Who should I vote for?

[Franzl]

Alright then. I've received my absentee ballot from Madison County, Illinois.

First of all, I should say that I intend to vote for Obama in the general election. At this point, at least, I can't see myself supporting any Republican candidate.

That said, I requested and got a Republican ballot and am currently pondering who to cast my vote for. I can see arguments for any direction.

Romney: A worthless artificial fake that will say anthing to get elected. On the other hand, IMO, the smartest of the bunch, and if actually elected, the person I believe would be most competent. Vote for Romney just in case the Republicans win the general election because he'd be less terrible than the others?

Santorum: Hoping to deny Romney the victory and make the whole primary process longer. He's crazy, although I'll admit I've watched him quite a bit lately, especially when I was in the States for a few weeks. I admit that he seems quite genuine and that I think he really does have a heart for many things and people. Doesn't change that fact that I still view him as crazy....so this obviously could only be a purely tactical vote.

Gingrich: Well, umm....can't find anything that would really speak for him. Now that he's not the anti-Romney, I guess he's become pretty irrelevant.

Paul: This is who I really want to vote for, I guess. The only Republican that has a sane view on foreign policy and military spending. That said, of course, he's obviously insane and I don't want to really consider what would happen if he were actually in any position of power. Is the heart more important than the mind in this case?


At any rate, keep in mind that I vote in Illinois and that delegates are distributed at congressional district level. In Illinois-12, my district in Southern Illinois, I'm convinced that Santorum will win easily.  (At least today....who knows what'll happen in this primary season.)

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

You should vote for Paul. It's a joke primary anyway so there's no reason to consider brain over heart.

[greenforest32]

Help the Republican party along its journey to push out any rational or liberal/moderate voices and become a party predominantly composed of 1% financiers who wrap themselves in religion and hate to get the masses of ignorant and bitter people in this country to vote for them.

Vote Santorum.

[Insula Dei]

Vote Santorum, unless Gingrich starts surging before you have to mail in your ballot. Help restore our future.

[courts]

Dude, Romney can't even seal the deal after 6 years and with a bunch of joke candidates. How the hell is he going to fix the colossal train wreck that is the US even putting aside his total lack of conviction on anything other than bombing Iran? If you must vote your principles, vote for Ron Paul. It's not like what you find objectionable in his domestic agenda will ever pan out even if by some miracle he does win. Or at least vote for Santorum, if you simply want to embarrass Romney.

[Franzl]

Dude, Romney can't even seal the deal after 6 years and with a bunch of joke candidates. How the hell is he going to fix the colossal train wreck that is the US even putting aside his total lack of conviction on anything other than bombing Iran? If you must vote your principles, vote for Ron Paul. It's not like what you find objectionable in his domestic agenda will ever pan out even if by some miracle he does win. Or at least vote for Santorum, if you simply want to embarrass Romney.

This is true. It seems the one area the President actually "runs things" is defense.

[Хahar 🤔]

When I saw the thread title and author, my first thought was BüSo. You should vote for them.

[anvi]

Whether it's the primary or the general, I always vote for whomever I think will make the best president, just in case they win, or even to get the person I think is the best guy nominated.

Are you sure Santorum will win Ill-12?  With the exception of Franklin county, which is pretty conservative, a lot of the counties in the district seem pretty evenly split between moderate and conservative Republicans, and Jackson, which has a large population, tends to vote moderate, as far as I can tell.  In addition, I remember reading somewhere that Santorum, filing on the last available day, only got a slate of 41 of the 54 possible candidates who might be available to cast delegate votes from all the state's districts, so I don't know how much strength he'll have here, even if he performs well on March 20th.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Help the Republican party along its journey to push out any rational or liberal/moderate voices and become a party predominantly composed of 1% financiers who wrap themselves in religion and hate to get the masses of ignorant and bitter people in this country to vote for them.

Vote Santorum.

I really don't want the GOP to have a candidate who can appeal to the WWC even more. I'd prefer to see more of Mittbot.

[Tender Branson]

Just write in "Franzl for President" if possible, because "Franzl for President" would be much better than any of these 4 figures on the ballot.

If write-in is not an option I can't really give you an advice ...

[Lambsbread]

You should vote for Paul. It's a joke primary anyway so there's no reason to consider brain over heart.

[© tweed]

voting doesn't matter, but if we are assuming it does, Santorum is the obvious choice re: entertainment value.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

If not for his name, Santorum would be the most boring candidate. Romney is so robotic that he's strangely entertaining.

[TJ in Oregon]

Vote for Romney or Paul, whoever you think would give the US a better choice in November. If you're going to crash the Republican primary when you intend on voting for Obama this fall, at least vote for whoever you think would be the best president if they did win.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

If not for his name, Santorum would be the most boring candidate. Romney is so robotic that he's strangely entertaining.

Please, stop insulting robots.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Go for Santorum or Paul, the only two of the bunch who aren't completely unprincipled.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

I'll offer the same advice I usually offer: Vote for whoever you think would make the best president.

[Niemeyerite]

I'll offer the same advice I usually offer: Vote for whoever you think would make the best president.

Is Obama on the ballot?

Now, seriously, vote for Gingrich.

[Franzl]

Alright. I went for Paul. Voted and sealed the ballot before I could get tactical thoughts about this again.

I appreciate the comments.

At least I know I won't regret this vote because I've chosen the only candidate with no chance of winning anything.

I do hope Santorum continues his surge, though.

[Franzl]

Just write in "Franzl for President" if possible, because "Franzl for President" would be much better than any of these 4 figures on the ballot.

If write-in is not an option I can't really give you an advice ...

Unfortunately, no write-in option. Otherwise I would have written in a friend's dog for Congress.

[minionofmidas]

Paul: This is who I really want to vote for, I guess. )

Happy and rare the man who has such an option available. So what are you wondering about?

[Jerseyrules]

You should vote for Paul. It's a joke primary anyway so there's no reason to consider brain over heart.

This.  Never let anyone tell you that you wasted a vote.