That's right enough, @Smokin Joe , but quite beside the point.
We are instructed by the Founders to vote our conscience. Now, I suspect it is fair game to reason and cajole, to take steps to change the conscience of our fellows. That is kinda what we are all here for. But that vote, in the end, is MINE.
And I don't give a rip if my vote were the last effectual vote in a tied race - By the time my mind is made up, even that circumstance would not change my way. And I will tell you right now that it would not matter a whit, and I still would not vote that sob into office, any more than I would McCain't or Romulus. Because my conscience would not abide it.
That is no fault of mine... The criteria I require to lend my vote were not met. Simple as that.
That criteria is the well known basis of the Reagan Conservative Coalition, and in that, are legitimate in Conservative circles... And it should be no surprise at all that I would thereby adhere, Exactly as I did in the case of McAin't and Romulus, and for the exact same reasoning developed by the very same legitimate criteria. Criteria not only not met in Tump, but abused thereby.
So butt-hurt acolytes can go hang. The way to my vote is clear and Conservative, and that is the only thing I care about AT ALL in the field of politics. Beyond that is a game of fools, full of half-assed shifting criteria, nonsensical strategies, and phony ill-begotten compromises.
NONE of that matters to me and never will.. I am here to promote and defend the Principles of Conservatism, and I will do no other.
That is your belief and you are certainly entitled to it, and to act as you see fit. I chose to show support for Trump this time, not because I have great faith in the man, but because much of what he did, however temporary, benefited me, my state, my region, sometimes profoundly.
Now that wasn't with any illusions that the ensuing administration, should that happen not to be his, would not overturn many of those executive orders, or seize upon any flaw to twist to use for their own aims, but instead to send a message to those comfortably ensconced and less than inspiring people we have sent to Congress. THIS, THESE ACTIONS are that of which we approve, and we expect YOU to stand up for us,
in this way.
Naturally, that message, if ever considered, was lost in the hype about "insurrection", which was a piss poor representation of anything even remotely able to be called such, so I don't know that that did any good, anyway. Those selfsame congresscritters failed to stand for a fair and honest election, imho, and the theatrics on The Hill only gave them the excuse to rubber stamp Biden and get back to more swampy issues and divvying up the cut.
However polarized, more people are paying attention than ever, even if only to deeply flawed sources. Sadly, those people as a rule are not the ones we all elected, whether we voted for them or not.
Maybe having them pay attention is a plus, if we can even get them to think, if we can get them to understand what Liberty is, and the responsibility to respect others' Liberty that goes with it.
The only problem 9and it's massive) is that the information sources they have are seriously biased in favor of the NWO in any iteration, and they blindly embrace precedents of totalitarianism because they happen to agree with who it is foisted against. Orwell's "Hate Week" is alive and well and ongoing, held over for another round, only now not so much directed at Trump, seeking new foci, most likely anyone and anything remotely Conservative. So hang on, it could be one hell of a ride. Maybe Biden will just settle down to collecting the graft and baksheesh Hunter is arranging, and hopefully soon, but he is likely to be steered into making 'statements' through policy and directed action (coming from policy makers behind the scenes) and that's likely to get uncomfortable for any lover of the Republic, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
I have no problem with you voting your conscience, and have done so myself. It is truly liberating, but in this past election, I chose to use my vote a little differently. Unfortunately, that was thwarted, the message lost in the static of agents provocateur and raised rabble, even if I was naive to think it could be heard at all.
I no longer recognize this country.