Super Tuesday

Greetings, everyone!

Twenty-two states are voting tomorrow. Any candidate with a significant lead will likely go undefeated to the general election in November. If you live in one of the states voting in the February 5 primaries (listed below), make sure you get to the polls tomorrow and cast your vote for the candidate you believe in.

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Georgia • Illinois • Massachussetts • Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • New Jersey • New Mexico (Democratic only) • New York • North Dakota • Oklahoma • Tennessee • Utah • West Virginia

If you are a registered Republican (as I assume most or all of you are), please allow me to present some last-minute thoughts. (If you have already made up your mind about whom you will vote for and are immovably firm in that decision, you may disregard the remainder of this email.)

Voting is not about strategy; it is about values. Your vote is your voice in the United States government. Do not allow the popularity of a candidate to sway your opinion. Vote for the man who holds your values and allow God to determine the results of the election. We are supposed to vote FOR candidates, not AGAINST them. I have heard multiple arguments in favor of voting for a candidate the voter does not agree with merely to prevent a "worse" candidate from making the ticket. This is a distortion of the system. Do not vote for any candidate but the one you most firmly believe should be placed in the White House.

Finally, I humbly present for your consideration my understanding and opinion of the five Republican candidates currently running for President:

• John McCain Among his many problems, he is responsible for co-authoring the McCain-Feingold bill which severely restricts free speech in political campaigns, the McCain-Kennedy bill favoring amnesty for illegal immigrants, and the McCain-Lieberman bill attempting to address "global warming" by adding a new tax on fuel.

• Mike Huckabee A favorite among evangelicals for his time spent as a pastor of a Southern Baptist church, "Huck" is widely praised by voters who hang on his words without looking at his record. As governor of Arkansas, he raised taxes significantly (though he claims he'll never do that as president). He claims to support homeschooling, and was endorsed by HSLDA early on in the race, only to receive the endorsement of the National Education Association later on — one of the greatest proponents of centralized government education and a strong opponent of homeschooling. I've been told that he received this endorsement for his "honesty", but how honest can a man be considered who claims he never supported amnesty for illegal aliens when his record proves otherwise?

• Mitt Romney Besides the fact that he's a Mormon, Romney's problems include supporting unconstitutional gun bans, softness on amnesty, and proposing a law requiring convicted child predators (including first-time offenders) to be placed under lifetime GPS tracking — utterly defying the Fourth Amendment.

• Ron Paul Paul has demonstrated for twenty years in Congress that he understands and supports the US Constitution. He earned the nickname of "Dr. No" for incessantly fighting against unconstitutional legislation. For a long time I was a strong opponent of Ron Paul because of his firm desire to leave Iraq, but this was due to a misconception of what the "war in Iraq" is (more info below). Ron Paul wants to bring home our troops from 170 military bases around the world — America is a sovereign nation, not the world's police force. By bringing home troops which are accomplishing basically nothing where they are, our homeland security will be greatly strengthened and the impending possibility of a national draft will be eliminated.

• Alan Keyes The only other candidate I would be comfortable supporting, his website demonstrates that he has a clear understanding of the Constitution and is serious about upholding it. However, he does not in any way appear to be serious about running for president. He has done little or no advertising whatsoever; few people even know he's in the race. In fact, in the Florida primaries, he was beaten 5 to 1 (~22,000 votes vs. ~4,000 votes) by Fred Thompson who had dropped out of the running a few days before. This is not Keyes's first race; in fact, he has run for president twice before. He knows what is required, but his campaign leads me to strongly believe that he is not committed to gaining the presidency. I am not going to vote for a candidate that couldn't care less whether he wins or loses.

The War in Iraq:

The US military is currently doing two things in Iraq.

1) We are rebuilding Iraq's government. This may seem like a nice, charitable thing to do, but in reality it is not. It is the arrogant presumption that our form of government is the only one in the world that works and that our people are the best ones in the world to teach the Iraquis how to run their government. In essence, we are playing "big brother" to Iraq, setting up a government that is based on Western values which are largely foreign to these people and then scratching our heads and wondering why it's not working and why they hate us so much for trying to help. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires or even condones America telling another country how to rule themselves. American people are certainly at liberty to assist people in need, but it is not the role of the American government.

2) We are fighting an undefinable war. We are battling two groups of people: A) Iraqui nationals who wish we had never come in the first place and hate us for messing up their country and their lives; B) terrorists. If we leave Iraq, the nationals will stop fighting. Whether we leave or stay, the terrorists will not. Bush declared a "war on terror" in the wake of the September 11 tragedy. But that makes no sense: terrorism is an idea, and as a friend of mine said, "You can't fight an idea with guns.... [but you can fight an idea with] trade deals, and removal of sanctions, and restoration of liberty, and stuff like that."

Terrorists are everywhere, even in the middle of the United States of America, parked in front of the Murray building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Bush's war will never be over until the last terrorist is dead. And that will not happen until the Lord's return. You can't destroy terrorism any more than you can destroy fascism, capitalism, freedom, hatred, or bigotry. What we can — and should — do is bring our troops back from policing the world to defend our own country, stop interfering with other countries' governments, forget about the unconstitutional and highly ineffective UN, and bring America back to what she was meant to be — one sovereign nation under God.

Even if you've already voted, are underage, or for some other reason cannot vote, you can still make a difference! Visit http://www.ontheissues.org to learn more about each candidate, then do all you can to support the one you believe in! And feel free to copy this message to anyone else, or send them here to read it!

God bless, and GET OUT THE VOTE!