Why I didn't bother voting today....

I've never lived in a state where anyone cared about the primary before. Today was Maryland's primary, and I didn't bother voting, even though the Chesapeake primaries have gotten quite a bit of attention.

I'm a registered Republican, so the Hillary/Obama thing that has most people excited was of no use to me. I was a legal Maryland resident 4 years ago, but it was obvious Bush was going to be the nominee. Before that, I was a legal NJ resident, and at the time NJ had their primary in, like, June - they since have moved it to super Tuesday.

Every candidate on the Republican side that I could get behind quit. My first choice was Fred Thompson - he was the closest thing to a traditional Regan Republican, plus I'm a huge Law and Order fan. People complained that he was not an active campaigner, but as a fan of small government my ideal president is someone who doesn't do stuff. When he quit, I talked myself into Guliani - I figured he had a good chance of crossover appeal, was the kind of tough, crisis tested guy I would want if shit went down, and I didn't mind most of his socially liberal positions, as long as he was fiscally conservative and tough on terrorism. Then he quit.

I hadn't yet talked myself into supporting Romney - his whole universal healthcare in Massachusetts thing rubbed me the wrong way - before he dropped out.

So the belief is that McCain will be the nominee. Not my first choice, but I guess I can live with him. He does strike me as tough on terrorism. He's gotten criticism for being too pro-immigration, but I actually don't mind that - and I think it would be tough for an anti-immigration candidate to win the general election, because it would cost him the Hispanic vote. A few comments McCain made about Romney came off as anti-business to me, and McCain Fiengold rubs me the wrong way - I think that cutting money to campaigns is a free-speech violation - but you go to the election with the candidate you have, not the candidate you want.

The one thing that I like about McCain is that he's someone I disagree with on some issues, while Huckabee and Paul are both people I regard as raving nutjobs. Huckabee's fair tax idea is horrible, he's socially conservative - an area I don't really care about much, he campaigns as a populist (I'm the guy you work with, not the guy who laid you off) and a few of his comments on smoking and weight loss make me think he's a nanny stater. As far as Paul, I hate his isolationist and blame-America-first views on foreign policy, his desire to return to the gold standard, and the fact that many of his supporters seem to be a few lights shy of a Christmas tree.

So I thought about voting today, just to send a message that I didn't like Huckabee or Paul. Originally, it looked like I wouldn't have time - I was scheduled to work overtime, so I would have worked until 10pm, too late to vote (I have enough trouble getting to work on time without trying to vote before work). I ended up getting out of work early, thanks to an ice storm, but decided to come home and check on the newly-spayed cat and take a nap rather than brave the icy roads of Baltimore County.

So if Huckabee becomes VP, I guess it will be all my fault. Sorry.