Hoosiers, Vote May 6!

By averagejoeblogs Posted in 2008 — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Indiana As the sun rises on the American Midwest tomorrow, so will it rise upon the Indiana Presidential Primary -- a primary that is essentially a formality for Republicans across the state (though there are several state and local reasons to vote).

As Senator John McCain is the "presumptive" nominee (as if Congressman Ron Paul even stands a chance of mounting a real challenge), and most of the early Republican candidates (including those which I felt more strongly about supporting) have long since dropped out of the race, voting in the Presidential Primary portion of tomorrow's election might seem useless.

You could go to the polls and throw away your vote on Congressman Ron Paul. You could toe the party line and support our eventual nominee by casting your vote for John McCain. You could fall victim to the Rush Limbaugh crowd and (because Indiana is an open primary state) cast your vote for the Democrat candidate whom you feel would be most likely to lose in November. Or, you could just sit at home and not vote at all.

Having a hard time making up your mind? Allow me to help.

First, I frankly don't care how you vote in the Indiana Presidential primary tomorrow. If you're voting Republican, it really doesn't matter for whom you vote, as Senator McCain already has it locked up. If you're throwing away your vote on a Democrat in hopes of making a Republican victory in November easier, shame on you. Do you really want to be responsible for helping the worst Democrat win the White House should something happen between now and election day that makes John McCain unable to run? Really, a Democrat is bad enough, but the worst Democrat, well, that's just unbearable (remember Bill Clinton, or Jimmy Carter?).

How you vote tomorrow in the Presidential Primary is not important at all. That you vote is of paramount importance! The very act of going to the poll and casting a ballot for the candidate of your choice without fear of reprisal is what makes this country America. It is not a right that was given to us. It is a right that red-blooded Americans throughout history have fought and died for. It is a right that we can defend in one of two ways: 1) defend it by exercising it -- vote every time the polls are open; 2) lose it by not using it, then risk your life fighting to get it back.

Not only is voting your blood-earned right, it is your patriotic duty! Just as those who have died to establish and defend the freedom that we enjoy in this country did so in answer to the call of duty, as an American, it is your duty to make the trip to the polls and cast a ballot on election day. It is what freedom is all about.

"But don't I have the freedom not to vote?" you might ask. Of course you do. You have the freedom not to vote. You have the freedom not to serve. You have the freedom not to defend. You have the freedom to sit back and watch while the strong prevail and the weak fail. You have the freedom to have your say, cast your vote, and be one of the strong. Or you have the freedom to sit back, uninvolved, uninterested, and be one of the weak.

You have the freedom to succeed, or fail. What will you choose?

Joe

Redstate