Posted in Rantings

I'm incredibly fired up, and not necessarily in a happy way.

Let me lay a little background for you. I grew up Republican. I was active on campus in college as a Republican. My family members are Republican. I think I currently hold an office as a Republican (I haven't heard from them on the election yet).

Last election, though, I became an independent, in position if not party. I felt betrayed by Bush, a supposed Christian who made a lot of anti-Christian decisions and clearly departed from Republican foundations. I started looking at the Constitution party, simply because they claimed to want to return to the Constitution. Lately, though, I've decided not to follow them either; their party platform says only Christians are qualified for office -- while I'd rather vote for a Christian, that particular stance nullifies the freedoms our country is founded on and tells me that Christians are more willing to vote for "one of our own" than someone who is truly qualified for office. You want to vote for a Christian? Become a Christian candidate we can vote for.

Anyway, someone at my former office told me about Ron Paul. He ended up being the co-chair of our local Meet Up group, and once dh and I decided to put our support behind Paul, he was the one to supply us with the 4x8 sign we nailed to the highway end of our house.

We found that Paul was the only candidate out there who actually voted according to the Constitution. When the federal government was going to be granted powers held by the states, he consistently voted against it. He's adamantly against abortion, but voted down measures limiting it because, according to our Constitution, those are states' rights -- not something the federal government is supposed to be meddling in.

We knew some of his plans were shocking and unconventional -- like destroying the IRS -- but I seem to remember that our country was founded on the idea that no government had control over our lives, that we should have a say in any government we created, and that war against an oppressive government was sometimes warranted. I acknowledged that voting Paul into office may have led to civil war, but if that was what it took to get my freedom back, I was willing to enlist myself. (They'd never take me with my health issues, but I'd sign up anyway -- just give me or let me use my gun like in the revolutionary war.) I was 100% behind this man, as were a decent number of our friends and family, including my 87yo grandmother and my 8yo daughter.

At the county caucus, the Ron Paulers stole the show. Two-thirds of our delegates were RPs, and we were hearing the same from the rest of Eastern Washington. But when our delegates got to the state level. the head of the state Repub party pulled some pretty blatant illegal stunts, allowing in appointed delegates from other counties (illegal in our state) and hijacking our state caucus. There's actually a lawsuit going on over this.

So we were devastated to hear Paul was pulling out of the race. We didn't know who to vote for now; we didn't like any of the voting records of the other candidates -- and yes, we looked up the records ourselves! I know how McCain has voted, and I knew we didn't want him leading (or waffling over leading) our country.

A few days later, a former congressman from our area called me and asked if I'd run for PCO in my neighborhood. As a RPer himself, he asked if I would work to reinvent the Repub party from the inside out. My goal became to get on the platform committee for our county caucus, and to get to the state caucus next time around to stop the illegal moves (I'm just slightly vocal when I'm upset!). Paul had told his followers that this was the only way to return the Repub party to its foundations of small government and big freedom.

So I watched the convention closely tonight, knowing that Palin really seemed like my kind of gal. We turned on CSPAN two hours before she spoke, and were disgusted by what we saw and heard. Every speaker leading up to the big wigs praised McCain for his lengthy track record voting for us conservatives. I screamed "No, he doesn't!" at my TV too many times to count. I've read his record! He's a liberal! We don't have liberal and conservative parties in the two main ones anymore -- we have Marxist and liberal! I was pretty upset by this time.

Finally, Palin took the platform. I love her! She has a sweeter version of my sassiness! While she debunked the left's and the media's lies about her with a modicum of grace and a slight smirk, I would have levelled the place with a smug glare. She did it with humor and eloquence. DH and I purely enjoyed her speech ... all except the parts where she praised McCain. I would love to have her as President instead of him, or better yet, Palin and Paul in some order as our ticket. I pray McCain doesn't bring her down, because her record of bucking the system is what this country needs. I hope that someday she wakes up and realizes that she can get a better co-candidate next time. But in all, I was happy with what I saw of her.

Then came the roll call vote. Being a devout RPer in mourning, I counted the votes for my favorite candidate. Paul received 15 votes, four from my own state. At the end of McCain's overwhelming victory, the final tally was declared -- and they messed it all up! They gave Paul only five, got Romney's two right, and even understated the total for McCain by one. Plus, there were about forty votes (I think that was the total) from N. Carolina that weren't even allocated to a candidate.

That's when I nearly lost it. I know the liberal Repubs chose McCain months ago, and they would do anything (as we saw in our state) to get him on the platform, but ignoring us RPers is not a good tactic. Yes, Paul is out of the race, but the point was to send a message to the Repub party that they need to make some serious changes. Yes, Palin is a step in the right direction, but she's tied to someone who can't seem to make a consistent stand, who consistently votes against our Constitution, and who IS Washington-as-usual.

Did you know that the Repub party did not invite Paul, a Republican senator, to the convention? That he was told he could come -- but alone -- and they might be able to swing a temporary pass for him? And then they miscount his votes? And the CSPAN anchor has the gall to say, "And why does that even matter?"

I'm upset, frustrated, and heartbroken tonight. I want so much for my country, and I'm so worried for it. Obama will literally destroy this country in four years, but McCain will surely severely cripple it in the same time. Pray, people -- only the grace of God will save this country. So much is so severely wrong, and the people around us -- maybe even you -- don't know or don't care. Pray and vote, though I can't suggest who to vote for now.