As a conservative through and through, there are easier things in life (understatement of the year) than making a case on why to vote for John McCain. It is more than coincidence that there are conservative-led websites like Get Drunk and Vote for McCain floating around in cyberspace. McCain is more or less a Democrat-lite, or a as we know him affectionately…a RINO (Republican in Name Only). He is now what Democrats were back in the day…you know, squishy here and there, but not foaming-at-the-mouth crazy like Pelosi and friends. So, even though we conservatives have no other Republican to choose from except a man who believes the global warming nonsense, has one of the worst immigration stances imaginable (a stance that he lied about during the primaries), has taken the lead on a good deal of legislation over the years hostile to the conservative movement, refuses to expose his opponent for the fraud he is, and loves sucking up to those on the left when he should be verbally punishing them for their idiocy, there are positives to John McCain. Pull out your magnifying glass as we chronicle them.

#1. He wants America to win in Iraq. Isn’t it crazy that this is even an issue? The fact that I have to list “wanting America to win a war She is fighting” as a positive should shed some light on the current ideals of the Democratic Party. This is where John McCain is at his best. He was a key contributor in the surge strategy that has worked so well, and as President, he will assuredly finish the job in Iraq, keep America’s military strong, and stay on the offensive against the enemy. He knows that we can’t afford another 8 years of complacency (here’s looking at you Bill Clinton).

#2. He is unabashedly pro-life. While McCain has never been one to talk much about this issue or even to push hard to right the wrongs of Roe vs. Wade, his voting record on protecting the unborn has always been solid.

#3. He has been one of the few Senators outspoken against wasteful spending. Now, whether or not he’ll back that talk with action when in the White House remains to be seen, but thus far, his stance against out of control spending in Washington is refreshing.

#4. He will appoint originalist judges. Along with winning the war on terror, this is reason enough to hold your nose and vote for McCain…that is unless you want a whole new batch of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs making up crazy laws until they die.

#5. He is the alternative to Obama. Shall I go on? I don’t need to, but nevertheless, I shall. This is undoubtedly McCain’s biggest selling point. As far as I’m concerned, Barack Obama is an arrogant, race-baiting, unqualified, liberal snob, and inasmuch as I get physically ill at the thought of him being our next president, I will be equally embarrassed for our country if he does, in fact, actually get elected. I can tell you without hyperbole that I would rather accept the presidential nomination of a 16 year old chosen at random from a pool of high school stoners than watch Barack Obama get swore in to the highest office in the land next January. Therefore, in this case, in this election, it could be easily concluded that I would vote for dang near anyone in the world before I would vote for Obama. This is true. However, this also highlights my philosophy on voting in general. I would like to share it with you.

My viewpoint on voting is such: I will always vote, and I will always vote for whichever candidate best represents my beliefs. Short and sweet, right? Allow me, though, to delve deeper.

First off, I just don’t believe in principled abstention. Sitting out an election because no candidate appeals to you, in my book, is neither constructive nor logical. Say what you will, but not voting for McCain this year will help Obama get elected…period. Why not take the lesser of two evils? There’s nothing immoral about that. It’s how things get done. As sickening as this sounds, if the election were between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, I would show up on election day and punch the ticket for Hillary. Why? Because she is to the right of Obama, that’s why. I know that McCain is at best a disappointing choice for the GOP, but wouldn’t you rather have a President in office that agrees with you some of the time (see reasons above) as opposed to never? Let’s be real; the only instance in which you would ever be 100% in agreement with any candidate is if you were running yourself. I know people that can’t get past McCain’s horrible policy on immigration. For them, it’s a show-stopper. They’ll say that to vote for someone who’s committed to amnesty is in violation of their core principles. Look, I get it. I hate it too. I also hate that he’s suckered in by the global warming scam, or that he seems to get his kicks by sticking it to conservatives…I could go on. I understand your pain. Here’s the reality, though. Here’s the truth. Core principles-schmore principles, sitting out an election is more about feelings than anything. As a conservative, not voting for McCain on principle would probably feel good. I’ll admit it. It would feel good to announce that you’re taking a stand; that you won’t compromise your standards…not this time. Well congratulations about your warm and fuzzy, because what it won’t do is advance the cause of conservatism. Isn’t the goal to elect whoever gives us the best chance to move the country to the right? Politically speaking, John McCain falls somewhere in the middle of the road. Barack Obama veered off to the left a few miles back and is still wandering around in the woods. What am I missing, here?

This isn’t even one of those “voting is your civic duty” rants. You can vote or not vote; this is a free country. Do what you want. However, if you were planning on voting Republican in this election, but now won’t because you don’t agree with McCain on one or even several issues, or are just bitter because he won the nomination and your guy lost, or whatever your beef is, I just want you to know that I vehemently disagree with your position. And if that won’t change your mind and cause you to get off your rusty dusty to support McCain at the ballot box this November (as I assume it won’t), I want you to do me a favor. Close your eyes; lay back; relax…

Comfortable? Now, I want you to look ahead to the spring of 2009 when you notice that you’re not keeping as much money from your paycheck as you once were. I want you to look ahead to 2010 as you watch our troops scuttle home from Iraq prematurely with their tails between their legs. Look ahead to 2012 when radical judges force all of America to accept gay marriage as the law of the land. Look ahead to 2018 when you have to wait 6 months to see your doctor because the government is now in control of your health care. Look ahead to 2024 when America’s social construction appears indiscriminate from France or Sweden. Look ahead to 2036 when China passes us as the world’s superpower. Look ahead to 20?? when we are cleaning up the wreckage of the another terrorist attack on our soil and bracing ourselves for the next one because we no longer possess the fortitude to do anything about it. Squirming in your seat? I’m not trying to sound apocalyptic, but this is the path that Barack Obama will lead us down if we let him win. Are you comfortable with that? Will you be comfortable on election night knowing that you nitpicked your way into justifying your no-show, thus opening the door wide enough for Obama to squeeze through? I couldn’t. Come on; let’s put our bitterness, disappointment, and petty feelings of disdain for McCain aside and together look at the big picture. It is in America’s best interest that John McCain wins this election. Plain and simple.

Well, Aaron, sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom before one rises to the top again. True. I’m not disputing that that happens, but no one should ever strive for rock bottom. If your friend was a drug addict, you wouldn’t begin financing his addiction in hopes that he would almost kill himself, have an epiphany, and then decide to come clean. It’s too big of a risk. What if he actually did kill himself? It’s like the NBA teams that are always dumping good players for cap room or tanking at the end of seasons. When does that ever work? There is a reason that some franchises always lose. The notion that you can make yourself bad intentionally and then just magically become good again is a false and dangerous one. That’s how you turn into the Memphis Grizzlies. Championship teams try to win as many games as possible every single year. It’s the same in politics. So this idea in conservative circles that we should let the Democrats win, and when things get really horrible we’ll pounce, ushering in a new era of conservatism, is sheer stupidity. First of all, in politics (if you haven’t noticed), incumbents almost always win no matter what. There are no guarantees that when you put a liberal in office that he’ll ever get voted out. Secondly, this idea of political-tanking ignores the consequences of letting liberals run wild for 8 years (such as the influx of radical judges who actually can’t get voted out), and thirdly, who’s to say that most Republicans, rather than stand firm for what they know is right, wouldn’t just cave to the Democrats in power (and pull the whole country further to the left) for fear of losing their jobs or simply just being unpopular? Folks, it’s a losing proposition. In fact, this very tactic was employed by many on the right during the 2006 elections. We’ve recovered big time from that haven’t we? Oh, I guess we haven’t hit rock bottom yet…can’t wait. Good strategy guys.

All right, seriously though, I know that many conservatives just aren’t the least bit enthused about John McCain. Hey, I’m one of them. Outside of Rudy Giuliani (even more liberal than Johnny Mac) and Ron Paul (crazy), McCain was my last choice of the Republican nominees. He won, though, and so I…no, we all, are now faced with some tough choices. We can waste our vote on some third party loser. We can sit out the election outright and all but guarantee Obama victory. Or we can get off our freaking high horses of self-righteousness, suck it up, and do what’s right for the country by showing up early on 11/4/08 to vote for John McCain. Hmmm, I guess the choices weren’t so tough after all.