent and informed voter, one who chooses candidates that I feel are honest and would best represent us on different matters. Honestly, here in Utah, many Democratic candidates running for local, state, and national positions are actually quite conservative. Running as a conservative Democrat in Utah is like having to wear your sister's pink coat to school because you lost yours- and you want to arrive at your destination without freezing to death. You just put it on, run like heck, and then ditch it in the bushes outside. It can be easily retrieved it at the end of the day when everyone else is long gone. In what is largely a red (Republican) state some look down their noses at Democrats, but a whole big chunk of the state is voting for them. One of our current representatives in the U.S. Congress, Jim Matheson (D), won by a landslide. I'll bet that half of the people or more that voted for him typically vote for those on the Republican ticket. A private ballot allows for many of us to be "closet Democrats," if you will. In Utah the two-party system often allows us to pick between two conservatives. I think it's kind of funny to discover that in many cases, the Democratic candidates are actually as conservative- if not more- than their Republican opponent. Some local/state candidates think that just because they're "Republican" that we should vote for them. They also think that they are therefore not required to have a brain and assume that we do not have one either.

So there I was in line- and was reflecting on if why I wasn't registered as a "Republican." I thought I had changed it at a caucus meeting some years before. Earlier in the day I had looked up my polling location on-line and did find that I was in fact "registered as unaffiliated." I would have to fill out that little paper in front of everybody and acknowledge my political neutrality in public.

I had some other thoughts while in line. They are very similar to those expressed by Heidi in her "Bamamoma" blog. Knowing that Romney was a shoo-in here in Utah, should I vote for Obama in hopes that it might circumvent one little delegate vote going to her campaign? Hillary received 9 Utah delegates and Obama 14.

My choices now are:
1. Write in Mitt Rommey when I vote this November.

2. Vote for somebody else. What does McCain have to offer? What are Obama's positions on national security, moral issues, etc.? Mr. Obama has a lot of charisma but does he have the strength to lead a nation? I think I'd rather write in Mitt, but will that help get someone into office with whom I agree even less? I'll have to do my research. Obama seems very pro-family and seems to want Americans to put their best foot forward. Let's hope that he will gain the edge over Hillary because of his "we-can-do-it-together" attitude. That motivates people more than Hillary's "I'll solve all your problems" rhetoric.

3. Vote for McCain? Right now I can't bear the thought. Maybe he'd get smart, further unify the party, and choose Mitt as his V.P. running mate. That'd be a miracle. McCain would definitely benefit from Mitt's proven business background, sound advice, and national support. Maybe Mitt has some insider information that we don't. He has a lot of connections and support from within the party on the national level. Continuing to run the race against McCain may have further pitted the two against each other, and pulling out may be an opportunity for reconciliation- AND consequently put Mike Huckabee in the hot seat. Speculation is that McCain will choose Huckabee as his running mate, but pulling out before Huckabee may have been Mitt's way of offering the olive branch first. I know who I'd choose as my running buddy if I were McCain. Right now this is the only way that I could bring myself to vote for him.

4. Wait to see how things play out and then make an informed decision in November. It'll be interesting to see what happens on both sides. Who will McCain choose as his potential V.P.? Who will win the Democratic nomination?

I think it is important for leaders to require more from those they lead- not just promise them ease and prosperity. "Prosperity" and "wealth" is relative and cannot be measured in monetary terms. It is found by children whose families may be on the lower rungs of the social-economic ladder, but know that they are loved because their parents and their community care about them and teach them.

Tell me your thoughts! (or at least tell me where the typos are...)
-Loren